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LOYOLAN
EST. 1921
For some people,
Valentines Day is just Feb
14th.
Page 7
Should the Monday after
the Super Bowl be a
national holiday?
Page 15
VOLUME 95 I ISSUE 20
LMU expands campus into Playa Vista
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Riis Irvine Peterson | Loyolan
The news of the Playa Vista Campus - located four miles away from the Bluff - was announced last Thursday by President Snyder via email.
LMU’s new campus will hold
graduate programs for the
School of Film and Television.
Justine Biondi
Asst. News Editor
@LALoyolan
LMU will expand its campus into
Playa Vista, further strengthening its
relationship with Los Angeles as the
University of Silicon Beach, President
Timothy Law Snyder announced via
email last week on Feb. 9.
The upcoming LMU Playa Vista
Campus will be located at 12105 West
Waterfront Drive — four miles away from
LMU’s bluff campus — and will open fall
semester of 2018.
Occupying approximately 50,000
square feet, the new campus building
will house LMU’s graduate programs for
the School of Film and Television (SFTV) .
The new campus also offers space for
academic and creative programs, as well
as events and activities associated with
LMU.
To make commuting easier for students
and faculty, LMU will offer a free
shuttle service traveling back and forth
between the two campuses. Students
may drive themselves, but the shuttle is
recommended for conveniency.
President Snyder said in his email
that while LMU anticipates the SFTVs
graduate students as being the main
occupants for the campus, the University
is open to other uses for the space that
may help LMU benefit from the Playa
Vista tech environment.
“Mindful of these new opportunities,
I asked our deans to engage our faculty
and discuss how we might reimagine
or relocate our offerings and scholarly
contributions,” President Snyder said in
his email.
Playa Vista is one of Silicon Beach’s
focal points for technology, creativity
and innovation. President Snyder
believes the campus expansion will
inspire this innovation and compliment
LMU’s global imagination.
Surrounded by diverse businesses,
trendy restaurants and countless
opportunities for growth and success,
the new campus aspires to enhance
LMU’s relationship with Playa Vista and
Silicon Beach.
“We have longstanding strategic
relationships and industry partnerships
within the Playa Vista community,”
President Snyder said on the LMU
website. “As we continue to strengthen
immersive and interdisciplinary
opportunities and career pathways, our
students and faculty members benefit
from being embedding in Playa Vista’s
culture and vibe.”
Several students at LMU, particularly
those in the SFTV undergraduate
program, expressed excitement about
the upcoming Playa Vista campus and
understand the decision to expand the
campus.
“I wasn’t surprised to hear LMU was
See Playa Vista Campus | Page 3
Betsy DeVos inspires conversation on education
“I am not going to lie it is REALLY UPSETTING
and concerning to come this far as a special
education major, have your entire
teaching future
in front of you, m
and then know
that someone as ( *
ignorant as Betsy
DeVos COULD
/
CHANGE L
EVERYTHING in
the education
system.”
- Katherine lllunson
Junior special education major
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•led by JaqueSnc McCool, news ini» n
and cartoon by AsWey Ma | Loyolan
The newly elected Secretary
of Education has caused
uncertainty within LMU.
Jaqueline McCool
News Intern
@LALoyolan
In a tie vote broken by Vice President
Mike Pence, Betsy DeVos was confirmed
as Secretary of Education on Jan. 17 by the
Senate. This was the first time in history
that the vice president was required to
break a confirmation tie.
According to the Atlantic, DeVos has
been a long-time supporter of charter
schools and voucher programs to offer
choice to families on where their children
attend school no matter the type (public,
charter or private), while also opposing
regulation of charter schools.
The Center for Public Education
describes charter schools as having
“the regulatory freedom and autonomy
from state and local rules (in terms of
staffing, curriculum choices, and budget
management) they receive in exchange
for having their charter reviewed and
renewed (or revoked) by the authorizing
agency every few years.”
DeVos has been criticized by many on
the left side of the aisle for her lack of
experience in education. According to
the Washington Post, DeVos garnered
national attention when she seemed
unfamiliar with the Individuals with
Disabilities Act (IDEA), which “requires
public schools to provide free and
appropriate education to all students
with disabilities,” the Washington Post
reported.
Several members of the LMU
community had opinions about DeVos’
confirmation. The Dean of the School
of Education Shane Martin said in a
statement to the Loyolan, “There were
legitimate questions about [DeVos’]
vision for the U.S. Department of
Education (DOE) that came out during
the confirmation process that have yet to
be fully addressed.”
Katherine Munson, a junior special
education major, fears DeVos’ lack of
experience will negatively impact her
career and the students she hopes to
teach.
“I am not going to lie, it is really
upsetting and concerning to come this far
as a special education major, have your
entire teaching future in front of you and
then know that someone as ignorant as
Betsy DeVos could change everything in
the education system,” Munson said.
However, Munson remains positive for
her future students. “While DeVos might
not know anything about education,
fortunately there are so many dedicated,
phenomenal and knowledgeable people
higher in the [DOE] who can hopefully
help her make these really important
decisions when it comes to our children’s
education,” Munson said. “In an odd
way, [DeVos] is almost motivating a lot
of my education peers to truly be the best
teachers possible for our students.”
Alumna Claire Zirbes (‘16) was a
student teacher at Westchester High
School during her time at LMU. She fears
defunding or dismantling the DOE will
leave only private or religious schools,
cutting out a significant group of
students from adequate education.
“Where will all of these students
go? What will happen to the families
that do not have the funds for a private
education? What about the separation of
church and state? It is part of our rights
as Americans to have equal access to a
public education,” Zirbes said.
According to the Atlantic, there could
be complications with President Donald
Trump’s proposed $20 billion federal
voucher program, as 40 of 50 states do
not allow direct government funding to
go to religious schools.
Zirbes, who is now teaching at a private
middle school, acknowledges those
institutions may be in a better position
based on DeVos’ expected changes to
See DeVos | Page 4
