A major theme in U.S. pop culture evolves around the great unknown that is space exploration and the universe as a whole. Books, television shows, and movies share an outer space theme with classics such as “Doctor Who,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Star Wars,” and others that represent galactic entertainment.Ray Bradbury, who, as claimed by U.S.A Today, “brought literary respect to science fiction,” created several short stories set in outer space. One of these was “All Summer in a Day.” In the tale, life on Venus has seven years of rain punctuated by only two hours of sunshine. The rest of the plot follows elementary school children who lock a girl from Earth in the closet during those two hours.Demand Media critic, Melissa Har, said Bradbury’s novel is short, but “each character is developed richly and portrayed vividly.”“The Little Prince,” a book by French author, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, follows the life of a small boy from his very own asteroid (asteroid B612), wandering many expanses until he finally wanders upon Earth. The book’s length and easy reading make it popular among both children and adults.BYUH Assistant Professor Sanoma Goodwill said she enjoyed Saint-Exupéry’s classic. “I loved it. When I was reading it to my children, they always listened very raptly and one of my boys said that he wanted to be the Little Prince. It’s very short and simple, but the ideas are complex. It’s a fun and interesting read.” Goodwill also mentioned her children now read “The Little Prince” to her 13 grandchildren. On a post World War II note, the book, “Slaughterhouse Five” (published in 1969 and written by Kurt Vonnegut), tells the story of Billy Pilgrim. The protagonist becomes unstuck in time and travels to the planet Tralfamadore and meets aliens. The famous satire also revolves around the firebombing of Dresden and emphasizes Pilgrim’s lack of enthusiasm for war.Some famous T.V. shows, like “3rd Rock from the Sun” and “I Dream of Jeannie,” make their mark as outer space related entertainment. The premise for “3rd Rock,” according to IMDb, is about a “group of aliens sent to Earth, disguised as a human family, to experience and report life on the 3rd planet from the sun.” Now prominent actor, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, shows off attitude and long hair in the series. Seth Schellenberg, an undeclared Utah freshman, is a fan of the popular novel “Ender’s Game.” Although it was recently adapted for the big screen, the book came out in 1985. He said, “It’s probably in my top three favorite books. It has a lot of underlying political-type themes, and to me it shows the way that brilliant people think in order to gain power.”

Celebrations were held around the world to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8. The celebrations ranged from Indian women and children watching street plays on female empowerment to women and activists marching at the capital in Morocco holding signs that said, “Women protesting for dignity, freedom, equality, social justice.” In Afghanistan, men wore burqas to protest against violence toward women and held signs reading, “We say no to all forms of violence,” reported AP.“Thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements,” stated the International Women’s Day website. Events range “from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking to local women’s craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades, and more.”In recent years, more public awareness has been given to prevent domestic abuse toward women and increase equal treatment. “IWD gives space for women’s voices to be heard and also potential for activism to be done for women’s causes; for example, domestic abuse, body images in advertising, education and so on,” stated Anna Christiansen, a BYU-Hawaii English teacher who also teaches women’s studies. Through social media, IWD has gained notoriety to prevent abuse inside and outside the home and to help women gain equality. The IWD website states, “The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women’s education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.”Brooke Thomas, a BYUH graduate and intern from California, said in light of women’s improvement throughout history, “Well, we’ve come a long way. Feminism gets a bad name, but a lot of it now is educating people. Feminism simply means to be equal. It doesn’t mean men and women have to be the same. It just means we have equal rights, equal opportunity, equal pay...it started mostly about getting our rights and now its mostly getting our voices heard. We do hold up half the sky.”The IWD website continued, “However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university...women have real choices.”International Women’s Day was first established in 1910 when Clara Zetkin, the leader of the Women’s Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, presented the idea in a conference of 100 women from 17 countries that there should be an annual day in every country for women to press for their demands, according to the IWD website. Since 1918, IWD has grown and “become a day of global recognition and celebration for women...Women’s organizations and governments around the world have observed IWD to honor women’s advancement and be reminded of the continued vigilance and action required to ensure that women’s equality is gained and maintained in all aspects of life,” the IWD website says. Uploaded March 19, 2015

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014 marks the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers. Since that fateful day 13 years ago, the worldhas changed. The U.S. government began the “War on Terror” shortly after the attacks in October of 2001, the U.S. troops invaded Iraq and Afghanistan in 2001 and 2003 respectively, Saddam Hussein was executed in 2003, and Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011. The United States has seen great success with its military and political actions in the Middle East, but the 9/11 Memorial stands as a reminder of the work that still needs tobe done.This year, the new National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum will remain open after 6 p.m. for the first time since its opening. The new 1,776-foot-tall One World Trade Center will also open this fall. Families of first responders and relatives of those who lost their lives in the 2001 and 1993 Trade Center attacks will be able to visit the memorial and museum from 5 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 10, before the public ceremony, according to NY Daily News.In February of this year, members of the Ke Alaka‘i news team visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York City during a trip to the College Media Advisors Convention. During a visit to the 9/11 Memorial, Hannah Packard, an EXS major and writer for the Ke Alaka‘i from California, said, “I went there to be reverent and to remember the lives that were lost. I went to remember just the tragedy of it, not the anger and the injustice, just the sadness that something like this had impacted our nation so negatively.” Those who lost loved ones during the attacks said they take time on Sept. 11 to remember the ones they lost. Rylin Shore, a freshman from California majoring in biology, lost his uncle, who was visiting the South tower, 13 years ago. “I was really young when it happened, but my parents talk about it pretty often. There’s a respect that I’ve grown up with for my uncle and the other people who were lost on 9/11.” Shore explained this time of year is difficult for his family, but they are grateful for those who built the memorial in New York City. Packard said she is grateful for the memorial too and grateful for “how much effort went into making a special, beautiful place for remembering.” Thousands of lives were lost on 9/11, and more lives continue to be lost in the “War on Terror.” They are all reverenced and remembered at the 9/11 Memorial. Speaking about the threat of ISIS in the Middle East on Sept. 10 of this year, President Barack Obama said, “We will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are. This is a core principle of my presidency: If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.”

Effective Nov. 3, Dr. Marcus H. Martins will become BYU–Hawaii’s new associate dean of Religious Education in the College of Human Development. Martins will assume responsibilities of representation to the University Academic Counsel and provide insights and leadership to the various professors of the Department of Religious Education.

While having a multicultural university experience on the sunny shores of Hawaii is one reason people said they came to BYU-Hawaii, 12 students shared deeper, individual stories of how they came to Laie on the second day of Fall Semester. Reasons included wanting to major in the university’s international cultural studies program, personal inspiration they needed to come to BYUH, the opportunity to study at a LDS Church school, a convert’s desire to learn more about the LDS Church, and more. The interviews were conducted by students in the Communications 211 Media Writing class.

Along with the regular press about the Super Bowl, much of the hype leading up to the game wasn’t about the Broncos or the Seahawks but about Richard Sherman, the Seahawks Pro Bowl cornerback. Reactions to Sherman’s comments created rivalries among sports fans leading up to the Super Bowl. “He had just won the game and was going to the Super Bowl. He was in game mode and reacted like he would in game mode,” said Jenna Jones, a communications major from Gilbert, Arizona.In the last minute of the NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sherman blocked a pass in the end zone that was then intercepted by linebacker Malcolm Smith, securing the win for Seattle. Immediately after the game, Sherman shocked the football world, not with his spectacular play, but with his words.In an on-field interview following the game, Sherman, in speaking with Fox’s Erin Andrews, said, “I’m the best corner in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s what you’re going to get. Don’t you ever talk about me.” Within minutes of the interview, the social media world exploded with various opinions regarding Sherman’s comments. The Pro Bowler instantly became the hot topic of discussion across the nation as a number of newspapers, TV shows and radio talk shows could not stop buzzing about his post-game rant. Since, Sherman has participated in follow-up interviews on CNN and ESPN First Take, where he got into a heated debate with host Skip Bayless.Talking about the incident, Landon Southwick, a senior in business management from Kaysville, Utah, said, “Even though I don’t like trash talk, I blame Fox for the bad spin. Don’t stick a microphone in someone’s face when you know they are going to be emotional, especially with a guy who has a past of speaking out.” The Super Bowl turned out to be a big win for Sherman and the Seahawks as they shutdown the Broncos 43-8. Sherman got injured in the second half of the game and carried off the field.

The United States of America is the largest receiver of immigrants in the world, reported the German science magazine geo.de. People of different ethnicities have become neighbors and members of the same country ever since, but in this era of migration, it happens at a speed and intensity that has not been known before.

With a landslide victory in the Philippines presidential election, Rodrigo Duterte was given the trust by the nation due to his prior successes as mayor in the city of Davao, said BYU-Hawaii students from the island nation. Duterte passed all of his competitors with 39 percent of votes, reported BBC.

An outrageous and illegal mountain top villa has been built by a rich medicine mogul on top of a 26-story apartment in Beijing, the capital city of China. The government has given him 15 days to tear out the entire structure before authorities would take action, reports Associated Press.The building built like a mountain with “rooms, rocks, trees and bushes,” took over the entire 26th floor, which is more than 8,600 square feet, and later damaged the “building's structural integrity and its pipe system,” reports AP.The name of the owner was not announced. However, according to AP, he is “the head of a traditional Chinese medicine business and former member of the district's political advisory body.” "They've been renovating for years. They normally do it at night," said a resident on the building's 25th floor, who wished to remain unidentified. He said any attempt to talk some sense into the owner was ignored and described the owner as ”very arrogant. He could care less about my complaints," reports AP.Efrain Elias Ramos, a senior majoring in IT from Mexico, said the owner “can do whatever he wants on his floor to the point where it doesn’t affect the other residents.” However, if the owner cannot respect this agreement, then “I agree that he has to remove it in order to show respect to other residents.”Authorities took action only when videos of the villa were spread around the Chinese media with the headline of “Beijing's most outrageous illegal structure," reports AP. Zoram Gallando Armenta, a sophomore majoring in computer science from Mexico, said the government finally took action regarding the owner’s renovation of his villa “because it is beneficial for the government, [and] it shows that they support and care about the people.” He said the government wanted to make a good impression on their citizens.