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'Kill la Kill' full series review: sick karate fights

By
Mike Cosimano
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When I die in some manner of an action movie-esque fight scene (I’m hoping for a sick karate fight) and the story of my life is a footnote in some film student’s thesis about sick karate fights, I would like them to note that I took not one, but two opportunities to write about the Japanese animated television show, “Kill la Kill,” for an otherwise professional institution. These are resources created for the expressed purpose of creating an excellent paper, and I’m using it to talk about how Zoolander meets Sailor Moon.

Anyway, I’m going to assume you’ve read my review of the show’s first half because there won’t be much in the way of recap here. Short version: clothes exist because of alien fibers, the main villain is basically Anime Lady Mugatu and people get basically naked before punching each other through walls.

There are many times in my “Kill la Kill” mid-season review where I expressed both anticipation for the show’s concluding episodes and concern over the possible exploitation of female characters. I’ll be continuing both threads here, so if you’re just looking for a quick recommendation, I’m sorry to disappoint. I love the show but there’s a good chance you’ll hate it.

In my mid-season review, I said that your interpretation of the skimpy outfits comes down to how much faith you put in this production, but my stance has somewhat changed. Personally, I think “Kill la Kill” is about body positivity (inasmuch as a show that only exists because “fashion” and “facisim” sound the same in Japanese can be really “about” anything) but that fan service still exists.

Intention and context are definitely important, but the cheesecake is still there. You can argue there’s some underlying thematic context and hey, maybe you’re right. But women in this show barely wear clothes. In fairness, “Kill la Kill” may be one of the few shows that (after Episode Three, as I said in my previous review) straddles the line between objectification and sexualization. Yes, the women have skimpy clothes, but they’re not usually objects for men to leer at within the reality of the show.

When protagonist Ryuko activates her sentient uniform’s latent powers, she goes from clothed to barely covered. But this transformation usually precedes a sick karate fight of some kind, so is “Kill la Kill” sexist or just a little too preoccupied with breasts? I don’t know, and I’m not the right person to answer that question. It is just something to think about.

In fairness, it’s a little difficult to consider big topics like objectification when the action and character beats are this spectacula. “Kill la Kill” spends each new installment one-upping itself, leaving viewers drooling with anticipation for the next episode.

What makes “Kill la Kill” so effective is very simple: context. The world of Honnouji Academy is not a large one, so once the players and tools have been properly introduced, the show spends the rest of its time messing around with the stuff it already has.

New elements are certainly introduced, preventing the show from stagnating, but the new wrinkles have ties to characters or things we’ve already seen. “Kill la Kill” is more about shuffling the deck than adding new cards. It pushes the existing aspects to their logical extremes, having wrung every last drop when the show’s finale rolls around.

“Kill la Kill” has its problems, most of which I – as a man – am unequipped to properly tackle. But as a story – as a dumb, ridiculous, insane series of escalating fights attached to a story – it “gets” episodic storytelling in a way most shows don’t. “Kill la Kill” was created with an end in mind. It doesn’t have to worry about renewal. It doesn’t end on a cliffhanger. It is a full, episodic story.

And that’s sicker than a sick karate fight.

Mike Cosimano is a first-year psychology major. He can be reached at cosimanowhite@oxy.edu or on Twitter @WklyMCosimano.


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Web update, faculty search processes highlight deans' second diversity converstaion

By
Sarah Corsa
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Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs Hanna Spinosa and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Jorge Gonzalez delivered a presentation at the second campus-wide diversity conversation of the semester Thursday. The two deans provided updates on the progress that has been made since the last diversity meeting on March 25. Over 70 people attended the meeting, including students, faculty and staff.

Spinosa began her presentation by reiterating her point from the March 25 meeting that although interactional diversity is more important than structural diversity, there must be structural diversity before the deeper issues of inclusion on campus can be addressed.

“Diversity is not a product – it’s a process,” Spinosa said.

Spinosa reviewed the revised diversity section of the website, including its new location under the “Our Story” tab rather than the “Life at Oxy” tab. Subsections will include pages specifically addressing student and faculty experiences, campus climate and program diversity.

Audience members suggested moving the diversity page to the main menu on the website rather than including it within a tab. They also proposed incorporating within each subheading blog-like content by students and faculty about their experiences relating to diversity at Occidental.

Next, Spinosa reviewed the Diverse Learning Environments Survey currently open to students. At the time of the meeting, 21.3 percent of students had responded, but according to Spinosa, a 60 percent response rate would make the survey more comprehensive and reliable. She reminded the attendants that the questions were developed by Higher Education Research Institute and not Occidental staff.

In Gonzalez’s portion of the presentation, he addressed faculty search processes, the possibility of an African/a American studies major, faculty handbook revisions, the creation of a Chief Diversity Officer position and the implementation of an Intergroup Dialogue class for faculty similar to the one offered to students.

Throughout the meeting, Spinosa and Gonzalez fielded questions from students, faculty and staff about the administration’s approach to making the campus more diverse and supportive for underrepresented minority students. Many questions asked about the inclusion of various identities such as sexual orientation and gender expression and about the intersection of racial and economic identities.

At one point, Gonzalez expressed a desire to establish a group of students and faculty to work together and discuss issues of diversity. When asked whether the Coalition at Oxy for Diversity and Equity (C.O.D.E.) fulfilled this desire, Gonzalez responded that the group is not representative of the entire community and that certain administrators should be involved as well.

Many larger questions were left unanswered after this hour long meeting, such as what constitutes equity and success and how the college can help underrepresented minorities thrive rather than just survive.

The meeting ended with students suggesting alternatives such as a blog or forum instead of emails for updating the student body on these issues. There was a general consensus that these types of campus-wide conversations that include staff, faculty, students and administrators were the most productive forum for discussing issues of diversity at Occidental.

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World News Issue 7

By
Ximena Santiago
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India. Judges asked President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Narayanaswami Srinivasanwas to step down last Saturday amid allegations of corruption. The Srinvasan family firm’s involvement in betting on Indian Premier League (IPL) games was deemed a conflict of interest. The controversy has sparked intense criticism from Indian cricket fans. Srinivasanwas denies any wrongdoing, although an investigation of all officials and cricket teams is ongoing. The Indian Supreme Court assigned Sunil Gavaskar the position of president of the BCCI. He will oversee the IPL’s new season until April 16.

BBC and The Economist

Cairo. The Egyptian Elections Commission set the country’s next presidential elections for May 26 and 27. Commentators predict that voters will elect Egyptian military commander Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. While he was hesitant to declare his candidacy, forcing the EEC to postpone the April elections until May, el-Sisi remains the most popular candidate. He is an ex-military commander known for his independent agenda. El-Sisi headed a coup against Mohamed Morsi last July, who was removed from office that same month. This will be the second free presidential election following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.

Los Angeles Times

Paris. For the first time in the city’s history, Paris will have a female mayor. Anne Hidalgo, currently the deputy mayor to the outgoing Bertrand Delanoe, beat Natalie Kosciusko-Morizet in last Sunday’s election. Kosciusko-Morizet, the more conservative of the two candidates, worked as a minister under former president Nicolas Sarkozy. Mayor-elect Hidalgo, a socialist, immigrated from Spain as a young child and won by a significant margin. Women currently make up 13.9 percent of local government officials and 26 percent of the National Assembly. Hidalgo plans to establish a new investment program to create more housing and green spaces in the city.

Washington Post and CNN

Brazil. Military forces began an intensive slum clean-up program in preparation for the 2014 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup. The slum pacification program focuses on areas surrounding Rio de Janeiro, a popular tourist destination for visiting soccer fans and the site of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The main goal is to drive out as many gangs and militia possibly related to drug trafficking as possible. Helicopters and armed officers are entering large slums, colloquially referred to as “favelas,” and seizing weapons in an effort to reduce crime rates. No shots at civilians have been fired. The World Cup begins June 14.

Daily Mail UK and CBS News


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Vintage shopping tips and tricks

By
Noel Hemphill
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This past Sunday in Burbank, Calif., an enormous vintage fashion and textile show took over the Pickwick Gardens Conference Center. Two large ball rooms were transformed into show space where pop up displays of vintage clothing, accessories and housewares were covering every foot of space. It was a mesmerizing assortment of the best and worst from every decade in every color imaginable, and every bit of it was for sale.

Collectors and fashionistas scrutinized the racks carefully, and with plenty of reason to do so: Buying vintage is a challenge. Vintage clothing is always going to be a cool alternative to buying things off the rack in a department store, and doing so is a sustainable way to shop as well. However, finding quality vintage clothing at the right price is an up hill battle. That is why after years of sifting through racks and bins in various vintage shops, I have learned several important things to look out for when shopping looks from time gone past.

1. Have a plan and do your research.

When you first step into the moth ball-scented aroma of a vintage shop, it is easy to become overwhelmed. This is why you have to have an idea of what you are looking for and come prepared with research on vintage clothing. If you are looking for a women’s cocktail dress, know your measurements and what decade has the right shape dresses for what you have in mind. Many stores will have items organized by decade and by waist or hip measurements, and this can help you focus your shopping. If you are looking for a kind of costume jewelry – a speciality in vintage stores – make sure you know what kind of style you want and check that the gems and metal used are genuine. If you are looking for a specific vintage designer piece, absolutely make sure to research how to tell if something is a genuine product. A lot of retailers will claim they are selling you a genuine designer item, but often there are clues to prove that the item is a fake. This can be anything from stitching to a serial number inside the bag. Check anything and everything before buying to ensure you get the real deal.

2. Look at seams, hems and zippers.

By definition, a vintage item is old. It has likely been worn by someone else and you have no idea how they treated their clothes. Maybe they were extremely careful, and had their beaded dresses reinforced by a tailor after every wear but more likely, they wore their clothes, hung them up and didn’t think about the upkeep of the item. You may very well fall in love with something that has a hem that is three stitches away from falling apart and looking like a ragged mess. There could be a seam that has been stressed by wear that could burst open and leave you embarrassed. The zipper could be altogether broken. These are all wardrobe malfunctions in the making and not something you should be spending money on. Look for items that have clean, neat stitching along the hems and seams and for zippers that run smoothly without any snags.

3. Check for frays.

A gorgeous cashmere sweater that has grown only softer and more perfect with time can easily be found in a vintage store. But what else can be found? That teeny little fray that, if caught on something, could snag the entire sweater into rags. You wanted a sweater, not a ball of yarn, so check to make sure there aren’t any threads dangling or embellishments falling off an item. That fun little flapper dress you could be eyeing might be one bead away from losing a whole layer of tassels; or that one little thread you happen to pull one day could make an entire sleeve come off. Make absolutely certain that whatever you are buying doesn’t have a fray or missing bead to speak of – you wouldn’t spend money on something falling apart in a normal store, and in a vintage shop your standard should be no different.

4. Leave some trends behind for good.

It is in the natural cycle of fashion that some looks come back into style. Currently, the crop tops of the ’90s and floral patterns of the ’80s are majorly trendy, but clearly some other styles and fabrics will never return. The polyester and flannel used heavily throughout the ’70s are just as unflattering and smelly as it was then. Hoop skirts and other structured skirts are still as difficult to manage as they were in the height of their use, and absolutely more ridiculous looking. Those itchy wool dresses frequently seen on Mad Men have been re-engineered now to be soft and breathable. Power suits with enormous shoulder pads and boxy shapes that dominated the ’80s and ’90s wardrobe of industrious females are still uncomfortable and still give you inhumane shoulder-to-waist ratios. These are just a few looks from the past that unless worn for a costume should stay far away from your closet.

5. Never, ever buy undergarments or swim suits.
This means any sort of underwear, bikinis, one-pieces, lingerie and even some pajamas. If it has come that close to someone else’s body, it should not come that close to yours. In the same way that you don’t know how someone treated their clothes, you don’t know what the previous owner’s hygiene habits were like. Ick.

Noel Hemphill is a junior ECLS major. She can be reached at hemphill@oxy.edu or on Twitter @WklyNHemphill.

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International journalist connects with Occidental students

By
Juliet Suess
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Renowned journalist and Director of Publications at Yale University’s Center for the Study of Globalization Nayan Chanda came to Occidental on Tuesday to discuss his journalism career and the significance of globalization. Ambassador and Diplomacy and World Affairs Professor Derek Shearer organized Chanda’s visit, which consisted of both a school-wide presentation and a more informal conversation with a small group of students.

While on campus, Chanda sat down with students to discuss his career, what he had learned through his work and the future careers of students. Part of the discussion focused on the soft power of India, Chanda’s birthplace. He discussed the connection between this soft power and the widespread practice of yoga, the popularization of various India-based movies (like “Life of Pi” or “Slumdog Millionaire”) and the proliferation of Gandhi’s teachings.

Following the discussion, he gave a presentation in Choi Auditorium open to all students.

Chanda’s latest book “Bound Together: How Traders, Preachers, Warriors and Adventurers Shaped Globalization” was published in 2007 after returning from his time as a journalist in Southeast Asia. The book explores globalization from the first days of humanity to the modern age of technology. Shearer considers the book a “must-read” for everyone.

Chanda’s media-filled presentation, entitled Visualizing Globalization: Bound Together in the 21st Century, highlighted the connecting forces of globalization from antiquity to the present.

“[Globalization] is an enduring trend to reconnect human communities with a thickening web and increasing speed, creating in the process global awareness,” Chanda said.

Chanda made it clear that globalization is not an exclusively modern phenomenon, explaining that the first examples of globalization can be traced to the nomadic processes of early humans. Chanda substantiated this claim with examples from across history. Examples ranged from the global path of coffee, spices and other ancient trade items to modern goods such as Boeing aircrafts and Apple products. He came to the conclusion that today’s globalization is distinct from that of the ancient world in many ways, but that it is a process that is here to stay.


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'Organic is a polluted word'

By
Ben Poor
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“Catch up,” I mutter to myself, thinking of an old joke as I continue searching amongst the well-sized leaves. At last, I see a bright red tomato. I pluck it and turn around when an Indian woman stands with a humorous smile on her face and a large basket filled with very few tomatoes. Her smile, I suspect, is less for the joke I just told and more for the work habits of my fellow day farmers. Most of my companions have already retreated to the shade at the sides of the field, leaving many tomatoes to be picked by the hired staff. We are lazy, I decide, and head for the clay cisterns filled with water.

I spent last Sunday on a small farm an hour outside of Hyderabad learning the secrets of organic farming thanks to the organization, Farm Tours. Along with several other American students, Indian businessmen and one young family, we picked tomatoes, cabbages and had a generally bougie experience while trying not to get in the way of the real workers carrying on around us. The farm belongs to, no lie, Farmer John, a techie who simultaneously worked at Dell while managing this farm. While my farm knowledge is limited to denying my friends’ invitations to harvest crops with them on Facebook, I thought I’d reach out to my more agriculturally-minded friends to compare the Indian organic farming experience to the United States.

In both the U.S. and India, I learned, “organic” has less to do with the farming processes and more to do with federal processes.

“Organic certification is a bunch of government regulations,” Martha Abbott, an Occidental student taking time off from college to pursue an interest in food studies, said.

Even more, getting that certification “does not, by any means, ensure the vegetables are up to snuff or the land is properly treated,” according to Abbott. In India, there are over 3,000 tribal farmers whose work could be certified organic, but lack the knowledge, financial resources and probable desire to be recognized by the government. Describing his own struggles with the local agricultural board, Farmer John grumbled, “organic is a polluted word.”

Beyond a distaste for government regulations, the Indian organic farmer shares several aspects with those in the U.S.. According to undeclared first-year Madison Rudd, who spent last summer on an organic farm in Williams, Ore., two traits her coworkers shared were a desire to live away from the city and financial independence. In Medchal, many of the businessmen present sought to follow in Farmer John’s footsteps, expressed an ahistorical desire to return to the low-stress and low-pollution lifestyle of their village ancestors.

Other similarities include soil additives (Fish emulsion is popular), and the clientele of the organic farms (Some of the these similarities might come from the fact that Farmer John learns tips and tricks from Western organic farming videos on Youtube). Farmer John’s produce is exclusively bought by upper class Indians.

“I find those who understand what organic is, and are willing to pay premium prices for it,” Farmer John said.

Many of those people have also spent time in the U.S.. A fellow farm tour participant, who had just moved her family from Atlanta back to India, represented that population.

“Organic comes from a problem,” she said, describing the growing desire among certain people for clean, guaranteed safe food.

Not everything mirrored the world of American organic farming. While Farmer John claimed to have done the watering in the morning while we were there, he was rather hands off. The work we saw was done by one man and several women, all middle aged and from a lower caste than the owner. This contrasts Rudd’s experience on her farm, where the average worker was in their mid-20’s to early-30’s, held a college degree and was committed to “counter-lifestyles,” according to Rudd. Counter-lifestyle is probably not a word that comes up to often in the lives of Farmer John’s workers.

Several key contradictions underscore my experience on the farm. The businessmen seeking a clean, quiet life are only able to pursue these dreams because of the financial independence they’ve achieved working in their hectic, high-pollution, high-paying IT jobs in Hyderabad. The mother who wants her family to eat organic foods. Would she be concerned about organic had she never lived in America? Who shoulders the blame for the creation of the “problem” that pushes her to desire “organic” today? Why does Farmer John turn to Youtube for farming practices, rather than the native farmers whose techniques have met certified organic standards for centuries?

All in all, the GI-Joe takeaway message is the label doesn’t really matter if you don’t know where your food comes from. In the words of Farmer John: “Know your farmer, know your food.”

For a different angle on this phenomenon on a different continent, check out La Loba Loca’s Reclaiming Abuelita Knowledge As A Brown Ecofeminista.

Ben Poor is a junior American Studies major studying abroad in Hyderabad, India during the Spring 2014 Semester. He can be reached at benpoor1@gmail.com or on Twitter @WklyBPoor.


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ASOC to vote on making Bike Share full student service

By
Lena Smith
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The Associated Students of Occidental College (ASOC) Senate will vote on Monday on whether or not to turn Bike Share into an official student service.Bike Share, which currently repairs and rents out bikes for up to 12 hours per week, will receive a larger budget directly from ASOC, be open more hours and expand its repair services if the vote passes. Bike Share leaders hope the organization can move to the Bengal Room to accommodate these changes.

The members of Bike Share sent an official proposal to become a student service to ASOC last month, describing its role on campus and outlining three possible budget scenarios in which the group would increase its hours, repair services and number of bikes, so it can service more students. Bike Share manager and geology major Robin Bruns (junior) would like to see it open five days per week with mechanics always present, a level of operation that is not possible with its current funding.

“Student services have campus-wide recognition and are incorporated into orientation material and regular school notifications,” the members of Bike Share wrote in their report to ASOC. “Gaining recognition as a student service will allow Bike Share to involve more students and garner more interest in biking in L.A. Bike Share would also expect support from [Office of Student Life] staff and ASOC.”

In an election at the end of last semester, Occidental students demonstrated overwhelming support for making Bike Share a student service, according to ASOC Vice President of Internal Affairs and politics major John O’Neill (senior) in a Dec. 3 article by The Occidental Weekly.

If the vote passes, Bike Share would become a student service at the beginning of the fall 2014 semester and have its budget set when the senate creates next year’s ASOC budget at the end of the current semester. Currently, Bike Share applies for funding through the Renewable Energy and Sustainability Fund (RESF) on an as-needed basis and often waits weeks to have a budget approved. If it is upgraded to a full student service, Bike Share hopes to open at the start of the semester and immediately implement the plans it outlined in its proposal to ASOC.

The New Student Services Committee, comprised of the ASOC Governing Committee and two Honor Board jurors, voted unanimously on March 20 to bring Bike Share’s proposal before the whole senate. In the upcoming vote, two-thirds of the senate’s 13 votes are required to make Bike Share a student service, following a new procedure written by O’Neill and approved with minor changes by the senate.

O’Neill, who has taken advantage of Bike Share’s repair services himself,hopes that ASOC will turn Bike Share into a student service in order to make getting off campus and exploring Los Angeles more realistic for Occidental students. According to O’Neill, the work that Bike Share does complements the values of the Occidental community.

“It just fits in with so many things that we support: sustainability, getting students off campus, living a healthy lifestyle,” O’Neill said.

Moving to a more central location on campus is a priority for Bike Share, according to Bruns. It has an ongoing petition with over 200 signatures to demonstrate student interest in relocating the Bike Cage to the Bengal Room in Johnson Student Center. Currently, Bike Share’s headquarters are tucked into a corner of the Berkus Hall garage. In a survey sent out by Bike Share on Feb. 4, students suggested that they would be more likely to utilize its services if it was in a more convenient location. Numerous students offered suggestions for new locations, including the Bengal Room.

Bruns envisions transforming the Bengal Room into a gateway to L.A. for students who want to explore the city using public transportation and services offered by Occidental, such as Bike Share and the Bengal Bus. An employee would oversee bike rentals and also answer questions about navigating L.A.

“We’d love to keep the hangout atmosphere of having just an open space, open couches; anything can happen there,” Bruns said. “But we really want to inspire people to get off campus and explore L.A. It would be cool to have some kind of interactive map showing where people have gone, what they recommend.”

Members of ASOC are currently considering potential options for the Bengal Room renovation and will include Bike Share in their discussion, according Sophomore ASOC Senator and Diplomacy and World Affairs major Chris Weeks (sophomore).

“Seeing as Bike Share has done substantial work to collect hundreds of student signatures, I feel that it is our duty as student representatives to be open to the idea of incorporating Bike Share into the space,” Weeks said in an email. “I think it needs to be part of a larger conversation, and I hope as a Senate we invite Bike Share in to have a conversation about their ideas.”

UPDATE: The ASOC bike share vote passed 11-0 in favor of bike share becoming a student service. 

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Campus Dining improves data on student dietary preferences

By
Noel Hemphill
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Campus Dining conducted a four-day survey last week to collect data on student eating preferences. Campus Dining officials plan to use the results, along with sales data, to help shape future menus and decide which food items to stock at the Marketplace, Tiger Cooler, Coffee Cart and Green Bean.

“We have never been able to figure out exactly what student diets are like, and this survey will really help,” Associate Vice President for Hospitality Services Amy Muñoz said.

Campus Dining began planning the survey last September in conjunction with the Campus Dining working group. The working group is a subset of the Campus Dining committee that meets monthly to discuss the foods offered to students at each of the on-campus dining venues. The group is comprised of various individuals from across the Occidental community, including faculty, Campus Dining staff, students on each of the four meal plans (A, B, C and D), off-campus students and student-athletes. Student representatives from the Office of Student Life, Associated Students of Occidental College, VegHeads Club and Green Bean are also represented in the working group.

Alongside Muñoz, the group has been working to craft the survey to be easy for students to answer and dining staff to administer. During check-out at each dining location on campus, computer notifications prompted staff members to ask students about their dietary preferences and have them answer with one of six options: vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, no red meat, omnivore and no response. These options were chosen by the VegHead members, who were able to narrow down the list to the most common dietary preferences.

Muñoz reported a response rate of over 50 percent from students within the first day of the survey.

Campus Dining Marketing Intern and biochemistry major Matt Ginley-Hidinger (junior) explained that this survey will be useful to both Campus Dining and to students. Students are able to express their dietary preferences and Campus Dining is able to hear from students beyond those who use the online suggestion box. The suggestion box allows students to propose any ideas of foods to be served, and Campus Dining staff review suggestions at the end of each week.

“There is a major disconnect between what Campus Dining is trying to do and what students want,” Ginley-Hidinger said. “We get a lot of suggestions, but we don’t hear from everyone on campus, so this is an easy way to get everyone involved.”

Muñoz stressed the amount of research and data that goes into planning the dining menus. While Muñoz anticipates this survey will be helpful for Campus Dining, it is still just another piece of data to consider along with seasonality of foods, weather shifts, holidays and on-campus events.

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Rugby 15s goes deep into playoffs, 7s team members eye 2016 Olympics

By
Melina Devoney
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Down by two points with seven minutes left, fly-half Barnaby Audsley (senior) scored a penalty kick that reinvigorated the Occidental men’s rugby team. The squad went on to erase a ten-point deficit on its way to locking down Sonoma Sate in a 27-19 playoff victory on March 16.

The Tigers played flawless defense, according to club president and hooker Anthony Avila (senior). Head coach Dallen Stanford echoed that the win was an all-out team effort.

“The players put everything on the line for each other,” Stanford said.

Occidental retained its fourth consecutive Doherty Cup in February with a 37-5 win over Loyola Marymount before setting a team record 104-0 win against Biola.

The unit’s efforts qualified Occidental for the Southern California Rugby Football Union Gold Coast Cup final with a 26-5 victory over Azusa Pacific in the semifinals on March 8. After defeating Azusa, Occidental was then bounced by Pepperdine in a 26-24 final-round heartbreaker the following day.

After failing to win the Gold Coast Cup (GCC) on a campaign in which it began with high expectations, the team qualified for a separate tournament, the Pacific Coast Cup (PCC), upon beating Sonoma State.

Though they put up a fight, Occidental surrendered its first-round PCC match-up to the much deeper Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC), 38-7, in a contest on March 22 that culminated the fifteens (15s) team’s strong 8-2 season.

According to flanker David Kim (senior) and prop Oscar Flores (senior), the unit was overconfident in its defense against Santa Rosa due to their earlier success against Sonoma State.

“We made uncharacteristic mistakes,” Avila said. “Our seniors were playing with a lot of aches and pains.”

Larger colleges like SRJC have expendable rosters, an advantage that Occidental’s team of 27 lacks.

“Without sufficient recovery time and several injuries to key players meant that we were always going to struggle against a school that has approximately 26,000 students,” Stanford said.

The Occidental starters play through injuries because the bench contains mostly rookies. According to Kim, the starters have a lot of weight on their shoulders to stay on the field, often downplaying even the most serious of injuries.

In addition to their relatively small roster size, the rugby team has limited access to collegiate athletics trainers due to its status as a club sport.

“We can only attend to rugby on game day or to protect against catastrophic injuries,” associate trainer Taylor Woods said.

Flores went as far as to play through a separated acromioclavicular (AC) joint this season.

Stanford asserted that recruiting football players would add strength and size to the 15s roster, which currently consists of smaller, more agile players built more for rugby sevens (7s).

Occidental has now begun training for 7s, a more condensed version of the game with roughly half as many players and seven-minutes halves instead of the normal 45. The 7s squad is traditionally Occidental’s more competitive of the two teams, as it won a national championship in 2013.

“It’s seven minutes of hell,” Flores said. “Sevens requires being fast and shifty; having a lot of agility.”

Ten of the quickest men from the 15s team will earn a spot on the 7s roster.

“With key players from last year’s championship squad returning, the main aspect will be to see which players will be back from the injury list,” Stanford said.

Avila anticipates a few rookies making the cut as Occidental expects to defend its title. Furthermore, he believes that some players will look ahead to the 2016 Olympics, which has added rugby 7s for the first time.

“There is indeed a possibility [of Occidental players heading to the Olympics],” Stanford said. “But these players would need to be brought into the USA 7s squad fairly soon, as they need time to play international rugby throughout 2015.”

As the 2013 National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) 7s tournament’s Most Valuable Player and a USA Rugby Honorable Mention All-American selection, Audsley has a chance to make the US team’s roster for the 2016 Rio Games. His teammates said Audsley showed Olympic potential at the 2013 US National Under-20 team tryouts.

Flores and Kim downplayed the thought of going to the Olympics themselves and said that the team is focusing more on cementing itself as a national powerhouse.

“I am extremely proud of the team for their determination and sacrifices made both on and off the field to continue building one of the best Small College rugby programs in the country,” Stanford said.

The team is excited to open up the 7s season ranked No. 1 nationally as it attempts to solidify its place atop the upper echelon of collegiate rugby.

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JV Baseball squad grows program through consistency

By
Spencer Donaldson
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They wear the black and orange. Their uniforms bear the Tigers logo. On most spring afternoons, they can be found practicing on the emerald green grass and red dirt of Anderson Field.

And yet, the members of Occidental’s junior varsity (JV) baseball team are not listed on any official roster and do not have their statistics officially recorded. But what they do have is a purpose within the system to develop players for the varsity level.

There were just six practice squad players in 2010. They practiced three times per week and joined varsity practice once or twice per week.

“They were kind of disconnected from the program even though they were practicing with the varsity team,” varsity head coach Luke Wetmore said.

By 2011, enough players were on the practice squad to field an additional team, and Occidental joined Cal Lutheran as the only other SCIAC member with a JV program.

In his first year as the head coach of the varsity squad the same year, Wetmore was unsure about how to integrate the JV team into the structure of the program, as the transitional, young unit was without its own identity.

“The talent level wasn’t outstanding,” Wetmore said. “We were still getting a feel for how we were going to implement them into our varsity practices and there was kind of some crossover.”

In its first season, the JV team scheduled eight games, many against out-of-state teams like Ithaca College and in-state community colleges like Antelope Valley College. This year, the team has scheduled 14 total games that include both in-state and out-of-state opponents.

The JV team has provided opportunities to players like walk-on Jeff Johnson (junior), who has been a fixture in the outfield throughout the program’s three-year existence.

“For me, I didn’t think I’d be playing baseball at this point in my life,” Johnson said. “I didn’t know if I was going to make a team or anything.”

Despite only playing a handful of games and batting for 90 minutes two or three times per week, Johnson remains motivated to improve.

“Not only should you work as hard as the people who are on varsity, maybe you should work a little harder to get to the level they’re at,” Johnson said.

Junior James Aubrey, who has also played JV for three years, said he would spend 30 to 45 minutes in the batting cages after practice.

“I remember sometimes I would be hitting in the dark off the tee and [Wetmore] would tell me to lock up the cages,” Aubrey said.

The team has become a cohesive unit this season, serving as the college equivalent to a minor league team. The team has its own coaching staff, employs a wide variety of drills at practice and has a set batting order and pitching rotation.

“It’s more structured,” student assistant coach Matt Hillman (senior) said. “Now, we’re actually doing drills that we implement at the varsity level, so they’re familiar with them when they get there, and they can jump right in.”

According to Wetmore, this new identity has resulted in elevated play, as evidenced by the team’s two shutout victories against UC Santa Barbara’s JV team on Sunday. They dominated the Gauchos in Game 1, winning 10-0 on the shoulders of Evan Lubin’s (sophomore) four-hit complete game.

“We’ve really seen it blossom into what we’d envisioned originally,” Wetmore said. “They’re actually playing on a college baseball team.”

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