SPORTS CROSS COUNTRY SENDS RUNNER TO NATIONALS 11

LIFESTYLE CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS WITH OUR FAVORITE RECIPES 6

OPINION SEE TWO DIFFERENT SIDES OF #WANTEDBYWALSH 8

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3, 2014 – VOL. 51, NO. 8 – WWW.THECLAUSE.ORG

student voice of azusa pacific university since 1965

THE WIRE

@brensuzanne | Brenna:In other news, APU broke out the giant Christmas wreaths again. #iHeartAPU

@hangeraci | Hannah:If you’ve ever read any parables you know that Jesus was the original subtweeter #iheartapu

@Renengle | Rene:When I see other people in the library working on their exegeticals, I want to sing “We’re all in this together” #iheartapu #exegesisseason

weets

To see your tweets here, hashtag #cougarclause or #iheartapu.

@apuclause

HomeWord and APU partnerHomeWord partners with APU with themes like marriage, parenting and leadership. 4

HomeWord Center COURTESYHomeWord President Jim Burns and senior Director of the HomeWord Center Doug Fields speak at the 2013 Re-freshing Your Marriage Confer-ence at Felix Event Center.

Blake Standal PHOTOSophomore cornerback Kenny Norton tackles an opponent.

Evan Black ILLUSTRATION

A look back: football seasonEven without a playoff berth, the Cougars pulled off a successful season. 12

Cool it with Chrismas, guysStaff writer Maureen Wolff calls people not to celebrate Christmas too soon, but to wait until after Thanksgiving. 9

SEASON RECAP

Men’s soccer will return most of its squad 10

Blake Standal PHOTO

See WANTED 3to see the rest of the

story and to see a list of #WantedByWalsh

demands.

#WantedByWalsh movement demands dean’s resignation

Hunter Footeeditor-in-chief

Katie Richcreeksports editor

Changes to LA Term lead group of students to call for Walsh’s ouster

Friday, Oct. 31, former LA Term Associate Director Frank Romero-Crockett was dismissed. In response to this and the announcement of impending changes to the program, students created a movement called #WantedByWalsh. The group de-manded, via a Facebook group, the immediate resignation of Jennifer Walsh, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

FACEBOOK PAGE AND DEMANDS

The Facebook page, created Nov. 16, includes a graphic of Walsh's face with the words "Wanted By Walsh." Students behind the movement have been posting photos of students wearing cardboard signs with the slogan along with testimonies of why they are #WantedByWalsh. The page has about 500 likes.

Romero-Crockett posted to the page Nov. 19: "I am so humbled by everything that is going on. I know it's frustrating not knowing what's going on. The truth will reveal itself and hopefully soon. Good luck, stu-dents!" He declined to do an inter-view with The Clause or provide a written statement to the newspaper.

A new Facebook page, "We Want Walsh," was created Tuesday, Nov. 25.

This page states: "We seek uni-ty and advocate for the presence of Dean Walsh at APU. We will attempt

to debunk the false or misinformed claims of 'Wanted by Walsh.'"

THE PROTESTBeginning last week, students

walked around campus wearing card-board signs around their necks that said "Wanted By Walsh" to show solidarity with the movement.

The APU community was invited to an informational meeting orga-nized by the movement on Thursday, Nov. 20. At the meeting, alumna Ka-tie Vasseur '14, a former LA Term student and part of the protest, said

Jennifer Walsh is the "point of sym-bolism for systemic racism, ... things happening within institutions that are disadvantaging people of color."

As outlined in fliers handed out to the campus community, the move-ment is targeting Walsh for three pri-mary reasons. The first is to address potential changes to the LA Term program. The second is an invitation to Charles Murray believed to be ex-tended by Walsh during her time as associate dean. Murray co-authored "The Bell Curve," a controversial book published in 1994.

Kimberly Smith GRAPHIC

Jessie Gomez PHOTOOn Nov. 17, sophomore Cciara Mosella passes out fliers to students.

The movement's issue with this invitation comes from, according to its flier, a hypothesis in the book that claims "people of color were geneti-cally bound to be less intelligent than white people." Murray's invitation to speak was postponed indefinitely.

The third was Walsh's involve-ment with the Three Strikes Law, which the flier states is "dispropor-tionately used against people (espe-cially men) of color."

"We are not saying Jennifer Walsh is a racist or that she is doing things to students of color or person-

ally attacking [anyone]," said alumna Ipolani Duvauchelle '14.

At the meeting, alumna Jordyn Sun '14 provided a detailed timeline of events leading up to and following Romero-Crockett's termination. The following is the timeline given by Sun, which she said comes from in-terviews conducted with current LA Term students.

Oct. 24 – Students receive word that CLAS Associate Dean Ryan Hartwig will be visiting the cohort.

Oct. 31 – Hartwig visits the co-hort. During the visit, he asks to speak to Romero-Crockett outside. Romero-Crockett does not return and his termination is announced to stu-dents.

Nov. 3 – LA Term students receive word that the Los Angeles Police De-partment will be contacting them.

Senior looks to recruit for new global mission platformMomentum Global chapter coming to campus

Daniel Wilsonguest writer

Momentum Global, an interna-tional platform for various charity projects, is coming to Azusa Pacific in the near future and hopes to in-volve students in its venture. It works to promote social justice, educational advancement, economic empower-ment, community development and the health of people in need across the globe.

Momentum Global’s mission, ac-cording to its official webpage, is to “transform the way that humanitarian

Jeff Hutcheon COURTESYA group of students celebrate at one of the projects in Rwanda. Behind are the school structures being built in the background.

problems are solved around the world by uniting, developing and equipping leaders to create stable, sustainable

and independent communities.”The platform promotes projects

to solve problems revolving around see MOMENTUM 4

any people group that is in need, with work varying from fighting human trafficking to finding clean water to building schools.

APU senior Lindsey Hutcheon is the daughter of Momentum Global’s leader, Jeff Hutcheon. She interned with the nonprofit last summer and plans to bring the organization to Azusa Pacific this spring.

One of the projects she was in-volved in shows villagers how to cre-ate Aquaponic farms. This is a meth-od of farming in which vegetables float in a tank of water and get their nutrients from the excrement of fish also living in the enclosure.

“Why should we give a man one fish to feed him for a day if we could teach him how to fish and feed him for a lifetime?” Lindsey Hutcheon asks.

Due to technical difficulties, the Clause is unable to provide the Campus Safety media logs for this week.

REMEMBER 1. If you see something, say something. 2. Safety is everyone’s business. 3. Dial 911 for life-threaten-ing emergencies. 4. Non emergencies: Cam-pus Saftety (626) 815-3898.5. Lock all doors and win-dows to your dorm, apart-ment and vehicle. 6. Keep all valuables se-cured and out of plain view. 7. At night, keep to well-lit areas.8. Always be aware of your surroundings. 9. Utilize the trolleys, safety escorts or walk groups. 10. Avoid places where you are vulnerable and there are no exits. 11. Avoid texting or talking on the phone while walking as you may be distracted. 12. Avoid walking and jog-ging alone. 13. Secure your bike with a recommneded Kryptonite U-lock.

Clausemailing address p.o. box 9521-5165, azusa, ca 91702

phone 626-815-6000, ext. 3514website www.theclause.org email editorinchief@theclause.org

NEWS STAFFeditor-in-chief hunter footenews editor jessie gomezlifestyle editor becky kay

opinion editor marissa blacksports editor katie richcreek

photo/design editor kimberly smithasst. news editor gina ender

asst. sports editor kaity bergquistcopy editors kayla johnston, sara champlain

business manager blake standal staff writers savanna cowles, camille

frigillana, lauren lamb, cory miller, megan ramirez, jasmine rodgers, stefany romero,

annely salgado, dadrienne thompson, maureen wolff

FACULTY ADVISER dr. kyle huckins

The Clause is a student newspaper dedicat-ed to providing a realistic, journalistic educa-tional experience for students of Azusa Pa-cific University; to seeking truth and reporting it boldly, fairly and accurately; to enhancing the university community by providing a stu-dent voice imbued with truth, responsibility and accountability.

The newspaper is published weekly, ex-cept during examinations and vacation pe-riods, by the students of the Department of Communication Studies at Azusa Pacific Uni-versity. The newsroom is located on Cougar Walk in between the cafeteria and Cougars’ Den. The views expressed in all letters to the editor and all signed opinion articles are those of their authors, not the staff or university.

LETTERS TO THE EDITORPlease include a phone number for verifica-tion of all letters to the editor. Anonymous and unverified letters to the editor will not be printed. The Clause reserves the right to edit the letters for length and journal-istic style. The opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, staff or administration of Azusa Pacific University.

FOLLOW US! Our Facebook page: facebook.com/apuclauseOur Twitter handle: @apuclauseOur hashtag: #cougarclause

2 WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3, 2014 Clause THECLAUSE.ORG/NEWS

campus safetyreport

CALENDAR

diLicious COURTESYShoppers line up outside of Target on Black Friday to take advantage of sales.

compiled by gina ender

Friday, Dec. 5Celebrate Christmas ConcertThe APU School of Music presents its annual Christmas concert, featuring various musical groups including Jazz Choir, Oratorio Chorus, Men’s Chorale, Symphony Orchestra, University Choir and Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Bel Canto and Handbells. Tickets are now on sale at www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html or from the box office at (626) 815-5495. The concert is from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena.

Friday-Saturday, Dec. 5-6An Adventures in Odyssey ChristmasThe APU Department of Theater Arts presents a live radio drama from 7:30-10 p.m in the Warehouse Theater. The show will be directed by co-creator Phil Lollar and will feature original cast members Will Ryan as Eugene and Katie Leigh as Connie.

Saturday, Dec. 6Ethics BowlThe APU Ethics Bowl team is competing in the California Regional Ethics Bowl at Santa Barbara City College. Participants will demonstrate their ability to understand the facts of the case, artic-ulate the ethical principles involved in the case, present an effec-tive argument on how the case should be resolved and respond effectively to challenges put forth by the opposing team as well as the panel of expert judges.

Sunday, Dec. 7Midnight BreakfastJoin APU for its annual Midnight Breakfast at 10 p.m. in the cafeteria. Music and festivities begin at 8:30 p.m. on the Cougar Walk.

Saturday, Dec. 13Winter CommencementAPU’s Winter Commencement ceremony for undergraduate students will be held in the Felix Event Center at 10 a.m. Tickets are required for admission. Congratulations, graduates!

Camille Frigillana PHOTOThe men of the ‘Perspectives’ clothing line pose after winning $15,000 in the second annual ZuVenturez competition on Tuesday, Nov. 18.

Public Relations students launch drought campaignClass project turns into three-week effort to implement strategies to conserve water

Adam Janguest writer

An Azusa Pacific public rela-tions class has created a two-week campaign titled “No Drought About It” that runs from Nov. 17-Dec. 3, focusing on raising awareness about California’s severe drought and how to implement strategies on conserv-ing water in and around the APU community.

This is the most severe drought that the state of California has seen in the last 100 years. In January, Gov-

ernor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency on account of the drought and asked the public for a voluntary 20 percent reduction in water usage. In May, the city of Azusa made the reduction mandatory.

Adjunct communication studies professor Marion Pyle’s public rela-tions class has been working on this campaign the whole semester.

“It’s definitely been a big learn-ing curve for all of us, which I re-ally appreciated because it gave us a very hands-on experience on what it would look like for a PR agency to roll out a campaign like this,” said junior communication studies major Aisha Yaccino, a student who is a part of this drought campaign.

“This is extremely important be-cause just like most of our classroom wasn’t aware, most of Azusa Pacific University is not aware of how severe this drought is,” Yaccino said.

The public relations class mem-

bers conducted a survey of 100 stu-dents, 50 faculty members, 50 staff members and 50 parents to show the awareness of the drought and the ne-cessity of conservation. When focus-ing on the students, they found that only 2 percent of the 100 students surveyed were aware of the drought.

“We really hope that students do start conserving their water,” Yaccino said

The students created many strate-gies for raising awareness and have been educating APU on ways to con-serve water.

“Our biggest goal really is to spread awareness about the drought,” junior communication studies major Benjamin Thornton said.

The students have designed post-ers that contain easy-to-implement conservation tips. They will be dis-played on campus and at local res-taurants.

The seriousness of this drought

has escalated, as seen from the status of California’s major reservoirs. Ac-cording to Pyle, the state reservoirs are at "historic lows."

Lake Shasta, California’s largest reservoir, is at 24 percent capacity and Lake Oroville, the state’s second largest reservoir, is at 26 percent.

Eighty percent of California’s water is used by farming and agricul-ture. Central Valley farmers are now drawing water from local aquifers, which are the state’s water savings accounts. As a result of the drought, farmers already face billions of dol-lars in losses.

In Southern California, the Met-ropolitan Water District reported that the remaining reserves for drinking water could be used up in approxi-mately 16 months.

“It’s important for people to un-derstand that they can’t use water the way they used to because it’s just not enough," Pyle said. "So if we all

conserve, we’ll be able to stretch sup-plies until the drought breaks.”

Research from this campaign showed that if 2,500 APU students reduced their showers by five min-utes each, 75,000 gallons of water could be saved in a single day.

An Instagram page has been made for this campaign and is found by searching “nodroughtaboutitapu.” This Instagram page consists of pic-tures of students and how they are do-ing their part to conserve water.

Two videos have been uploaded to YouTube that focus on the cam-paign and the severity of the drought. The campaign also plans to reach out to the community by utilizing APU media outlets as well as San Gabriel Valley print and online community outlets, implementing information slides in chapel and working with campus clubs, organizations, uni-versity-owned living areas and local restaurants to raise overall awareness.

Do you want your photos featured in the Clause? We are always looking for

photographers!

Contact Kimberly Smith at

kasmith11@apu.edu for more information.

THECLAUSE.ORG/NEWS Clause WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3, 2014 3#Wanted ByWalsh movement demand’s dean’s resignation

WANTED from P. 1

Nov. 6 – Students and parents are contacted by LAPD. They are asked questions regarding whether Crockett owned a firearm and an alleged threat made by Romero-Crockett in front of the students on Oct. 24. The Clause has confirmed that a report has been filed against Romero-Crockett with LAPD.

According to Sun, all 15 mem-bers of the current LA Term cohort denied the allegations and did not re-call any threats made by Crockett or anything about a gun.

According to those at the Thurs-day meeting, Romero-Crockett's termination left LA Term students feeling emotionally and physically unsafe. Junior global studies major and current LA Term student Mad-eline Santoyo noted the "emotional up and downs" students have experi-enced in the semester and said Rome-ro-Crockett helped them through those times. Santoyo also said he was the students' first call when they felt physically unsafe while traveling through the city.

Sun said the reason behind putting Walsh as the face of the campaign was to get the attention of President Jon Wallace and Provost Mark Stanton.

WALSH'S RESPONSE

The Clause sat down with Walsh and asked her to respond to each of the allegations against her according to the #WantedbyWalsh Facebook page.

On creating a climate of fear: "I have to say that any kind of

character assassination is really dif-ficult to handle from a personal per-spective because I've been on APU's campus for nine years and feel like I have created not only a positive cli-mate around me whether it is in the classroom or in my collegial relation-ships, but university-wide. I think it explains why in the past nine years I have been promoted four times, most recently to this position as dean that I took over on June 1," Walsh said.

According to Walsh, she has re-ceived messages of support from stu-dents, which she said has encouraged her.

"I am not happy that my name – which I take a lot of care to maintain and as a sign for not only my devo-tion to God, but my desire to be an upstanding person – is being slan-dered," she said. "There's really not a lot I can say about the personal al-legations because I think my charac-ter speaks for itself and the fact that I have the widespread support of my colleagues and my students – both current and former."

On the criminalization of the for-mer LA Term director:

"I am actually perplexed about that particular allegation. ... I think that and the allegations that somehow we made decisions inappropriately on the basis on race or ethnicity or anything else is just patently false," Walsh said. "Any personnel decision is made thoughtfully and carefully and in broad consultation with a lot of different people. Nobody on cam-pus gets to move unilaterally when it comes to personnel decisions. So, by implication, if they are slandering my actions, then implicitly, there are a bunch of other people who are in-volved in those conversations."

On bringing Murray, the contro-versial researcher, to campus:

"We, as a university, bring in speakers of a variety of different back-grounds and perspectives and points, and we had an opportunity to have a speaker come in and talk about get-ting ahead after college – and this is a nationally recognized speaker who typically speaks to universities several dozen times a year," Walsh said.

According to the dean, students

Jessie Gomez PHOTOJunior global studies major and previous LA Term student Dalia Velasco explains the logistics of the movement.

expressed concern and there were conversations about the timing of the speaker coming to the school. Since he would be coming at the end of the year, faculty and administration were worried that there wouldn't be enough time to have "an opportunity to kind of process some of the prior scholar-ship in a thoughtful way," Walsh said.

"Ultimately, the decision to bring in a speaker, especially one that is of a high national caliber, involves con-versations across the university," she said. "I received and accepted an of-fer to have him speak on campus, but did so after consulting others across campus. In hindsight, I should have consulted more broadly, but these decisions are never made by a single person; we don't operate or make de-cisions that way."

Her stance on the Three Strikes Law:

"I've been researching the three strikes law for 20 years," Walsh said. "I am one of the very few academic experts that's called to testify on the operational and implementational as-pects of the law, so I've testified before the state legislative public safety com-mittee, I've consulted widely with the California District Attorneys Associa-tion, I've given lots of interviews to the LA Times and local radio stations and I've also traveled to New Zealand to serve as an international expert on a sentencing policy measure that they were considering adopting and then ultimately adopted."

Walsh said that people who feel strongly about this allegation probably never read her research about it. One of her books, "Three Strikes Laws," out-lines the pros and cons of the statute

"In all of my research as a politi-cal scientist, I'm trained to be objec-tive and analyze how the law func-tions, if it accomplishes what the voters intended for it to accomplish, or the legislative body, so I'm actually really, really proud of my scholarly accomplishments in that it's a labor of many, many years," Walsh said.

According to the dean, what she has found in her research is that "about half of the eligible offenders have been treated less severely as they would have otherwise been. In other words, instead of facing a very long sentence of 25 years to life, they face a much-reduced sentence be-cause of that use of discretion."

"What I've testified before leg-islative bodies in the past is that our allowance for discretion where DAs can decide who the law applies to and who should be treated with more le-niency has actually created a more workable system than other states who have a harsher punishment scheme with no discretion at all," Walsh said. "That has been the focal point of my research, is trying to share that piece of it because I think it is an important piece that very few people really know about and hear about."

On the "dramatic" removal of Romero-Crockett:

"It was certainly not our intent to make any dramatic personnel changes," Walsh said. "In fact, it wasn't our intent to make personnel changes at all, but sometimes these things are unavoidable and we have to move quickly, if necessary. So af-ter broad consultation with a number of individuals on campus, I decided that we needed to move more quickly and others agreed. So, we had to take more decisive action in order to to kind of make sure that things went as well as they could."

Walsh stated that students cannot know all the information involved. "Even though students, again, aren't able to be privy to the details, I guess my takeaway message hopefully would be that we obviously don't want to create disruption if it's avoidable, but in this case, it simply wasn't," Walsh said. "If we were presented with the same set of factual circumstances, I would have to make the exact same decision again. There was just no other alternative, and we looked, and there just was no other way."

LA TERM CHANGES

"We have an immersive program that allows students to live downtown with home-stay families that are se-lected by the program administra-tor, and then they take classes at the LA regional center, which is in the Mid-Wilshire district, and then they are out in internship sites two days a week working with nonprofits in the community," said Walsh.

After looking into the program, she and others decided to take immediate action and make a personnel change.

"The challenge, though, is that with any kind of personnel decisions, we cannot share any confidential and private information about that," Walsh said. "So, students were left with a lot of questions about why now, what happened, they really liked this staff member, so they're hurt and they're confused. I think some of what we're seeing this week and last week ... is really a response to that an-ger and confusion. They don't under-stand why and are somewhat angry that they can't know the full story."

Currently, there are student life interns available to work with any such problems that may arise at LA Term, according to the dean.

A member from the current LA Term cohort expressed at the Wednes-day night meeting that she now feels

#WantedbyWalshDemands

OUR DEMANDThe dismissal of Jennifer

Walsh from her position as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences effective immediately. Grounds for dismissal include:1. The colonization and takeover of the LA Term program, an urban immersion program centered on community development and social change, by persons in power with no relevant experience, qualifica-tions, and/or credibility.2. For creating a toxic working en-vironment for the CLAS faculty by infringing upon and suppress-ing their academic freedom, which directly impacts the quality of our education and learning community.3. The unethical criminalization of Frank Romero-Crockett, the As-sociate Director of LA Term and a staff member of color who was re-cently terminated.

WHY1. To address the new initiatives Dean Walsh is suddenly imposing on the LA Term program, the stu-dents participated in a meeting with Dean Walsh on November 11, 2014. Students asked the question, ‘What professional background provides you the credibility to implement sweeping changes to a program that works in urban communities? Do you have any previous experience working with non-profits, communi-ties of color and/or of lower socio-economic status in Los Angeles?’ Jennifer Walsh avoided the question.Students followed up this question with opportunities for Dean Walsh to address ‘how are people of color involved in the decision-making pro-cess of changing LA Term?’ Jennifer Walsh avoided the question.2. One of her first actions as Interim Dean last semester was to invite author Charles Murray to speak at APU, who:

● Wrote The Bell Curve, a book which controversially hypothesized that peo-ple of color were genetically bound to be less intelligent than white people.● He has never apologized for nor retracted his statements. Strong pro-ponent of “Three Strikes Law”● The Three Strikes Laws are statutes which mandate harsher sentences of offenders who are convicted of three or more serious criminal offenses● “Because many of these laws in-clude drug offenses as prior ‘strikes,’ more black than white offenders will be subject to life sentences under a ‘3 Strikes’ law.” As stated by American Civil Liberties Union.● This law is disproportionately used against people (especially men) of color

In response to Dean Walsh creat-ing a climate of fear on campus, the students will commit to wearing and distributing signs that read #Want-edByWalsh indefinitely. We will re-cruit and mobilize a critical mass of students who strongly resonate with this sentiment to share their con-cerns with the administration. If the concerns of the students are not met and the dismissal of Dean Walsh is not carried out, we will be forced to escalate. We reserve the right to exercise our right to assemble and display forms of protest over the in-justices we have witnessed recently.

In one of the first posts, the group laid out its demands:

unsafe because she and others counted on Romero-Crockett to help during situations in which they felt threatened, such as walk-ing home in the dark.

Although this was not part of Romero-Crockett's job descrip-tion, Walsh said she believes stu-dents came to rely on his constant presence. She added that this feel-ing could make some faculty frus-trated, since that is opposite of LA Term's goal.

"The whole purpose of LA Term is to show that urban neighborhoods are not inherently unsafe, so the whole goal is to show that whether you're living in the suburbs or you're living in an urban area, one is not safer than the other," Walsh said.

She asserted LA Term students aren't in "danger zones," and there is an intern who has received authori-zation to increase her weekly hours to be more available for assistance.

"When you have students who are very passionate and very loyal to a program and there is a change, again, that is very difficult," Walsh said. "In terms of the program it-self, other than a personnel change and a few minor adjustments about how we select internships and home-stay families, I think it's going to be largely the same."

According to Walsh, one of the changes would be to have each of the home-stay families undergo a background check, "which is common practice for all APU em-ployees," she said.

These families were official-ly informed Friday, Nov. 21 of Romero-Crockett's dismissal.

As for internship changes, Walsh said leaders are making more con-nections based on students' requests.

"Students had expressed in-terest in partnering with Chris-tian organizations that perhaps we weren't in current partner-ships with, and so we've been entered into discussions," Walsh said. "We're not going to change anything for spring because we have existing partnerships that are working well, but we're looking at perhaps adding some partnerships to try to address what students have said they would really like to have an option on."

Finally, Walsh said there would be changes to the spiritual aspect of the program, including finding ways for students to get involved with local churches. She said that coming from an on-cam-pus environment of going to cha-pel three times a week, students found themselves "really strug-gling spiritually" in LA Term.

"We thought that strengthen-ing of the spiritual piece was go-ing to be important," Walsh said. "Again, some students were fine, other students found that they were a little bit adrift. We are a 'God First' institution. We want to make sure we solidify that."

Walsh then met with students Friday, Nov. 21 from 1-3 p.m. to talk about the changes and the movement. Nov. 24, the move-ment made a post to its Facebook page about the meeting.

"For everyone who has been asking, Friday's meeting with Jen-nifer Walsh left us even more over-whelmed and grasping for answers than before. We will be releasing more information about our next steps soon but in the meantime stay tuned. Stay wanted," said the post.

In response, on Nov. 26, the #WantedbyWalsh group posted a letter of clarification of its goals. One is to get President Wallace and Provost Stanton to be in on the con-versation about the controversy.

“We are a ‘God First’ institution. We want to make sure we solidify that.”-CLAS Dean Jennifer Walsh

4 WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3, 2014 Clause THECLAUSE.ORG/NEWS

HomeWord Center emphasizes strong principles

Maureen Wolffstaff writer

Ministry creates a thriving partnership with APU

HomeWord Center for Youth and Family COURTESYCouples browse for books at the annual marriage conference.

She said that she feels called to be a part of these missions and that she has always been mission-minded.

Hutcheon explained that giv-ing up four drinks from Starbucks per month saves enough money to change an entire community.

Jeff Hutcheon, Lindsey's father, is excited for a new chapter of the or-ganization to be at APU for students to get involved.

“We firmly believe that God has entrusted us with Momentum Global for the purpose of equipping and em-powering not only the people that we are serving globally, but also you, the next generation of leaders,” Jeff Hutcheon said.

Students who are interested in making a difference now can do so easily on Global Momentum’s web-site. It states its process takes only three simple steps: choosing an im-pact project, becoming an impact partner and being the impact. All donations are tax-deductible and any-one can support as many projects as wanted.

Lindsey Hutcheon is looking for student leaders interested in making a change who can help her launch a new chapter of Momentum Global at APU.

On a leisurely walk one day, Azusa Pacific President Jon Wallace suggested to HomeWord founder Jim Burns that his organization should partner with the university. The longtime accountability partners dis-cussed the benefits of the church and family-focused organization teaming up with the school. Five years later, the success of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family reflects a thriv-ing partnership between HomeWord and APU, including an annual mar-riage conference held in Azusa Pa-cific's own Felix Event Center.

APU Vice President of Universi-ty Relations David Peck, the school's HomeWord liaison, explained that the partnership offers the chance to influence a culture that works against the ideas of intentionality and pro-vide a biblical base for marriage and parenting.

“I think the noise of culture from a negative standpoint is pervasive, and so this provides an opportunity for the university to set itself apart,” Peck said.

Founded in 1985 by APU alum-nus Jim Burns '75, HomeWord began as an organization which mainly spe-cialized in ministry among children and teens with an emphasis on cul-tivating leadership skills. However, a widespread trend in Christian minis-

try, which Burns termed a “paradigm shift,” ushered forth a new emphasis on the involvement of parents as a key element in youth ministry. Home-Word adjusted its focus accordingly.

“I saw an incredible need for helping kids and for helping parents,” Burns said, as “HomeWord’s job is to come alongside the church.” The or-ganization offers an abundance of re-sources for churches, including semi-nars, devotionals, radio broadcasts and blogs that feature biblical teach-ings regarding family and culture.

In 2007, APU recognized an alignment of family and marriage values with HomeWord and the uni-versity began to sponsor the orga-nization and became involved in its radio and website services. Two years later, APU and HomeWord officially partnered to establish the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family.

The name of the organization re-flects its defining value of building a healthy home environment centered upon the Word of God. HomeWord focuses on fostering four specific ele-ments of a Christian family, includ-ing “strong marriages,” “confident parents,” “empowered kids” and “healthy leaders.”

This year, Peck said, the Home-Word Center for Youth and Family is focusing predominantly on marriage, emphasizing its "Refreshing Your Marriage" conference and "Getting Ready for Marriage" campaign.

Peck explained that the oppor-tunity for APU to help counter the nation's ever-increasing divorce rate will also benefit the university.

“For the university to proactively not only research but then provide materials that help marriages and

help parenting to continue to grow and thrive — I think is critical for success of our future,” Peck said.

Held annually in the Felix Event Center, the "Refreshing Your Mar-riage" conference began as an event with 200-300 couples, but it is ex-pected to attract 700-800 in 2015, in-cluding APU faculty, staff and alum-ni. The conference website offers a number of testimonials praising the positive effects it's had on marriages.

"The RYM conferences inspired us to continue to focus on our rela-tionship as a couple, to slow down a bit in this busy pace of life, ... keep Jesus central to all we do ... and re-ally made me appreciate all of the positive in our relationship," reads a statement by conference attendee Mi-chele Perez.

The 2015 conference will be held March 13-14, focusing on values such as “essential balance,” “effec-tive communication” and “promise and commitment.” Speakers will

MOMENTUM, from P. 1

include Holly Wagner, Jim and Cathy Burns, Doug and Cathy Fields and Albert and Larosa Tate.

The "Getting Ready for Mar-riage" campaign is based upon a recent book by Jim Burns and HomeWord Center Senior Direc-tor Doug Fields. It offers guidance for couples to begin their mar-riage with a strong foundation and maintain a healthy relationship. The text is supplemented by other materials including workbooks and an online app.

Burns and Fields are also adjunct professors for the APU master of arts in youth ministry program.

Currently, the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family gen-erates all its finances through fun-draising. However, Peck hopes that in the future the center will be endowed, enabling Fields and Burns to travel and speak around the world.

With the Christmas season and winter break rapidly approach-ing, students and local community members are collecting donations to spread Christmas cheer to those in need.

Azusa Pacific senior social work majors Asia Desamito and Eliana Tarazon have partnered with the agencies California Psych Care and South Central Los Angeles Regional Center to assist with a toy drive benefiting children with autism and developmental delays, ranging from infants to 5-year-olds. Desamito and Tarazon are ac-cepting any donations that specifi-cally benefit children with autism, such as building blocks, puzzles or stacking rings.

Donations will enable the families and children to not only have a gift this Christmas but also provide resources that will encourage and promote their de-velopment.

“The donations made during this toy drive may be the only toy they have to play with,” Tarazon said.

Tarazon said that though past toy drives have not yielded much com-munity response, she remains opti-mistic.

“I am holding on to believing that this year, there will be people who choose to give not only from what they have but from their hearts,” she

said.Donations will be accepted until

Dec. 10 at the Social Work Office in Wynn 1B.

Just off campus, members of the local community are also putting in their time and energy to provide holi-day assistance.

Azusa Canyon City Classics Car Club Vice President George Romero shared about the group's efforts. Its seventh annual toy drive was held this last Sunday at the American Le-gion.

This event started with just a few of the members from the club getting together with their cars and collect-ing a few toys for kids in the com-munity.

As an Azusa native, Romero has a big heart for youth and the town as

a whole. “The community helped us as

kids, so we decide to help out,” Romero said. “To me, it’s just some-thing that God wants us to do. If we can help them with a toy or two, that’s great.”

Toys collected at this event will be provided to underprivi-leged children of the Azusa Uni-fied School District. The toy give-away will be later this month and each child will receive one toy and stuffed animal.

In addition to toys, Azusans need other donations, including clothing and food.

Sarah Hyde, APU's student min-istry coordinator for care ministries, has organized a clothing drive to col-lect men’s clothes for those in need.

The drive was officially held in Smith Hall for a two-week period earlier this semester.

Hyde's job involves two re-tirement centers in San Dimas and one food bank at Foothill Community Church. She is in charge of coordinating volun-teers and organizing the program for team visits to each location weekly.

“For the food bank, I was looking to do something extra this semester because we mainly go to just help things run and it’s not like we bring a lot of new ideas or creative projects into the mix, so I wanted to try something out," Hyde said.

The donations go to a cloth-ing closet as part of Foothill Community Church’s food bank ministry. Those who come to get a meal also receive a shopping appointment time. During the appointment, they are able to try on and take home five articles of clothing. The bank is currently in great need of men’s clothing but accepts all types of gently used apparel.

Hyde just took the donations to the pantry Saturday, Nov. 29. When she arrived, it was down to only two pairs of pants.

“It was really cool to see that it was definitely needed, and we were able to fill that need,” Hyde said.

Though the official clothing drive has come to an end, Hyde said workers are planning to keep the drive going next semester. In the meantime, the Center for Stu-dent Action is still accepting dona-tions in its office if anyone wants to donate clothing before Christ-mas break.

Donations bring Christmas cheer to those in needAzusa Pacific students assist with local toy drives

Hayden Leavittguest writer

Office of Discipleship Ministries COURTESYD-groups on campus partake in toy drives such as Operation Christmas Child.

Nonprofitplatform comes to APU

From SGA: New spaces to study during

finals week and dead weekWednesday, Dec. 3

6 p.m.-1 a.m. Wynn 2 & 47:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Wynn 11

Thursday, Dec. 46 p.m.-1 a.m. Wilden 106

7:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Wilden 107 & 111

Friday, Dec. 56 p.m.-1 a.m. Wilden 102-105

Monday, Dec. 86 p.m.-1 a.m. Wilden 102, 103,

106 & 107

Tuesday, Dec. 9 6 p.m.-1 a.m. Wynn 2, 6 & 11

Wednesday, Dec. 106 p.m.-1 a.m. Wynn 11

7:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Wynn 2 & 4

Thursday, Dec. 116 p.m.-1 a.m. Wynn 2, 11 & 111

Friday, Dec. 126 p.m.-1 a.m. Wynn 2, 4 & 11

Hunter Foote GRAPHIC

Erika Hunterguest writer

Lifestyle

With less than a week until exams, a guide to help prepare

As the semester is coming to an end and finals are quickly approaching, stu-dents are now rushing to the coffee shop to grab their fourth cup as opposed to wasting time and casually socializing at the Cougar Den. The talk has ended and studying has begun.

Before you depend solely on coffee to keep you up during those long hours of studying, consider studying in intervals like sophomore graphic design major Tay-lor Allen does when preparing for a big test.

“I usually study in intervals of 45 min-utes,” Allen said. “After those 45 minutes are up, I stop to relax for 10 minutes. It works.”

Studying for finals is no easy task, but it is to your advantage to come up with a technique that works for you.

“I find comfort in studying with my best friends because it reminds me that I am not in this alone,” laughs Danielle Harris, a se-nior sociology major.

Similar to students, professors are also preparing for finals week. Daniel Pawley, a professor in the Department of Communication Studies, said that he is currently formatting the structure of his finals.

“I am gradually moving toward all-essay final exams that require students to prepare, organize, think and write,” Pawley explained. “I find that this is a far more valu-able learning experience than the objective testing format of multiple choice, true-false and matching.”

However, many students prefer multi-ple-choice tests.

Tasty Christmas treats to try during breakBreak’s right around the corner, and here are two special homemade recipes to surprise loved ones

Faith Vander Voort guest writer

Thanksgiving is officially over and that can only mean one thing: Christmas. It’s now so-cially acceptable to break out your ugly holi-day sweaters and play the Justin Bieber Xmas album over your loudspeakers. It’s also the time of year when it’s perfectly fine to put on the freshman 15, even if you’re a sophomore, junior or senior. Go ahead, welcome the extra desserts and take that fourth cookie.

Food plays a huge part in making Christ-mas all it is. You don’t need to wait until you go home for break to get in the spirit. Two Azu-sa Pacific students have shared their favorite Christmas recipes so you can get a head start on all things Christmas.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES:

Sophomore nursing major Sierrah Wilson loves to make a Christmas treat that’s freshman-friendly, meaning there’s no need for an oven. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles are as easy as you want them to be. Wilson gives all the credit to her roommate sophomore market-

ing major Christina Roberts for this simply deli-cious recipe.

DIRECTIONS:First, beat the room-temperature butter and

both sugars (granulated and brown) with an electric mixer on medium until fluffy. Then, turn the mixer to the lowest level and slowly add the flour and salt. Once it starts looking like cookie dough, turn off the mixer and stir in the mini-chocolate chips by hand. Once complete, allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for approximately one hour.

After an hour of checking Instagram and updating Twitter, form the dough into ping-pong sized balls and place them on a cookie sheet. Once the cookie dough balls are all lined up, send them back to the cold, but this time, in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Finally, melt the dark chocolate chips in the microwave and dip the cookie dough balls in the warm chocolate. Now, it’s back to the refrig-erator until the chocolate hardens.

GREEN COOKIES:Freshman communication studies major

Tanner Ward is looking forward to one Christ-mas treat in particular as he wraps up his first semester at APU: his mom’s “green cookies.”

“She’s been making them ever since I can remember. She’s probably been making them since my oldest brother was little,” Ward said.

Ward explained that the holiday treats are just basic cookies with green icing on top made with the same cookie cutters his mom has had for years and also made with a whole lot of love.

DIRECTIONS:To begin, stir together flour and baking

powder in a bowl. Then in a separate bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy and light, after that beat in eggs and vanilla. Next stir in flour mix-ture, a third at a time to make a stiff dough and divide dough into four pieces.

Next, roll out a portion of cookie dough to 1/4 inch thick. Then cut out shapes using cookie cutters, then place on lightly greased or non-stick cookie sheets.

Bake until lightly golden for about 10 min-utes. Make sure that the cookies cool complete-ly on the pan for about five minutes then trans-fer to cooling racks and cool completely before decorating.

Both Sierrah and Tanner’s recipes have been adapted from recipes found on Pinterest. For more in-depth instructions and options for substitutions, visit www.pinterest.com and type in “chocolate chip cookie dough truffle” for Love & Olive Oil’s complete truffle recipe. For Family, Love, & Other Stuff’s recipe, type in “homemade sugar cookie recipe.” Pinterest is an incredible source for anything Christmas – not just recipes!

Christmas album roundupRanging from a cappella to country, these will be sure to lift spirits

Camille Frigillana staff writer

Red cup season at Starbucks is in full swing, Christmas tree farms are back in the market and radio stations are beginning to play Christmas music 24/7. The only thing stopping students from fully embracing the holiday cheer is the much-anticipated week of finals. But the last two weeks of school shouldn’t stop you from celebrating too early. Here are some Christmas albums that are sure to brighten even the dullest study sessions:

“CHRISTMAS WITH NASHVILLE” BY “NASHVILLE” CAST

Fans of the hit ABC show are in for a treat with this album released Nov. 4. Stars of the program have recorded Christmas favorites, and even if not a “Nashville” fan, country mu-sic lovers will enjoy this album, as it possesses some of that twang that fans know and love.

Actress Hayden Panettiere, who plays Ju-liette Barnes on the show, sings a lovely ren-dition of “White Christmas” while the other leading lady, Connie Britton, who plays Rayna Jaymes, sings the fun favorite “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”

The album was produced by Rascal Flatts bassist Jay Demascus, who was impressed with the actors’ singing skills and described them as “meticulous” in a Rolling Stone article.

The album is available exclusively at Target and Spotify.

“HOLIDAY WISHES” BY IDINA MENZELThose who listen to this album will proba-

bly have deja vu with last year when the hit Dis-ney movie “Frozen” was all the rage, but don’t worry, you’re not going crazy. The same actress who provided the voice for Elsa has released a holiday album almost a year later.

This is the first album Menzel has released

in six years, and it does not disappoint. Tracks include a duet with the one and only Michael Bublé for the song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and an original song called “December Prayer.”

According to billboard.com, Menzel an-nounced the release of the album during sum-mer at a one-night-only concert at Radio City Music Hall. She joked at the event, saying: “I know I’m Jewish. But a lot of famous Jewish people have written Christmas songs, so I’m going to try out some of their songs on the al-bum.”

The album is available in stores and on Spo-tify.

“THAT’S CHRISTMAS TO ME” BY PEN-TATONIX

Winner of season three of the a cappella singing competition “The Sing Off,” Pentato-nix, also known as PTX, released its second Christmas album, “That’s Christmas To Me,” on Oct. 21, 2014.

The album provides plenty of traditional fa-vorites, from “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” to “Mary Did You Know?” which has 12 mil-lion views on Youtube since its premiere two weeks ago.

The album also has some fun tracks, in-cluding a mashup of “Winter Wonderland” and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” featuring singer Tori Kelly. The bonus track is an especially great treat, as it is a cover of the well-known, beloved “Frozen” hit “Let It Go.”

The album is available in stores and on Spotify.

“Multiple choice just makes our lives so much easier as college students,” Allen said.

Regardless of how a test is formatted, “A Survival Guide to Finals Week,” written by Madalena Pierangelino, a marketing intern at the University of Kentucky, suggests that it is important to find focus, food and resources dur-ing the seven days that many consider “Dead Week.”

In the midst of all the chaos, it can be dif-ficult to concentrate on the task at hand. Find-ing focus requires you to eliminate all possible distractions, such as mobile devices and access to media.

However, in order to focus, eating at reg-ular times is important, too. This includes, but is not limited to, hydrating yourself and filling your stomach with something other than those late-night Pop-Tarts. Pierange-lino suggests that what students consume can ultimately affect their study habits and outcomes.

Furthermore, finding resources is also sub-stantial. If extra help is needed, take advantage of free peer tutoring or go into a professor’s of-fice during meeting hours with any questions you might have.

Ultimately, finals are not designed to conquer you – so conquer them! Put down that fifth cup of coffee and begin to formu-late a study plan that can help you receive the results you desire. Remember, Christmas break is just around the corner. You can do this!

Conquering finals this semester

Erika Hunter PHOTOStudents study in Marshburn library.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon salt1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature3/4 cup granulated sugar3/4 cup packed brown sugar1 teaspoon vanilla1/3 cup milk1 cup semi-sweet mini-chocolate chipsOr ... one package of premade chocolate chip cookie doughFor the topping:14 oz. dark chocolate chips

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles Ingredients:

Christmas Green CookiesIngredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour1/2 teaspoon baking soda1 cup granulated sugar1/2 cup light brown sugar1 large egg

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened1 teaspoon vanillaOr ... one package of pre-made sugar cookie doughFor the icing:1 cup powdered sugar4 tsp. milkFood coloring

THECLAUSE.ORG/LIFESTYLE Clause WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3, 2014 7

#CLAUSTAGRAM

CHRISTMAS CHAOS Name: Leslie Terada Instagram Name: @leslie_terada

MEXICO OUTREACH Name: Veronica Johnson Instagram Name: @queenvee129

TEAM PRIHAB Name: Olivia PainterInstagram Name: @oliviafaeth

CHRISTMAS PARTY Name: Taylor Temple Instagram Name: @taylor_temple08

Holiday fun before Finals Week!

‘On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me...’The Clause holiday gift guide to shopping for that special someone

Savanna Cowles staff writer

‘Mockingjay – Part 1’ manages to thrill even with plot given awayCharacter development, seeing story visually manages to tell whole new tale

Hunter Foote editor-in-chief

Even though we all know the plot line, “Mockingjay – Part 1” still manages to bring shock and awe, between dark scenes of mass destruction and the emotional, dynamic chang-es in beloved characters.

Jennifer Lawrence stuns again as Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire. The audience sees a different side of Katniss with the incredible de-spair she faces between the mass murder of her district to seeing Peeta, played by Josh Hutch-erson, slowly tortured by the Capitol. Lawrence excels at acting out the ebb and flow of being both a rock-solid warrior and a confused, lonely young girl.

In one scene, Lawrence pretends to be bad at acting and is convincing. It seems it takes a really good actress to pull off bad acting. Kat-niss had to rehearse a scene for District 13’s pro-paganda videos, or “propos,” and was terrible in front of the camera. We’re convinced Lawrence can act even when her character can’t.

Prim Everdeen, played by Willow Shields, also makes a dynamic change for her new role as “healer” in District 13. Rather than the fright-ened Prim the audience sees as she is called for the 74th Annual Hunger Games in the first movie, she is strong, brave and keeps Katniss centered and focused in this one.

Seeing Peeta emaciated is even worse than the book described and manages to surprise the audience even though we all know it’s coming. Seeing Peeta deteriorate over time on the Capi-tol’s newsfeed is too much for both Katniss and

Peeta fans.The biggest surprise – and change – of

the movie is with Effie Trinket, played by Elizabeth Banks. Effie surprises the die-hard book series fans since she was not in the first part of the “Mockingjay” book. Whereas in the book, Trinket is thought to be impris-oned in the Capitol, in the movie, the highly stylized victors’ escort is a refugee living in District 13. According to an MTV article, director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobsen made the decision to include the character.

Although usually changing the plot line, adding and removing characters will fail, the inclusion of Effie succeeds. Effie brings humor to an otherwise dim circum-stance with her jokes of having to wear District 13 garb and not having access to her lavish wigs.

New characters to the series, although actually in the book, are members of the camera crew that follows Katniss around to film propos. Natalie Dormer, who plays Cressida, the director of the camera crew, is known most for her role as Margaery Tyrell from “Game of Thrones.” Dormer fits well into the Panem scene with a shaved head and intense focus.

Finally, another one of the new char-acters to the movie series, President Coin, played by Julianne Moore, keeps the audi-ence, Katniss and the future of Panem on their toes. Coin is on the border of chilling and trustworthy during the beginning of the movie. Kudos to Moore, who usually plays more kind and motherly roles, for pulling off a cold, psuedo-villian.

Due to the incredible character develop-ment and delivery in the film, I rate “Mock-ingjay – Part 1” four out of five President Jon Wallace heads. The only reasons it didn’t get a fifth are the film’s dark nature and that its ending lacks hope.

As the semester comes to an end, a whole new kind of stress begins: holiday shopping. Whether it has been three years or three months, finding the perfect gift for that special someone doesn’t seem to get any easier.

The first big decision to any gift-giving is to decide what kind of gift to give. Fun? Romantic? Practical? Sweet? Is the person passionate about something? Find out what he or she likes, wants or needs and go from there.

Sophomore applied exercise science ma-jor Kristen Wilson has tried two different approaches to gift-giving for her boyfriend, Aaron Moses, who is currently in the Air Force.

“I handmade him a mug in my ceramics class last year that said, ‘You’re the Kanye best’ because he loves Kanye West,” Wilson said. “It didn’t turn out perfect, but he still liked it.”

Clever, handmade gifts are always a good (and cheap!) way to go. Whether they come out as planned or not, they’re gifts from the heart and will be appreciated.

This year, Wilson is getting her Moses a more practical gift. Since he won’t be home for the holidays, she bought him a pair of Last Kings socks, from the rapper Tyga’s clothing line.

“It’s his favorite clothing line, and I wanted to buy them from the actual store in LA Even

though it’s just socks, I know he’ll be excited about them,” Wilson said.

Nursing student, Samantha Baratta and her boyfriend, Patrick, bought each other country-music festival tickets last Christmas. It was something fun they could do with each other that they both enjoyed.

“This year I’m getting him a sweater, some cologne and a duffle bag because he really needs one,” Baratta said. “I wouldn’t get him anything he doesn’t want or need.”

Baratta suggests keeping an eye and ear open when shopping with a significant other. Paying attention to what Patrick looks at or says he likes throughout the year is important to knowing what types of things she should get for him.

Observations of what your significant other wants are key to finding the right pres-ent for him or her. Junior communication studies major Aisha Yaccino pays extra atten-tion when shopping with her boyfriend Andy Hermosillo.

“I am really good at catching little com-

ments on things he likes and wants, and I plan ahead, so once I hear him say he likes something, I make a mental note,” Yaccino said.

In the past, Yaccino has given Hermosillo equipment to pursue his passion of music. She likes to get him things he talks about buying for himself.

“He is a drummer, so I also tend to get him equipment like pedals and shakers and stuff like that,” Yaccino said.

Along with purchasing a gift, she likes to make it personal by creating something for him. Yaccino wants to get creative this year and spend less, so she plans to make some-thing that will include an original poem writ-ten by her.

For the lady in your life, it doesn’t hurt to ask her what she wants. If not, the Internet is a wonderful place to get ideas. Harper’s Bazaar magazine suggests sweaters, candles, pajama sets, a laptop, socks, books and tech accesso-ries.

Urban Outfitters provides more goofy,

unique gifts to give a significant other. These include ugly Christmas sweaters, a Nutella recipe book, a Snoopy waffle maker and quirky books such as, “Eat Bacon, Don’t Jog.”

Whether the gift is silly or serious, there are thousands of options for what to get that special someone this holiday season. Let’s face it: That person should love what you give them, no mat-ter what it is.

Gift Ideas For Women:PerfumeJewelryClothingTablet

Smart watchDigital picture frame

Concert ticketsCandles

Accessories (purses, scarves, gloves)

Romantic dinner

Gift Ideas For Men:CologneShave kit

HeadphonesSpotify subscription

SlippersConcert tickets

Sweaters/flannel shirtsSports memorabiliaPortable speakers

DVDs/ CDs

Hunter Foote GRAPHIC

OpinionThoughts on the Wanted by Walsh movement

I am a junior journalism major and Span-ish minor who has absolutely no ties to Frank Romero-Crockett, LA Term or the global stud-ies program. I am with Wanted By Walsh be-cause I am a voice for those students who feel this institution has created a toxic environment where academic freedom is suppressed. As a minority, I support my fellow students and join this protest to see justice and fairness for all students and faculty who feel oppressed by our university.

I have heard an array of opinions as to what we are fighting for and an even bigger list of the names that we have been called. One thing is for sure: We are not a group of angry students who lost a key player in LA Term nor are we angry Latinos pinning racism on an individual. As a member of the Latin American Student Association, a mi-nority and a human being, I feel that Rome-

ro-Crockett was terminated in an untimely, and embarrassing manner. I also feel as if this institution has created boundaries for diversity as stated in the APU Statement of Faith that limits the experiences of students and faculty of color.

The issue began when Romero-Crockett was escorted off the LA Term premises during a student meeting, and the 15 LA Term ladies who were present were left confused, scared and in the dark as to why Campus Safety De-partment workers had to take their instructor from the building.

According to students in the current co-hort, the Los Angeles Police Department first contacted them Nov. 6 and asked if Romero-Crockett had made any statements Oct. 24 about having a gun or threatening the univer-sity. According to LAPD and other sources, a report against Romero-Crockett was filed Oct. 31, approximately five hours after he was fired.

My question here is, if Romero-Crockett did indeed pose a high level of threat to students and the university in such a manner that he was portrayed as a criminal to the current LA Term cohort, why was a police report filed a whole week later?

Friday, Nov. 21, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean Jennifer Walsh, Associate Vice President of Student Life Willie Hamlet and global studies associate professor Grace Bahng spoke with students about many fac-tors that current students and faculty are dealing with, but it was just an “intentional, meaningful dialogue,” and no further action was taken. Through Romero-Crockett’s ter-mination in conjunction with meetings and events that took place afterward, I have found a lack of answers, a silencing of my ideals, an invalidation of my feelings and experiences as well as an unrightful criminalization of a man.

In recent weeks, a movement by the student body known as Wanted By Walsh has swept the campus, and even reached alumni across the state and the country. As students with limited information struggle to understand the abrupt dismissal of their beloved Frank Romero-Crockett, former associate director of LA Term, emotions run rampant and uninformed rumors are going forward.

“Due to the lack of trust and transpar-ency provided thus far from administration, our only other sources have lead us to be-lieve something we acknowledge is difficult to swallow. Drawing from the inconsistent statements made by Dr. Jennifer Walsh, Ryan Hartwig, and Paul Hertig, in corre-spondence to the timeline, we propose that Dean Jennifer Walsh, or someone under her supervision, fabricated a false accusation...” said the Wanted By Walsh Facebook page.

This statement and accusation made by Wanted By Walsh is one of many both absurd and lacking merit. As it is within our very hu-man nature to attempt to piece together the cause and effect and everything in between for the sake of understanding, sometimes we seem to forget that a lack of information does not necessarily mean that there is something to hide.

Personal and professional matters call for a level of confidentiality and privacy for every-one involved. In the same way that a parent is denied access to personal information on a stu-dent, even one for whom they pay tuition, a stu-dent has no right or any access in any way to the personal matters involving a faculty member.

A parent cannot even call the university and request his or her student’s schedule or records of any sort, so what makes us think that in our pressing administrators for answers on very personal, private and confidential matters that they would be so insensitive and disrespect-ful to the person in question? There are legal repercussions that come with such a breach of confidentiality.

I truly believe that if our administration had the liberty to share all of the details in-volved, it would, because that would clear up matters. And yes, sadly, that is all anyone wants. People just want clarity and they want to understand administrators’ actions and the purpose behind them. However, the fact that Walsh, Hartwig, Hertig and others have no right to share specifics does not mean that they have something to hide or an evil scheme to carry out in order to fulfill some supposed negative agenda.

“Before I became an academic, I spent 10 years as a student development professional at another Christian college, building and overseeing residential life and campus pro-grams, serving as a member of the Univer-sity’s crisis and student care teams, traveling extensively with student groups, mentoring and developing students and developing col-laborations between the academic and student life areas of the University,” said Dr. Hartwig, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies, in an email interview.

Hartwig further stated that he relies on this background in bridging the gap between aca-demia and student life as he and his colleagues strengthen the student support systems in LA term terrain, while working with program fac-ulty in areas of their academic expertise, collab-

We are not just extremists Why we should want Walsh

Megan Ramirezstaff writer

Jessie Gomez news editor

Katie Richcreek PHOTOMembers of the movement wear card-board signs claiming they are “Wanted by Walsh.”

This issue is not limited to Romero-Crockett’s termination. According to stu-dents in previous cohorts, he was known for pushing his students to think outside the box on tough issues like homosexuality, race and religion. This movement resonates so loudly with me because I do believe there is a culture of fear at this institution felt by stu-dents and faculty of color who have strong opinions on many sensitive issues. Faculty members are hesitant to have honest con-versations about race, sexuality and religion with students.

Not only is there fear, but there is clearly a systemic divide within our institution that adds to this culture of fear. Nov. 4’s social justice event on campus invited six panel-ists to speak. Not one panelist was of color. It is interesting to hear a dialogue in which six Caucasian men discuss issues of social injustice. But left out is the primary group of people who experience social injustice, those of color. It is even more interesting to see administrators who have never set a foot on LA Term’s campus and have no clue how the program functions decide what is best for the program and its students.

So my fight here is this: APU embraces diversity with biblical principles. The state-ment of faith declares the institution advo-cates behavior regarding diversity that is anchored in love.

So where is the love of embracing di-versity of thinking and groups of people if minorities are not invited to discuss social injustice? Where is the love to listen to a group of students who want to make posi-tive changes for an institution when admin-istrators say we are making up this culture of fear? Where is the love when our insti-tution silences diverse thinkers like Frank Romero-Crockett?

#WantedByWalsh is a plea advocating for positive change in an evolving institution

Opposition to the “Wanted by Walsh” movement suggests there’s more to the story

orating with APU student life staff and gleaning feedback from students and alumni.

“As dean, I am charged with overseeing the academic programs that fall within my college,” said Jennifer Walsh, dean of the College of Lib-eral Arts and Sciences and professor in the De-partment of History and Political Science, in an email interview. “My team and I work closely with faculty and staff with each program/de-partment to ensure that academic and extracur-ricular components align with university and college priorities.”

Sometimes adjustments are necessary and not within the realm of understanding to the student body, but Walsh assured us that her team works closely with program faculty members in making these changes and deci-sions.

“We are dedicated to prayerfully making and implementing decisions that have the best interests of our students in mind, honor the service and partnership of host families, internship partners and the LA community at large, further the mission of APU and rep-resent Christ well in all that we do,” said Walsh.

As it stands, there is certainly informa-tion that is not being shared. However, rather than attack the university and administrators charged with making these difficult decisions, I believe a level of respect and trust should be earned here rather than a perception of be-ing disingenuous and untrustworthy. While members involved in these changes, including those dismissed from the program altogether, have the liberty to share whatever details they want, they also have the liberty to withhold any details they want.

In that, the university and its administra-tors shoulder these attacks and accusations with such dignity, grace and poise, while re-fraining from immature and unprofessional acts of retaliation and oversharing. They have held true to their promises of privacy and confidentiality, respected the individuals in-volved and are doing their best to bridge the gaps.

Wanted by Walsh COURTESY

Sometimes adjustments are necessary and not within the realm of understanding to the student body, but Walsh assured us that her team works closely with program faculty members in making these changes and decisions.

I am with Wanted By Walsh because I am a voice for those students who feel this institution has created a toxic environment where academic freedom is suppressed. As a minority, I support my fellow students and join this protest to see justice and fairness for all students and faculty who feel oppressed by our university.

THECLAUSE.ORG/OPINION Clause WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3, 2014 9

Camille Frigillanastaff writer

Ferguson verdict: What it means for ChristiansIn light of grand jury decision, pray for peace and closure

Society skips to celebrating Christmas too soonConsumers should slow down to appreciate Thanksgiving season

Maureen Wolffstaff writer

Evan Black ILLUSTRATION

Back to Black:When trials take over during the holidays Marissa Black opinion editor

Sometimes life is inconvenient. Sometimes it has this nasty habit of disregarding the calendar year or our personal schedules. Sometimes things happen when they’re least wanted and least convenient.

This happens often, actually. Of course, we know this isn’t simply “life’s” doing, but the will of a higher power. However, the way a situation works out — regardless of whose do-ing it seems to be — can often be the last thing we need.

Our lives can become chaotic cal-endars made up of periods of pain and pleasure, dissatisfaction and grati-tude; regardless of how our emotional calendars are organized, we are each guaranteed seasons in life that are rife with trial and sorrow.

So what do we do when that hard season matches up with what is sup-posed to be the happiest time of the year? How can we embrace the joy of the Christmas season when the halls we deck belong to hospitals or wishing joy to a restless world seems downright laughable?

Christians frequently tell those who are suffering to simply embrace the point of the season rather than get caught up in its materialism — just to be joyful. We often make a dis-tinction between joy and happiness, focusing on the biblical nature of joy and usually vilifying happiness in the process. We often describe the pursuit of happiness as secular and the attain-ment of joy as righteous.

However, there really isn’t any-thing wrong with happiness. Enjoy-ing seemingly surface-level pleasures like apple cider and Christmas lights isn’t wrong. Happiness is often easy to find in the Christmas season by looking to traditions, reunions with family or just the general cheery de-cor. It’s when we rely solely on that happiness for fulfillment that we be-gin to feel the need for something more substantial.

These happiness-inducing trap-pings are all good things, but they can’t possibly give us that inner secu-rity we need to survive when life starts crumbling. Happiness is like shallow water — it’s fine to wade in casually, but not deep enough for submerging our spirits.

It’s a Christian cliché to tell oth-ers to focus on “the reason for the season” rather than get caught up in the frenzy of the holidays. However, this limits the power of Christ to only this month.

Rather than just focus on the point of Christmas, we should instead focus on the implications of the season. The point of Christmas isn’t to celebrate a serene birth scene in a manger. The point of Christmas is Easter. Jesus was born to ultimately kill those tri-als that haunt so many at this time of year. The reason for the season is ulti-mately death — his death, and the end of death.

Where there is mourning, he is the Wonderful Counselor. Where there are riots, he is the Mighty God. Where there is separation, he is the Everlasting Father. Where there is fear, he is the Prince of Peace.

Where there is suffering, he is.

On Aug. 9, 2014, recent high school graduate Michael Brown was shot and killed by Police Officer Darren Wilson after Brown committed a robbery at a nearby liquor store in Ferguson, Missouri. This shooting caused national outrage toward Wilson and quickly became an issue of race, as Brown was African-American and the officer a Cau-casian.

In a poll conducted by CNN, 32 percent of Americans believed that the police officer should be charged with murder, while 25 percent believed he should be charged with a lesser crime, such as involuntary manslaughter.

On Monday, November 24, 107 days after the shooting, a grand jury came back with the decision not to indict Wilson for any crime, a decision that Brown’s family was “profoundly disappointed” with, according to a statement. Since then, protests have popped up throughout the nation, from lighting police cars on fire in Ferguson to laying on the 101 freeway in Los Angeles.

When this unfolded back in Au-gust, I found it easy to be outraged with the nation. How could a cop kill an unarmed, “innocent” young man? I sympathized with the Brown family and despised Wilson, and those feel-ings carried on until the verdict was announced. I can’t say I was surprised with the decision to not charge Offi-cer Wilson with any crime, but the sting of betrayal and hurt was there, followed by the fear of what kind of response the public would have.

Then, however, I had to take a step back and really look at what I was doing, which was putting myself in a situation that didn’t involve me at all. I didn’t know all the facts of what happened that night, and it defi-nitely wasn’t fair that I was making assumptions about anything without knowing what happened.

With the release of the grand jury decision also came that of everything else: the testimony, evidence and autopsy reports. An article by Paul Cassell of The Wash-ington Post lists the main points of the evidence presented before the grand jury.

According to the article, the med-ical examiner determined that the fatal shot to the head was fired when Brown was facing Wilson rather than away from him, disputing earlier claims that the victim was shot while running away.

When it came to whether or not Brown’s arms were raised in surren-der when he was shot, the medical examiner could not determine, say-ing that “you have a lot of mobility within that arm, and it can be in a lot of scenarios.”

A few weeks ago, I was walking through the West Covi-na mall and immediately felt that something was wrong. I couldn’t quite place it at first, but after taking in my surroundings, it all clicked.

I saw a commercial ex-plosion of pine needles, reds, greens, silvers and golds, the unmistakable bustle of holiday shopping, and — could it pos-sibly be — Christmas music?

Barely had November started, yet tinsel hung all around and San-ta waited in the middle of the mall for children to pose for pictures on his lap.

These premature signs of Christmas constitute a phe-nomenon widely referred to as “Christmas Creep.” The day after Halloween, many retail-ers start bringing out their win-ter displays and swap pumpkins for peppermints and polar bears. Thanksgiving is overpowered by a drawn-out anticipation of late December.

Should it really come as a sur-prise that stores would skimp on Thanksgiving? Think about the

distinct difference in focus between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Tur-key Day is centered upon a feeling of thankfulness and fulfillment with already-existing blessings. Christmas is the classic season of giving. And giving means receiving, too. What can I buy? And what can others buy me?

There’s the rub. Retailers just don’t get much out of you being thankful for the things you already have. It’s much more lucrative to convince you that the season to spend starts sooner rather than later.

In some ways, I understand the early Christmas celebration, espe-cially as a college student. After all, waiting until after Thanksgiving break gives us only two weeks at school to celebrate, so why not get a jump start before Turkey Day? Be-sides, in the midst of being stressed from finals and away from family, it is all-too-tempting to seek a lit-tle premature comfort in the spirit

of the season. That Michael Bublé Holiday Pandora station starts to sound pretty appealing, doesn’t it?

Many consumers complain about in-store rushing to the Christmas season. According to a 2012 survey done by mobile testing company SOASTA, 78 percent of adults say that stores should wait until after Thanksgiving to play Christmas mu-sic. Similarly, 75 percent believe that retailers shouldn’t decorate for the December holiday until Thanksgiv-ing has passed.

According to a Time Magazine article, many retailers are locked in competition for consumer dollars, trying to get to shoppers’ wallets be-fore they are lightened by seasonal spending. Stores like Macy’s, Kohl’s and Staples started sales by Thanks-giving at 6 p.m.

Not all retailers have followed this trend. Stores such as Costco and Marshalls opted to delay sales until Friday, a decision which a

New York Times article explained was out of respect for the tradi-tional values of the Thanksgiving holiday.

These values — thankfulness, contentment and a time of rest with loved ones — are skipped in the anxious race to the holiday season. We find ourselves counting down the days until Christmas with a mixture of delight and dread, sweating the school deadlines but craving the class-free days of De-cember.

A verse that comes to mind amid the hurry of the holidays comes from Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” Rath-er than rushing into the Christ-mas frame of mind, why not take time to appreciate each day as it comes?

This is not to say that a spirit of giving is bad; the generosity of the holidays is a wonderful phe-nomenon. It’s not a sin to go shop-ping, spend money and hit the sale racks on Black Friday. However, we shouldn’t let the frenzy of Christmas consumerism eclipse the practices of stillness and contentment. Just be-cause Thanksgiving has passed does not mean we have to throw thankful-ness aside.

Due to the pileup of academics, work and settling logistics for holi-day travel, the time between Thanks-giving and Christmas can be stress-ful. But taking time to be still and to rest in the Thanksgiving frame of mind is something that, for sanity’s sake, should not be skipped. I won-der what it would look like to think of December days not quantitatively but qualitatively, focusing not on how much time has passed, but how it is spent.

It’s easy for people to make quick judgments based on hearsay and in-formation that is immediately avail-able but not always accurate, but as Christians, we are taught not to be so fast to judge. It should not be until all the facts are presented to us that we should form an opinion on any mat-ter.

For some, of course, the facts aren’t always easy pills to swallow, and many don’t always accept those facts. When something tragic like this happens, there’s always this no-tion that someone has to be held ac-countable for it in the way we want them to be. In this case, that meant most people wanted to see Wilson go to jail for killing Brown.

When it comes down to it, both Wilson and Brown should be held accountable for their actions.

Brown stole from a local liquor market and didn’t comply with Wil-son’s demands and, unfortunately, was killed for it. Wilson killed a young man and isn’t going to trial for it. However, that’s always going to be on his conscience and his pub-lic image is ruined. Even though it’s a small price to pay compared with Brown’s, it still gives me a little bit of comfort knowing that he is never going to be looked at the same way again.

All that’s really left for us as Christians to do is to pray. Pray for those in the Brown family that they may find some closure. Pray for Wil-son, that he may feel some sort of remorse. Pray for the protesters and anyone else who faces racial discrim-ination, that they may find peace and strength.

Jamelle Bouie COURTESY

SportsMen’s soccer carries PacWest championship into next season

The Azusa Pacific men’s soccer team found success in its first season as a full member of the NCAA Divi-sion II. The team finished with a 14-3 (11-1 PacWest) record and the Pac-West championship.

The team then earned the second seed in the West Region in the play-offs, which allowed it to host the first and second rounds of tournament.

“Definitely was a very success-ful season, both in conference and in the region,” said head coach Dave Blomquist. “I was really pleased with the performance of the guys, and they did a great job of coming together as a team on and off the field, which was the reason for a lot of our success.”

The Cougars began the year with a win over Cal State Dominquez Hills, which was ranked fifth in the West Region. They followed that with a 2-1 win over Simon Fraser, ranked second nationally at the time.

These wins established the tone for the Cougars' season. The team proved that it were among the best in the West Region.

The team entered conference play 3-1. The team dropped its only conference game to Hawaii Pacific in early October before winning 10 straight games to finish the regular season.

After having a bye in the first round, the Cougars lost 1-0 in a thrill-

Landon Trokaguest writer

er in the second round to third-seed-ed, eventual West Region champion Cal State LA.

The season was characterized by one-goal games. Thirteen of the team's first 14 contests were decided by a single score, including three overtime wins.

“Overall, our experience with one-goal games was positive,” Blomquist said. “The fact that we can win one-goal games shows the team could respond in positive ways to tough situations [and is a] testament to teamwork and perseverance.”

Blomquist was named PacWest coach of the year. The team was char-acterized by stout defense and dy-namic offense.

The Cougars allowed 15 goals, the fewest in the PacWest. Junior defenders Raul Martinez, Dane John-son and sophomore defender Chris Brusenbeck each earned All-PacWest honors. Martinez earned a third-team nod, Johnson second-team, and Brusenback earned a first-team spot as well as PacWest defender of the year.

“Defense was one of our strengths from the front three through the midfield and into the back four and keeper; as a team we defended well,” Blomquist said.

On top of PacWest honors, Brusenbeck and Martinez earned All-West region spots. Brusenbeck was a first-team selection, and Martinez was awarded a second-team one.

Sophomore keeper Tyler Jaramil-lo allowed just 15 goals in 17 games. He led the conference in goals against average.

Offensively, the Cougars were dynamic. The team had six players with double-digit points on the year. Junior forward Keenan Armbrust, a second-team All-PacWest and first

team All-West region selection, led the team with 18 points on six goals and six assists. Both marks led the team.

Sophomore midfielder Luke Ackerman, first-team PacWest, also contributed six goals and two assists. Junior forward Carlos Garcia-Partida earned first-team PacWest honors with his five goals, four of which were game-winners.

Junior Keyran Kelly and fresh-man Kaleb Armbrust were the final members of the Cougars' offensive group that finished second in total goals and second in scoring average

Team expected to return six all-conference selections, lose Bishop

Blake Standal PHOTO Keenan Armbrust heads for the ball in a game against Academy of Art Oct. 30. He had an assist in the game, one out of six total for the season.

Katie Richcreeksports editor

Cougars recover from shaky start to finish with winning record

Women’s soccer rebuild defense, finish third in PacWest

in the conference. Kelly added four goals and four

assists and Armbrust contributed three goals and five assists.

Despite these lofty numbers, Blomquist found room for improve-ment: “We want to build on the con-sistency and danger on the attack, games or stretches of games where we were extremely dangerous, and there were stretches where there wasn’t the sharpness and precision and coordination that we strive for."

The lone senior on the team, Jeremy Bishop, earned second team All-PacWest honors after contribut-

ing five goals and two assists. He also acted as the Cougars’ captain throughout the year.

As Bishop is the only graduating senior, the team will return everyone else.

This is promising for the Cou-gars, as they look to continue the suc-cess of this year.

"I expect next year’s group to build upon the success of this season, not to take anything for granted but continue to work hard to get better," Blomquist said. "That’s the type of team we will be: always striving to perform at a higher level."

Blake Standal PHOTO Mayra Almazan in a game against Point Loma Sept. 27. She earned PacWest first-team honors this year.

Azusa Pacific women’s soccer experienced its worst season start (0-4) under the direction of head coach Jason Surrell, who took the helm of the program in 2000.

While three of the four losses were to teams who appeared in the 2013 Division II Women’s Soccer Tournament, things looked dim for the defending PacWest champions. Senior forward Amanda Hardy de-scribed the losses as “ego-rattling.”

The team went on from its rough start to take two wins against Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State LA before beginning confer-ence play.

After dropping the first two con-ference games to the eventual 2014 PacWest Champions Point Loma and Hawaii Pacific and settling for a double-overtime draw against Hawaii Hilo, the Cougars went on to win eight of the nine remaining games. The team ended the season 10-7-1 overall and tied for third in the PacWest at 8-3-1.

“It would have been so easy to fall and cave into the losses,” Amanda Hardy said. “We’ve been a part of an amazing program that has

really only known success, so it was definitely a weird position to be in.”

Between graduating four-year defenders Danielle Ross, Natalie Nick and Allie Stone last season and unexpected injuries, the Cougars were forced to find a new, workable defensive line. Players were asked to move positions to accommodate the changes. For example, sopho-more Lindsay Ryals played the previous season as a forward and senior Logan Chan transitioned into the center back position.

“This year we didn’t have that maturity in the beginning. This sea-son became a rebuilding year of the defense,” Amanda Hardy said. “As an offensive group, we didn’t make it any easier on them by not scoring and giving them a cushion.”

The Cougars did not find the back of the net until the fourth game into the season.

“It was huge to be mentally in the game for 90 minutes,” said se-nior forward Shannon Hardy. “A lot of why it was so frustrating for

us at the beginning of the season was that we would look at the stats and we would be outshooting the other teams, getting more corners, out-possessing them – but it would come down to one person not fin-ishing.”

The Cougars began to find their rhythm up front as the year pro-gressed, outscoring their opponents 25-12 and leading the conference second in shots taken, averaging 7.22 shots on goal per game.

Almost simultaneously, the de-

fensive line began to strengthen and went on to record 10 shutouts, al-lowing just one goal in its final 10 games.

This season the Cougars gradu-ate four seniors: Amanda Hardy, Shannon Hardy, Alyx Williams and Chan.

While Williams and the Hardy sisters did make significant offen-sive contributions, collectively ac-counting for eight of the team’s 25 season goals, the Cougars do expect to return offensive weapons Mayra Almazan and Katelyn Rogers up front.

Almazan, who received Pac-West first-team and West Region second-team honors, led the Cougar offense with seven goals and four assists. The sophomore was also first in shots and shots per game in conference with 74 total. Rog-ers was second on the team in goals with five.

Chan, a PacWest first-team se-lection, led the defense to its shut-outs and the second-best goals-against average in the conference.

While the back line will lose one of its most valuable assets, the defense is expected to return Haley Arft and Hayley Patterson, who started 14 of the 18 games this season. Patterson also received Pac-West honorable mention.

The Cougars are also expected to return goalkeeper Zoey Bauman to the net. The freshman recorded a 0.12 goals-against average in her nine games and eight starts.

THECLAUSE.ORG/SPORTS Clause WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3, 2014 11

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRYThe Azusa Pacific women’s cross

country team finished second in the PacWest, just 59 seconds behind 2014 PacWest Champions California Baptist at the conference championship meet before going on to finish ninth at the NCAA Division II Cross Country West Regional Championships Nov. 22. The Cougars finished within 13 points of the sixth-place Western Washington team, which received the final team qualifier for the national meet.

“It’s a tough region,” said head coach Preston Grey. “We knew it would be really close in those last couple spots.”

Senior transfer Staci Foster, Pac-West newcomer of the year, did se-cure an individual qualification for nationals at the meet. She finished in the sixth position overall, just 17 seconds behind the meet’s first-place finisher, Katelyn Steen from Western Washington. Foster will compete at the NCAA national championship meet Dec. 6 in Louisville, Kentucky.

This has been Foster’s goal since her freshman year at the University of Colorado, where she spent four sea-

sons training with the Buffs before transferring to APU.

“She brought that experience that you could only get at those top pro-grams and that was huge,” Grey said. “It’s been great for the young girls to learn from her.”

The women’s squad will lose Foster as well as seniors Kristie Sikma, Elle Farrar and Elizabeth Ly-ons. Sikma was a second-team All-PacWest selection this season while Lyons was named to the third team.

The Cougars, however, will re-turn freshman Eileen Stressling and sophomore Kylie Betts, who were the squad’s second- and third-team fin-

Cross country squads becoming competitive Division II programs

ishers at the regional meet. Stressling was selected to the second-team All-PacWest, while Betts was selected to the third-team All-PacWest.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRYThe men’s cross country team

finished third in the conference be-fore recording a ninth-place finish at the regional meet. California Baptist was the only PacWest squad at re-gionals to claim a team qualification for nationals.

“We’re in the toughest region in Division II,” said senior Peter Bus-check. “With that, it’s going to be more difficult to qualify for nationals,

Katie Richcreeksports editor

Ninth-place regional finishes place men’s, women’s teams three spots away from nationals

but if this year is any indication of fu-ture years, they should be encouraged and fired up because our freshman had good races and that shows they can compete under pressure.”

Freshman Jeremy Porter was the team’s top finisher at the regional meet, coming in 27th overall. Porter was joined by two other freshmen in the team’s top-five finishers: Cody Drisko and Hunter Gulino.

The squad was just one minute and 25 seconds in collective time behind the sixth-place Simon Fraser squad that sealed the regional meet’s final national qualifier.

“We learned how close we are –

we’re on the right track,” Grey said. “Couple things go a little differently at regionals and we’re going to na-tionals. We’re on the cusp.”

While the squad will lose Bus-check, a first-team All-PacWest selec-tion, it’s expected to bring back the freshmen class as well as sophomore Kyle Bueckert, who was another steady top finisher for the Cougars, coming in third of the team’s top five at regionals. Porter, Drisko and Bueckert each are on the All-PacWest third-team.

“We’re one or two guys away from really, really being good,” Grey said. “With recruiting, we’re going to be re-ally tough these next couple years.”

APU Sports Information COURTESYSophomore Kylie Betts (left) finishes second in team’s top-five while Staci Foster (right) leads the way at the regional meet on Nov. 22.

APU Sports Information COURTESYFreshman Cody Drisko (left), Jeremy Porter (center), Kyle Bueckert (right) compete at the regional meet in Billings, Mont.

THECLAUSE.ORG/SPORTS Clause WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3, 2014 12

Cory Millerstaff writer

Azusa Pacific volleyball had a challenging year, finishing with a 14-15 overall record. The Cougars start-ed the season with eight straight road games during the Seaside Invitational and the PacWest GNAC challenge, and finished the road cycle with three wins and five losses.

“We lost a few key players last year. I knew that we had a team that was coming into it that had a lot of talent,” said head coach Chris Keife. “My expectations were to see where we were and establish who we are as a fairly younger team with some girls in new positions and try to mesh on the court as quickly as we can.”

After the rough start, the Cougars battled back and got their record up to 11-7 overall and 7-2 in the PacWest. Unfortunately, a six-game losing streak followed, when the Cougars were swept five of those games.

“It was really tough during that losing streak,” junior outside hitter Mattie Shelford said. “We definitely learned a lot of valuable lessons dur-ing that time and came together as a team to get over those losses.”

In the six-game losing streak, all but one came on the road, including a four-game trip to Hawaii in which the

Cougars came away with one win, then three tough games against California Baptist, Point Loma and Fresno Pacific.

The Cougars ended the season on a relatively high note by defeat-ing powerhouse BYU-Hawaii in five sets, sweeping California Baptist, then losing to Point Loma in five sets.

“I think it was really important for us to end the season that way. We would have liked to have beaten Point Loma, but we were thrilled to sweep CBU,” senior right side hitter Haley Beetstra said.

The Cougars will go into next sea-son with seven players entering their senior year, including Shelford, Joy Reinke and setter Jaden Louie, who have all been important parts of the team since joining the program. The Cougars are hoping that this season’s difficulties will translate into success next year.

Shelford earned PacWest acco-lades for her stellar performance dur-ing the 2014 season, earning second-team all-conference off her team-high 323 kills, a .242 kill percentage and 50 blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Ashley Midland also earned PacWest recognition, earning an honorable mention for the conference.

The team will graduate seniors Beetstra, Alicia Utke, Tristan Racich and Cori Esparza. Utke led the Cou-gars second in kills (229) and digs (318) this season while Beetstra con-tributed 112 kills and Racich recorded 383 assists.

Volleyball ends season with even 10-10 PacWest record

Kimberly Smith PHOTOThe team will return junior outside hitter Joy Reinke, who finished third in kills for the Cougars with 174.

Football has exceptional season despite no playoff chanceLooking back on achievements and forward to life without Watson

Kaity Bergquistassistant sports editor

Despite winning 10 of 11 games, taking the GNAC championship and at one point holding the bragging rights to the NCAA’s top rusher, Azusa Pacific’s football team did not make the playoffs in its first season as a full Division II member.

In the selection show on Nov. 15, the Cougars did not get a playoff spot because they were not in the top six in Super Region Three.

This ending to the season was not expected by the team, which had its second consecutive 10-game winning season. APU was undefeated in con-ference.

The Cougars started the season

strong with a 26-23 win in double overtime against then-No. 2 ranked Grand Valley State in a nationally tele-vised game. Senior running back Ter-rell Watson had three touchdowns and rushed for 202 yards in the victory.

The team’s next game was its first and only loss of the season, a 30-10 defeat by Humboldt State on the road. Four games later, the teams met again, and the Cougars handed HSU a 55-21 loss.

“The Humboldt loss was a huge slap in the face,” head coach Victor Santa Cruz said. “These young guys experienced the mountaintop the week before, and then they were in the valley the next. It woke them up to the reality of how tough college football is.”

After that first loss, the team won its next nine games to finish the season, including two victories each over Simon Fraser and Dixie State. The Cougars ended the season with a 54-0 victory over Menlo College at home.

“We committed to the fundamen-

tals,” Santa Cruz said. “The players and coaches adopted a hungry-and-humble attitude. They didn’t take practice for granted, and that showed up.”

Watson ended the season with 2,153 rushing yards and overwhelm-ingly led the team in touchdowns with 29 total. The second-highest scorers for the Cougars were junior wide receiver Tanner Henry and freshman quarterback Chad Jeffries. Watson was named GNAC Offensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row.

Santa Cruz was GNAC co-Coach of the Year. Other players earning conference honors included Cody Clay and Grant Widmer on first-team offense. On first-team de-fense were Tyler Thornton, Steven Fanua and David Kafovalu. On the offense second team were Jaylen Crutchfield and Ahmad Sunda. C.J. Broussard was on the second-team defense. Earning honorable men-tions were Jeffries, Henry and Ron-ald Douglas.

In addition, 11 Cougars earned a spot on the 2014 GNAC Academic All-Conference team.

On offense, Jeffries threw for 1,606 yards over the season. He start-ed 10 of the team’s 11 games. He also threw for 11 touchdowns. However, the team will be losing linemen like Watson and Clay, which will be a big hole to fill going into next season.

“Our offense grew every game, every practice,” Watson said. “Now looking back, there were 11 guys willing to play for each other and fo-cus on their job to get it done.”

The team’s defense finished with the ninth-highest turnover margin in Division II. Led by se-niors Fanua and Thornton, some of the top defensive performers were relatively young, like sophomores Broussard and Jonathan Thropay. Fanua had 93 total tackles while Thornton had 68. Thornton had four interceptions.

“I think our last game is really where we came together,” Thornton said. “As a defense, we grew, and it

showed.” The loss of these seniors is going

to be significant for the team, but the return of younger players like Brous-sard will help keep the defensive excellence going. The defense only allowed 222 points as opposed to APU’s 387 scored.

“The defense has grown a lot,” Watson said. “Grand Valley to Men-lo, they’ve gotten really good at what they do.”

The team now faces a new season without Watson.

“Losing Terrell is obviously a big loss,” Santa Cruz said. “There will never be another Terrell, but Terrell and these seniors are passing on a legacy of what it takes to be a cham-pion on and off the field.”

Santa Cruz said the coaches de-cided to redshirt their 2014 class this year. He also said that their recruiting is picking up.

“It was a great season overall,” Watson said. “We controlled what we could control. We played every game knowing the next isn’t promised.”

Blake Standal PHOTOJunior defensive end Matthew Hackett gets a hand on Western Oregon’s potential game-winning field goal with just over 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The Cougars barely edged the Wolves 19-18 in the Nov. 1 matchup, after the defense held onto the one-point lead gained with Terrell Watson’s 80-yard touchdown rush just two minutes before.

Team takes away valuable lessons