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LOYOLAN
www.LALOYOLAN.coi
EST. 1921
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VOLUME 92 I ISSUE 38
Recent earthquakes shake up students
The 5.1 magnitude earthquake on March 29 in La Habra was not as unique as many LMU students
thought. In fact, it was just one of 1 87 earthquakes that day and 800 earthquakes in the past week
measured in California. According to figures from the Southern California Earthquake Data Center, it is
typical for there to be over 100 earthquakes in California each day.
80
60
40
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questions that cannot be answered even
by the earthquake experts.
The greater Los Angeles area has
experienced a few earthquakes in the past
couple of weeks. While none of them have
caused major damage, they were enough
to cause some scares.
The earthquake that started the pattern
of these sudden quakes hit the morning of
March 17 near Westwood, and measured
at a magnitude of 4.4. On March 29, a 5.1
magnitude earthquake shook La Habra
a little after 9 p.m. and was followed by
more than 100 aftershocks. Some see
the proximity of these quakes as a mere
coincidence, but others believe they are
heralding more earthquakes in the near
future.
Paul Kim, a freshman early elementary
education major, firmly believes that
See Earthquakes | Page 2
1
March 29
Though rumors suggest a big
quake in L.A.’s near future,
experts say it’s unpredictable.
- Michael Manoogian,
LMU engineering professor
Amanda Lopez
Asst. News Editor
@laloyolan
The past few weeks, news outlets and
social media sites have been buzzing
with predictions of the big earthquake
that will hit Los Angeles. Will the “big
one” strike and cause a devastating
amount of damage, or is everyone just
being completely paranoid? These are the
questions being
asked by Los
1 Angeles natives,
March 31 April
Information compiled by Asst. News Editor Amanda Lopez, News Interns Kelsey Manganand Wendolyn Sims-Rucker and News Editor Ali Swenson; Graphic: Sydney Franz | Loyolan
President serves LMU out and proud
Kevin Halladay-Glynn | Loyolan
Current ASLMU president Shawn Troedson has become comfortable with her sexuality
over the course of her college experience. After coming out to the LMU community,
Troedson hopes homosexuality will be more openly discussed on the Catholic campus.
Outgoing ASLMU president
is first in LMU history to be
openly gay while in office.
Kevin O’Keeffe
Senior Editor
@kevinpokeeffe
Shawn Troedson is many things. The
senior urban studies major is the outgoing
ASLMU president, despite never thinking
she was the most popular person growing
up. She is described as passionate, a go-
getter and unafraid of the status quo by
those who work closely with her. She is
intelligent, strong and has grown into her
role as president, to the pleasure of many.
But there is one facet of her identity that
makes Shawn Troedson stand out from the
crowd: She is a lesbian. She is also the first
ASLMU president to be openly gay while in
office , making her a historically significant
figure for Catholic, Jesuit LMU.
That kind of attention could be
intimidating for someone who describes
herself as “shy” and “awkward.” And
indeed, Troedson is averse to the idea of
being thought of as a “poster child.” But
after years of hovering in between being
closeted and out, Troedson is out and
proud this year in the hope that it will get
people talking about not just her sexuality,
but about everyone’s.
“When I came out, it prompted other
people to talk about it,” she said in an
interview with the Loyolan. “So though 1
don’t think I’m a poster child for it, people
happen to know who 1 am, and I think
it will get talked about more, which is
ultimately what I’m hoping for.”
‘I guess I caught her really off-guard
with that’
Current ASLMU vice president and
senior psychology major Caitlin Maher
remembers when Troedson came out to
her, she and Troedson were outside the
Burns Recreation Center during Move-
In Weekend this past August. Maher was
going on about how excited she was for
the year - “We’re gonna remember this
moment” - when Troedson told her VP
what’d she’d been meaning to for months:
“I’m gay.”
“And I was just like, ‘So you mean you
like girls?’” Maher recalled with a laugh.
“And it was just like, OK, things make
more sense now. I can’t believe it never
clicked with me.”
It was always Troedson’s intention to
come out to Maher, particularly if they
were elected. But the time was never quite
right to come out to her running mate.
“I’d been meaning to tell her even before
we decided to run, and I’d been meaning
to tell her while we were campaigning, or
after we were hiring people,” Troedson
said. “I guess I caught her really off-guard
with that. But she took it really well, as
everyone else has.”
Maher added, “She’d been trying to
tell me for a while, and I’m just kind of an
oblivious person.”
At that time, Troedson estimated that
only about 10 people at LMU knew she was
a lesbian - and they’d been told a while
back, during Troedson’s freshman year,
before she went on “a big hiatus” with the
coming out process.
As she entered her senior year, Troedson
knew it was time to finish what she’d
started. But she found herself to be rusty
at first.
“I just felt like where I was back in high
school,” Troedson said. “I felt like that I
made progress freshman year, and then
I stopped for two years. ... I still had the
same thoughts I had freshman year: Now
is the time to do it.”
‘That’s just who I am’
Unlike when she was a freshman,
See Troedson | Page 3
