LINDSAY LOPEZ
Staff Writer
Girls are going wild. Blurry patches veil their naked details but leave little to the imagination. They giggle and prance around— this is only a sample of “Girls Gone Wild.”
This is Joe Francis’ racy enterprise flashing a commercial across the television screen.
Is this eye-catching advertising, or a shocking testament of media devoid of ethics? Sex sells, but who’s watching the TV? Should kindergarteners be able to see this? Does anybody really care?
Professor Sarah Stone Watt wants you to decide. She wants you to debate. She wants you to care. Her utmost desire for students?
“I want them to want to advocate the topics that they personally care about,” she said.
Stone Watt joins the Pepperdine faculty as assistant professor of Communication. Stone Watt teaches two communication courses and is director of Forensics for the Pepperdine speech and debate team.
“I’m still getting to know how Pepperdine works, but debate requires spending a lot of time with a core group of people,” she said. “It’s a great way to connect with people quickly.”
Stone Watt is thrilled to be back in Southern California. She graduated with a B.A. in rhetorical studies from California State University Long Beach but migrated cross-country. She earned her M.A. in communication and journalism at the University of Wyoming and her Ph.D in communication arts and sciences at Pennsylvania State University.
“You don’t realize how much you appreciate being near the ocean until you’re landlocked,” she said with a laugh. “I used to take drives along PCH just to relax and clear my mind. I love being near the coast. I need to be near the coast.”
More important, Stone Watt’s move to California gives her access to materials that are integral to her academic forte.
“My research is concentrated on race riots,” she explained. “And the Los Angeles area is rich in history and archives. There’s a lot of material available, a lot I’ll be digging through.”
She also concentrates on the social movements of women and minorities. In 2004, she was chair of a National Communication Association panel discussion entitled, “I’m Not a Feminist. But…”
Speakers focused on “an increasing trend toward students refusing to ally themselves with the term ‘feminist’” (as outlined in the NCA preliminary program). More often than not, “feminist” receives a negative connotation from students.
Professor Stone Watt notices the trend in her classes. “I am finding that this is the case, perhaps a little more so here at Pepperdine. There is a dedication to more traditional values here, and most students assume that feminism breaks from that.”
But when students simplify feminism into its initial principle— wide-ranging equality for women— many are surprised to find that they agree with it.
Stone Watt understands her students’ hesitation.
“This generation is extremely wary of labels. People want to steer clear of being categorized, and that stops them from calling themselves feminists,” she said.
“And it’s understandable that the concept of people still fighting passionately for these causes sounds outdated, it sounds like overkill,” Stone Watt said. “But women still get paid less for doing the same jobs that men do.”
Stone Watt covers an array of topics. Her students are always engaged.
Hip-hop, for example, is examined as a powerful mode of communication with complex themes. Some students argue that it discloses socio-political truth and frustrations that help to enact social change. Other students find it hardly progressive because it pushes extreme misogynistic views. Passionate discussion turns into vigorous debate.
“This is a college class that is virtually censor-free,” said Jackie Kerns, a junior enrolled in her Message Creation and Effects class. “There is an incredible spectrum of topics covered in class. And we don’t hold anything back in our discussions.”
Classroom discussion and debate, Stone Watt believes, will make students comfortable making their own voices heard.
Outside the classroom, Stone Watt is busy as director of Forensics for the speech and debate team. Colleague and friend Kristine Clancy helps her organize tournament logistics and financing, as well as coach the speakers.
“Sarah’s been hired into a new position— a tenure track position for director of speech and debate,” Clancy explained. “It’s exciting. It demonstrates Pepperdine’s commitment to the continuation and value of speech and debate.”
Stone Watt and Clancy encourage all students to get involved. No previous experience is necessary. New members are eased into the process, competing in the novice division— comparable to a “frosh-soph” level in sports. Speakers have freedom in choosing the topics that they find interesting. They learn to research thoroughly and expertly justify their arguments.
Clancy added: “Debaters are better arguers, and more efficient researchers. Participation in speech and debate makes for a better overall student.”
Good public-speaking skills exceed the classroom and the debate tournament.
“Oh, it’s absolutely crucial to the business world,” said Stone Watt. “Companies are increasingly ranking good communication skills and number one and number two on their list of desirable traits in possible employees.
“Huge consulting firms are leaving positions open specifically for skilled speakers and debaters. So is the government. They’re picking up employees right out of undergraduate programs.”
Among the natural orators and those who cringe from public speaking, Stone Watt wants all to consider this a call to arms. Get interested, get informed and get talking.
12-06-2007
