Lifestyle

Small teams, large impacts: Students serve locally and abroad

Often shadowed by Mexico Outreach, three Action Teams also went

out during Mid-semester Break to
do short-term mission work. These
teams went to Utah, Los Angeles
and the Dominican Republic. For
one week, a total of 32 APU students
and faculty served the Kingdom of
God in various ways.

Utah
The Utah teams objective was to
start conversation with members of
the Mormon Church. They were not
going with the intent to convert or do
any projects; they were simply there
to create friendships and engage in
interfaith dialogues with Mormon
students.
Senior practical theology major
Jake Tastad claimed that Utah was
his first choice and that he would go
again if he was not graduating.
Tastad explained that the dialogues are a relaxed way of sharing
ones faith with someone of another
faith; both faiths challenge each other
while respecting the journey that
each one is on.
The team participated in three
dialogues, one at the Institute of
Religion at the University of Utah,
another at the Institute of Religion at
Weber State University and the last
at the home of a faculty member at
Brigham Young University.
Tastad explained that the most
rewarding part of the trip was learning to share ones faith in a way that
builds deep relationships.
You think to yourself sometimeswhen you come out of these
dialogues with Mormon students
that you have a deeper connection

JAKE TASTAD photo

staff writer

CHRISTINA SAAD photo

Kenny Langrell

with them than most of your friends

at APU, Tastad said. The reason
for this is because when you are always in your little faith bubble, you
never get challenged or asked why
you believe what you believe. Everyone just assumes that everyone is a
Christian at APU.
Tastad said that the most challenging part of the trip was the Mormons not understanding the theology
of the Trinity.
APUs team found this frustrating because they themselves had to
understand that they did not have all
the answers.
Tastads advice for others considering this trip is to just go for it.
You will make deep friendships
and learn how to share your faith in
a more non-academic way, Tastad
said.

Los Angeles
While other teams left the country or traveled a few states away, the
Los Angeles team drove less than an
hour away from campus for its destination.
Every day, the LA action team
engaged in different parts of the
city, including going down to Skid
Row, passing out granola bars and
soda while praying for the homeless,
partnering with the Dream Center
and taking part in Adopt a Block,
leading small Vacation Bible Schools
(VBS) and visiting Angelus Temple.
Christina Saad, a junior psychology major, claimed that every aspect
of this trip was challenging.
There were people living on the
streets who still had faith in God,
Saad said. That was definitely hard
to seethat even people who were
broken still found their hope in God
and carried that hope throughout the
rest of their lives.
Freshman Christian ministries
major Josephine Wang stated how it
was strange to drive around during
the trip and see places that she had
visited frequently.
We go for our own pleasure, but
it never occurs to us that there is a
need in LA more than ever, Wang

Top: Team Utah spent much of its trip conversing with sudents and staff from Brigham Young University.
Middle: Lead by Prof. Gregg Moder, team L.A. partnered with the Dream Center for their week of service.
Bottom: The women of the Domincan Republic trip worked with other missionaries in various ministries.
said. Many people think mission
trips and serving is all about traveling to a third-world country, but outreach and ministry should be done all
the time, anywhere and everywhere.
Both women would tell those
considering an action team to not be
afraid. They encourage students to
open their hearts and let God speak.

Dominican Republic
As the only other mid- semester
break action team that left the country other than Mexico Outreach, the
Dominican Republic team spent the

week split into various vocational

ministry sites, such as community
health care, dentistry, microfinance,
education and social work.
At these various sites, the team
worked alongside missionaries to
help support their ministries.
Junior psychology major Rebekah Guerra stated that the most
rewarding part of the trip was being
able to see the team experience God.
God moved and transformed
lives in a different context than what
[the team] is used to, Guerra said.
Guerra also explained what it
was like to do a mission trip in a

REBEKAH GUERRA photo

Three lesserknown midsemester break

teams discuss
their trips

country largely known for its vacation

spots.
The part of the country [that] we
were in was not necessarily known
as a vacation region, since its not
near any beaches and [its] up in the
mountains, Guerra said. We didnt
see the typical resorts and beach paradise that a lot of people think about;
it was mostly dirt roads and serving
communities that have a lot of issues
with poverty.
Guerra recommends this team to
people looking for a shorter mission
experience and want to get their feet
wet in the world of action teams.

My Sisters Closet takes stress out of prom dress shopping

Camille Frigillana
lifestyle editor

My Sisters Closet, an annual

event put on by the Department of
Social Work and the city of Azusa,
filled the LAPC room with racks of
prom dresses on Saturday, March 19.
The event, now going on its
ninth year, allows girls from local
high schools to come pick out dresses, accessories and shoes to wear on
their prom nightfor free.
Weve been planning this since
October, so it took about five months
to plan, senior social work major
and intern for the social work department. We had to reserve a room,

gather enough donations, get volunteers and other stuff to make this
possible.
Everything available for the girls
came from donations from members
of the community. Along with different styles of dresses, there were tables
lining the perimeter of the room filled
with a plethora of heels, handbags
and shawls, as well as brand-new
makeup. Whatever the girls leave
with, they can keep.

This just took

a burden off my
shoulders.

Deija Smith, high school junior

Preparation for the event started

late Friday afternoon, with volunteersmostly APU studentscoming in to set up LAPC. The day was
split into two sessions, one in the
morning and one in the afternoon.
Those participating in the event
preregistered online, giving the My
Sisters Closet staff an idea of how
many girls would attend.

LAUREN JACOBS graphic

Annual event
provides an
opportunity for
high school girls
to get the perfect
outfit for their big
night

There [are] a lot of girls [who]

registered, but there are also some
who just show up, and of course we
let them in, too, senior social work
major Rachel Bailey said.
Most of the girls come from Azusa or surrounding areas, but others
come from the greater Los Angeles
area.
We have some girls from Rialto,
from Lawndale, from Bell Gardens,
Fraga said. Anyone can come. It really just all depends.

Before entering LAPC, each girl

took a number and waited until a volunteer was available to help them out.
Each girl had an assistant with
her as her very own personal stylist,
helping her with picking out and
holding on to her dresses, as well as
escorting her around the room to
make sure she had everything she
needed.
Junior English major Caylen
Smith volunteered as a personal stylist for the first time this year.

I remember how much time and

effort went in when getting ready for
prom, and sometimes it can get pretty
stressful, Smith said. I wanted to
help out so that I can at least help
ease the stress.
One of the girls Smith helped,
Deija January, a junior at Rancho
Cucamonga High School, expressed
her gratefulness.
I heard about this event through
my boyfriends mom, and decided to
give it a try, January said. Im glad
this exists. Its really helpful.
Along with the personal stylists,
there were also volunteer seamstresses from the surrounding community
who were available to make custom
adjustments to the dresses.
Makeshift fitting rooms were
used to ensure that dresses fit just
right, or to see where adjustments
needed to be made.
In the end, January left with her
perfect prom outfita black gown
embroidered with sequins and sparkly gray shoes.
This just took a burden off my
shoulders, January said. Now, Im
just excited to have it all come together for prom.

theclause.org/LIFESTYLE

Clause Wednesday, march 23, 2016

App helps users

monitor finances
and practice
healthy spending
habits
Mandy Mayfield
staff writer

Want to know where your entire

paycheck went in one weekend? Mint
is a free finance service application
that will do just that.
The service is an all-in-one tool
for incompetent budgeters who want
a quick look into where their money
is going.
According to nerdwallet.com,
Mint has attracted more than 20 million users since its creation in 2006.
By intertwining all of your accounts, Mint keeps track of every
transaction you make while showing
you the big picture of your financial
status. In doing so, it allows you to
review virtually every aspect of your
financial life.
The applications dashboard includes your debit and credit card balances, investment performance and

MINT Courtesy graphic

Mint: your own personal financer Battle of the Big Bands

your credit score. Under a separate

tab, you can find a color-coded graphic depicting your weekly, monthly or
annual spending habits.
Some of the categories include
gas and fuel, fast food, shopping and
business services.
A large part of what makes Mint
so successful is that it automatically
syncs to your banking applications,
tracking your spending patterns with
virtually no effort required.
In my case, it let me know that
I was spending 65 percent of my income on fast food, informing me of
not only my poor financial decisions
but of my poor eating habits.
Mint also offers educated budgeting. When independently budgeting, many begin by estimating what
their spending habits are, which is

Zootopia is more
than a kids movie
Disneys newest
release tackles
the tough issue of
stereotyping
Camille Frigillana
lifestyle editor

What happens when tough social

issues become a kid-friendly, animated movie?
Disneys newest feature film,
Zootopia, seems to answer that
question.
Released on March 4, Zootopia
takes place in a world where animals
take on humanistic rolesgetting
jobs, raising families, shopping and
so on.
The audience follows a rabbit
named Judy Hopps on her journey to
becoming a police officer.
In the movie, this was a rare feat
because police officers were usually
bigger, more aggressive animals like
rhinos or cheetahs. Despite the hardships and doubts, Judy overcame all
odds. She not only became the first
rabbit to graduate from the police

This movie could

not have come at
a better time.
academy, she also graduated at the
top of her class. This leads to her assignment in the main district of Zootopia, a place considered the best of
the best.
After more bumps in the road,
Judy finally gets a major case involving missing animals in the city. To
solve it, she teams up with Nick Wilde, a fox she meets early on in her job.
Much of the first half of the film
can lead to the assumption that this
is another typical movie about following your dreams and persevering
through whatever challenges may
come, but as the movie progresses,

viewers soon realize that it is much

more than that.
Audiences first see Judy struggle
through the police academy and police station because of her size and the
fact that she is a rabbit.
But the real message does not
really click until the audience learns
about Nick and how he was bullied
as a child simply because he was
a foxan animal deemed untrustworthy because they are considered
predators. The other animals judge
him based on stereotypes, without
considering his true character.
This message that stereotyping people is dangerous and hurtful
seemed to be the overarching theme
that directors Byron Howard and
Rich Moore tried to portray, and
they succeeded.
There were moments regarding
stereotyping that had a comedic effect, but most of it revolved around
the serious topic of judging people
or in this case, animalsbased on
their background and what they look
like.
At a time when racial, gender
and other social tensions are at their
peak, this movie could not have come
at a better time. Additionally, it has
made these sorts of issues easy for
children to comprehend by putting it
in a setting with lovable and relatable
characters.There were also jokes in
the movie that adults could relate to
as well, making it easy for them to sit
through an animated film.
Zootopia has already earned
over $500 million worldwide and has
a 95 percent audience score on RottenTomatoes.com.
This movie is a must-see, regardless of age, because there are different
elements that different people will
pick up on. It is perfect to watch with
friends, younger relatives and older
relatives over and over again.
This movie gets four out of four
Jon Wallace heads.

inefficient and often takes months to

nail down the real numbers of where
your money is going.
Mint tracks how much money is
deposited into accounts, takes note of
how much money you have previously spent on somethinglike groceriesand then offers suggestions on
how much you should be spending
based on past purchases and current
income.
A particular feature in the application is the Trends tab. The tab offers a color-coded graph with a broad
overview of where you spend your
money.
Some of the categories included
in this tab are shopping, fast food,
bills and utilities.
Another exceptional feature to
this app is the Alerts section. The service can send out notifications when
bills are soon due or when a budget
has been surpassed, which helps keep
spenders out of trouble.
The app is also very aesthetically
pleasing. The apps charts and graphics are separated by distinct colors
with sharp lines offering clear and
easy-to-understand information.
For those looking to take a handsoff approach to budgetingor to life
in generalthis is the app for you.

APU and Citrus

hold an evening
of music in honor
of their friendly
rivalry
Lauren Jacobs
photo/design editor

APUs Jazz Ensemble played

alongside Citrus Colleges Blue Note
Orchestra for round 12 of its big bandstyle event in the Haugh Performing
Arts Center on March 18 and 19.
APU and Citrus alumni, students and friends enjoyed listening to
the ensemble and orchestra, directed
by APUs David Betty and Citrus
Robert Slack and Alan Waddington,
respectively.
During the performance, both
bands tuxedo-clad musicians went
back and forth, playing songs to challenge one another.
The evening featured traditional
jazz elements, such as swing pieces
and scatting, but also featured more
contemporary pieces like a cover
of pop group Oasis Wonderwall.
Both bands came together and
played as one large, soulful band at

the beginning and end of the show.

This is the second Battle of the
Big Bands show that junior computer science major Zach Clark has seen
during his time at APU.
It was different than the last
show I saw, Clark said. There were
more theatrics and comedic elements. I enjoy watching the jazz ensemble play. There is a lot of talent in
our music department.
Throughout the performance,
master of ceremonies David Jeremiah and the two conductors joked
about the rivalries between the two
music programs.
We didnt have a Battle of the
Bands last year, so I think there was a
lot of built-up tension, APU music in
performance major Jonathan Schlitt
said.
Schlitt revealed that members of
both bands actually look forward to
spending time together practicing for
the performances.
The rivalry really is friendly,
Schlitt said. A lot of Citrus students
transfer to APU. Sometimes APU
students and Citrus students play
gigs together on the weekends. Some
of the music faculty teach at both
schools. Both music programs keep
their students very busy, but its nice
to all get together when we can.