Cover Story
Ribbons of Division
by Jim Newton
L.A.’s freeways, symbols of the high cost of affluence, have both joined communities and atomized neighborhoods.
Ribbons of Division
China’s Migrant Mothers
Mothers in rural China who move to cities for employment and an income often leave their children behind, sparking feelings of guilt and failure. Prof. Meng Li has done research about them and their painful choice.
Fernando Guerra on the L.A. Wildfires
The wildfires of January 2025 likely are the biggest natural disaster in Los Angeles history. Fernando Guerra, director of the LMU Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles, talks about the current and future impacts of the fires on the city’s people, resources, and budget.
Racism’s Infrastructure
Richard Frishman’s photos and B. Brian Foster’s essays together explore the history and the built environment of racism, slavery, and segregation in America. Their book, “Ghosts of Segregation: American Racism, Hidden in Plain Sight,” accompanies a photo exhibition of the same name currently underway at the LMU Laband Art Gallery.
The Burn and the Rebuild
L.A.’s wildfires took lives and burned homes, businesses, churches, and schools. They took a piece of our sense of place, too, leaving us to rebuild both our neighborhoods and our sense of community.
Trent Kersten on D1 Volleyball
Trent Kersten, head volleyball coach, talks about the increased popularity of women’s sports, volleyball strategy and recruiting, and the impact of the transfer portal on LMU and D1 volleyball.
The Choral Portal
Mary C. Breden, former director of Choral Activities at LMU, offers her suggestions on finding the pathway to enjoying choral music, which has inspired human beings for centuries.
The Pride: Marcela Escobar-Alava ’92
The career of Marcela Escobar-Alava ’92 has led her from her family’s restaurant business in El Monte when she was 9 to the White House. Follow her path here.
Joan Didion’s California Odyssey
In essays, articles, novels, and plays, the iconic writer mapped her beautiful, battered state with landmarks by which we find our way.
Prof. Jose Garcia Moreno created a luminous multimedia presentation celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Loyola-Marymount merger. The stunning visual display was projected onto the façade of Sacred Heart Chapel. Watch it here.
In fall 2023, LMU and the Los Angeles Rams professional football team entered into a new educational partnership. Watch the campus celebration of the unique collaboration.
Your Move
The transfer portal has brought dizzying roster changes, new opportunities, and, possibly, a shorter path to success in college athletics.
A Conversation With Donegal Fergus
Donegal Fergus, new head coach of LMU baseball, discusses his approach to the game of baseball, recruiting, and the challenge of hitting the curve ball.
KXLU’s Salsa Fest is the annual outdoor Latin music party that brings salsa music lovers and entire families to campus to celebrate the LMU station’s “Alma del Barrio” Spanish-language programming.
President Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D., talks with representatives of each of LMU’s sponsoring religious communities—Robert Caro, S.J., Mary Genino, R.S.H.M., and Mary Beth Ingham, C.S.J.—about the long-lasting significance of the university’s groundbreaking merger 50 years ago.
Canto de la Ciudad
KXLU’s “Alma del Barrio” has been singing its songs to L.A. and binding together LMU and the city’s Spanish-speaking communities for five decades.
The Loud-Mouthed Neighbors
Noisy, smart, social, resourceful — crows, as readily as humans, have adapted to L.A.’s urban-wild and thrive among us.
A Conversation With Cheryl Grills
Prof. Cheryl Grills talks about her work with the California Reparations Task Force and its landmark 2023 report.
Hunting Demons
James Keane ’96 remembers the fear he felt at 14 when he saw “The Exorcist.” He still wonders if exorcism can rid him of the demons in the world.
Highlights of the dedication ceremony marking the $8 million commitment by the Dordick family to LMU Loyola Law School’s trial advocacy programs.
Martin Sheen’s Five Minutes of Fame
Actor Martin Sheen describes how his Catholic faith has shaped some of his best-known roles and his commitment to social justice.
AI’s Impact on Artists
AI technology now allows any user to generate an image of almost anything they like that copies the work of almost any artist, putting the livelihoods of painters, illustrators and photographers at risk.
Hollywood Standstill
The Writers Guild of America strike is about wages, residuals and more, but some say it’s even more about the future existence of a profession.
Tracking Fish With eDNA
Demian Willette, LMU biology professor, has patented a device to collect environmental DNA that helps detect fish fraud — the mislabeling of fish — as well as protect endangered species.
Florida’s Battle With Black History
Florida’s rejection of the College Board’s new AP African American Studies course puts a spotlight on the U.S. struggle to deal with racism and Black America’s past and present.
The Outsider President
President Jimmy Carter notched some notable successes in his one term in office. But his inexperience and lack of Washington, D.C., allies also weakened his hand in managing several crises, leading to his defeat by Ronald Reagan.
Ben Bolch on NIL’s Impact on College Athletics
Name, image and likeness (NIL) payments represent a new, large cash flow into college athletics. Much will stream toward athletes through sponsorships and endorsements. But some scenarios are deeply troubling. Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times staff writer, describes a new era that is changing college athletics.
Shelves of Selves
To Lynell George ’84, every book on her shelves is a window into who she was, is and will become. How to live when a treasured one goes missing?
Big City Oil
Oil used to be big in Los Angeles. In fact, it still is, and the industry’s impact on the region’s populations is far from equitable.
A Conversation With Misty Copeland
Misty Copeland was the first Black female principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. She talks about her experience and struggles while breaking new ground.
A Conversation With Abby Wambach
Abby Wambach, who delivered the Commencement address at the 2022 Commencement Exercises, talks about Title IX, equal pay for women and misogyny.
A Well-Aimed Rock
Blake Pickens MBA ’19, a Chickasaw film producer and stand-up comedian, uses film and jokes to change people’s minds about Native Americans and people in poverty.
Alvarado and 3rd
The United States meets Central America at L.A.’s Westlake intersection. Rubén Martínez finds that survival is one of the many stories found at this hemispheric meeting place.
Climate Chaos
Extreme California weather may bring chaos, but do we resist, mitigate or adapt to preserve the climate, our common good? David L. Ulin explores the path head and our responsibilities.
LMU Magazine Podcast Wins Top Media Award
“Off Press” took first place for Sports—Any News or Feature in the Los Angeles Press Club’s 63rd annual Southern California Journalism Awards.
A Conversation With Holly Mitchell
Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who was elected chair of the Board of Supervisors in December 2021, talks about her goals as supervisor
Louis Foster, an 18-year-old first-year LMU student, has quickly made a name for himself in professional racing just three years since his initial full season. It’s not so surprising: He comes from a well-known British racing family. We interviewed Foster in the new issue of LMU Magazine. Take at our behind-the-scenes video of the magazine photo shoot.
A Conversation With Vin Scully
Former Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully P ’95, P ’99, talks about what he misses about his job and the influence of his Jesuit education on his life.
The Dogs That Save Us
The human-dog lovefest may be 15,000 years old, and the pandemic has given it a shot in the arm. Are they our most faithful friends, or are we theirs?
Eric Strauss on Climate Change
The impact of climate change on Southern California — in heat, ocean temperatures and coastal damage — is now evident, with more on the way, says Eric Strauss of the LMU Center for Urban Resilience. The worst effects will likely be distributed unequally. Our goal, he says, is not climate change reversal but adaptation.
Stage Rights
In 1963, James Baldwin masterminded a tense nighttime meeting with Robert F. Kennedy to break down the Kennedy administration’s reluctance to act on civil rights. Baldwin’s summit changed RFK forever after.
Cougar Town
Native mountain lions risk their lives to cross the U.S. 101 freeway. A wildlife crossing, in the form of a bridge, could save them.
Amped Up
An executive producer with the Obamas’ Higher Ground Audio amplifies voices and stories that are too rarely heard. An interview with Mukta Mohan ’14.
The Bones of St. Peter
James T. Keane ’96, an editor at America magazine, recalls a trip he led with a group of students to the catacombs of the Church of San Silvestro in Capite in Rome.
The Magazine of the Year
LMU Magazine wins the 2020 Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year Award, the top honor in university magazine publishing, in the annual CASE Circle of Excellence Awards competition.
Ivan Ehlers ’04 on Drawing in The New Yorker
Ivan Ehlers has produced work for The New Yorker, MAD Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. But rejection is part of the job, he says, and studying psychology at LMU has come in handy.
Chaya Crowder on Black Voters and U.S. Elections
“The Republican Party has made little to no attempt to historically appeal to Black voters since the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act,” says Prof. Chaya Crowder in describing why Black voters, especially Black women, are the backbone of the Democratic Party.
This prayer, that has become synonymous with Pedro Arrupe, S.J., who was Father General of the Society of Jesus, describes the intimate connection of love to one’s truest identity.
Dramatis Personae
In his bestselling volume “Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics,” Stephen Greenblatt, in a none-too-subtle jab at President Donald Trump, examines the characters of Richard III, Macbeth, King Lear and Coriolanus to illuminate how Shakespeare’s work probes the danger of narcissistic demagogues — and the self-destructive willingness of collaborators who indulge them — to tear at the fabric […]
Off Press Podcasts
Fernando Guerra on the L.A. Wildfires
The wildfires of January 2025 likely are the biggest natural disaster in Los Angeles history. Fernando Guerra, director of the LMU Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles, talks about the current and future impacts of the fires on the city’s people, resources, and budget.
Nathan Sessoms on L.A. Freeways and Communities
Freeways both connect and divide the Los Angeles region. Nathan Sessoms, professor in the LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, describes the impact of building the 10 freeway through L.A.’s West Adams community.
Trent Kersten on D1 Volleyball
Trent Kersten, head volleyball coach, talks about the increased popularity of women’s sports, volleyball strategy and recruiting, and the impact of the transfer portal on LMU and D1 volleyball.
