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With recent hits like “What Does the Fox Say?,” “Gangnam Style” and “Call Me Maybe,” all of which transcended throughout the world, foreign music is becoming an international phenomenon. Although students at BYU-Hawaii speak over 50 different languages, music is something that the multicultural student body shares a common interest in and is a way to bridge the language gap. Maddie Merchant, a freshman from BYU visiting Laie, noticed something different about BYU-Hawaii. “Everyone is so different and everyone listens to different music, but they still have so much in common.” Merchant continued, “They listen to songs from their own country and in their own language, but they still know all these popular songs that have gone viral. It’s really cool to see how connected everyone is through music.” Through media outlets such as YouTube, ITunes, Facebook, and Twitter, foreign music has gained access in nearly every country throughout the world. However, students at BYUH have their own theories about how songs become so popular internationally. Brooke Lindahl, a freshman in psychology from Arizona, said, “I think they really appeal to kids even though they might not be able to understand what the song is about. They have a really good beat, and a lot of the songs have dances to go with them and everyone just gets addicted.” Sarah Precourt, a freshman in psychology from Virginia, added, “Honestly, people just listen to them to make fun of them, or show their friends. Then, they just get stuck in your head and you can’t stop singing them. You eventually end up loving the song, even though you have no idea what the lyrics mean.”“Gangnam Style,” by South Korean musician Psy, is arguably the biggest international music hit. The song has drawn over 1.9 billion views on YouTube, and is known all around the BYUH campus. Psy released Gangnam style and only 10 days after releasing the dance video, it became the most watched and liked video in YouTube history, and Psy became an international icon. In an interview with Time Magazine, Psy admitted that luck was the reason Gangnam Style went viral. ”I think this is all about luck. They say some philosopher said, ‘when effort meets chance, then there is luck…’ Chance was YouTube and effort my last 12 years because I’ve done these kinds of dance moves and videos and songs for 12 years.”

“Our mantra is: If you don’t build your own dreams, someone’s going to hire you and build theirs. And we really want students to build their own dreams,” said Jason Earl, the director of the Willes Center, when asked about the focus of Empower Your Dreams, the annual competition held this year on May 11-12. “Empower Your Dreams is a crash course to starting a business,” said Robby Whites, a guest judge and co-founder of Clarus Glassboards. His partner, Jeremy Rincon, said in a presentation to students at the awards ceremony, “Many people love the idea of entrepreneurship, but not the reality. Entrepreneurship requires fearless leadership, and you need to stand alone. And it can be terrifying.” Earl said this was the seventh year of the event, and this year’s was the biggest one yet. “It started out relatively small and then over time it was so successful they decided to dedicate a whole day to it,” Earl said. In giving advice to student entrepreneurs, Rincon said, “The risks are you’ll fail. But I strongly believe that anything that’s easy isn’t worth trying for. So don’t let failure be an impediment to pursuing your dreams.” Heather Staker, a guest judge and co-founder of elementary learning platforms “Brain Chase” and “Ready to Blend,” said, “I feel in my life that I’ve had heavenly inspiration about the path that’s right for me. So I would recommend in any situation, as we’re choosing careers or startup enterprises, that we tune in to that source of direction.” Rincon advised, “Think big. It sounds cliché to say it, but I think every single concept we heard today was bigger than the individual person.” Guest judge Elizabeth Smart, president of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, agreed, saying her best piece of advice is simply to “do what you have a passion for.” This year the event was held in the PCC’s Hawaiian Journey Theater, where the students presented their businesses on a six-story screen. Earl said this year over $30,000 was given out to fund students’ businesses, which is more money than has ever been given out in the competition. Hyram Yarbo, a sophomore from Arizona studying international cultural studies who competed in Empower Your Dreams, said students submitted business proposals with all the aspects of how their company is run: descriptions of the service or product, marketing plans, and who’s on the team. Five finalists were chosen for each category–International, Social, Domestic, and Community–to submit their proposal before the guest judges. Yarbo said students needed commitment to their business to make it into the competition. “If you entered the competition without fully believing in your business, you shouldn’t have entered. Because you have to believe in it.” He added the judges were looking for the effort students put into the businesses. “If you haven’t put skin in the game and really involved yourself in the creation of your business, who’s to say you’re not going to back out?” Smart said she was impressed with all of the students’ ideas, how well thought-out their businesses were, and how well-prepared the presentations were. Whites added seeing the students’ passion for their businesses was inspiring. He also said he admired that so many people wanted to give back to those in need and make a difference in the world through their businesses. Kalin Uluave, a senior from Laie studying business, won the first place prize of $5,000 in the Domestic Category with his business “Lift Humanity,” which sells bracelets and bags made by merchants in Third World countries. Uluave said he definitely didn’t expect to win, but said he plans to use the money to start an online platform and a social media presence for his business. Uluave said he enjoyed Empower Your Dreams and the event allowed him to network and make connections. “It was awesome to meet some mentors who showed me what I could be doing to make more money, what I’m doing that’s wasting money and time, and what I can do to better scale the business.” He added it was fun to have his wife, Kiana Uluave, win first place in the Community Category with her business “The North Shore Coupon,” a coupon card that partners with businesses across the North Shore to give percent off deals to card owners. He said his wife plans to make contacts with over 100 businesses before she launches the card for Fall student orientation. Uluave laughed, “She’s more of the brains. I just try to follow her.” WinnersInternational1st: “Accent Champion”Sze Wan Feigleson2nd: “Deseret Aluminum”Christian Kevin Kusuma and Mosia Lucianto3rd: “A&J Fertility Group”Amulek Ming Wei YuCommunity 1st: “The North Shore Coupon”Kiana Uluave2nd:“Native Edge”Josh Riboldi3rd:“Word Power Genius”Dale Hammond and Jacob GoldDomestic1st: “Lift Humanity”Kalin Uluave2nd: “Just in Case”Katie Bak, Demaree Brown and Joshua Carter3rd: “Tovo Care Givers, LLC”Lavinia TovoSocial1st: “The Kapalu Connection” William Arnett III2nd: “Tossd Salt Spray”Savannah Allred3rd: “Ayele Foundation”Augustine Cassis Boateng

The comics industry has been primary a man’s world with few woman characters represented in comics publications like DC Comics and Marvel. “To say the comic book industry has a slight gender skew is like saying Superman is kind of strong,” says Walt Hickey, from ESPN Five Thirty Eight news website. Comic books greatly under-represent women, says Hickey, because the people who are writing, drawing, and publishing comic books are overwhelming men. However, Jenna Busch, founder of comic site Legion of Leia and co-host of an online series “Cocktails” with Stan Lee, with Fox 411, said that stereotype has changed. “There are far more female fans of comics than ever, and we’re far more vocal,” said Busch. While comic books cast their woman in a man’s world, Busch said she has $109,000 worth of proof that woman should and will now have greater rolls in comic books. Fox 411 reports Busch recently was part of a Kickstart campaign for a female-centered comic anthology called “Womanthology.” It was created by women and raised $79,000 more than their $30,000 goal. Busch told Fox 411 more female writers and illustrators are needed in order to bring more realistic female representations to comic books. Busch said she wants DC and Marvel to hire more female writers, “If there are awesome female characters, there is without a doubt going to be more female fans. Make something [women] want to read.”BYU-Hawaii student Anna Hadley, an undecided freshman from Texas, said in response to a have more women-dominated roles in comic books, “All woman want is to be heard and not objectified.”Another BYUH student, Anna Delafuente Rodriguez, an undecided freshman from Maryland, added, “Let what the people have what they want. I want to read a comic book where the woman saves the day. What’s so wrong with that?” Five Thirty Eight reports females make up one in four comic book characters. “Woman have been ignored in comic books for decades and they still don’t bring woman anywhere close to parity,” says information on the site. In response to this disparity, Marvel just published a new series featuring a female Thor and DC Comics upgraded Batgirl’s costume, says Five Thirty Eight. “I think whatever the major comic books try to do, woman will always want more,” said BYUH student Michael Atchely, a sophomore in EXS from Texas. “If woman are choosing to read comics that are predominately male, then they shouldn’t be complaining.”There has been backlash with the push to increase woman’s roles in comic books. Fox 411 reports Marvel published a cover of an almost porn-like portrayal of Spider Woman. Causing social media to stir, Marvel issued a statement apologizing for sending out a message that questioned their gender equality content, reported Fox 411.Creator of Ms. Marvel, G. Willow Wilson, said at this year’s New York Comic Con, “I think we know that things are excellent when we can get at least one female-led comic book title into the top 10, or even the top five, monthly bestselling comic book titles.”

Former CIA Agent, Homeland Security Agent, and BYU in Provo graduate Tim Ballard has taken to the silver screen to show what he and his team of former Navy SEALs, Special Ops, and CIA operatives are doing to end human trafficking and child sex slavery. In his movie, “The Abolitionists,” Ballard brings audiences to the front lines of a well-hidden war affecting millions of people around the world every day. The feature follows Ballard and company as they go deep undercover in cities around the world to liberate children from the hands of their unlawful captors. The movie’s launch website, www.theabolitionistsmovie.com, records how Ballard formed his team known as Operation Underground Railroad after a career of rescuing children from sexual exploitation both domestically and overseas for Homeland Security. The website says, “Despite the U.S. government’s best efforts, Tim observed that red tape and bureaucracy left many children falling through the cracks. These children constitute over 90% of the children lost to child sex slavery, and Tim could do nothing to help them while in the employment of the U.S. government.” Sala McCarthy Stonex, a senior political science major from Laie, said, “I think the most inspiring thing is the fact that Tim was not only a special agent who took on such a rough job, but also left the cover of the U.S. government to go out and make an even bigger impact.” Erica Greer, a sophomore exercise science major from Virginia, saw the movie and said one of the things she admired most aboutBallard and his team was how they always said a prayer before planning a mission or going into a deal. Though his faith is never directly referenced in “The Abolitionists” or on the O.U.R.’s website, www.ourrescue.org, his biography says he served a “church mission in Chile,” and is a BYU graduate. In each of the on-screen operations, Ballard inserts himself directly into the buyer’s market to arrange meetings with as many underage sex workers as their traffickers will allow. Once all the children are present and the dealers have been paid, Ballard gives a signal and his team, accompanied by the local government, swarm in and bring the slave traders to justice. Julia Anderson, a junior intercultural peacebuilding major from Utah, also saw the film and shared her thoughts: “It was so inspiring to see the great care that Operation Undercover Railroad has for these precious souls. They risked their lives to save these innocent children.” Once freed, O.U.R. helps find a safe home for the former child slaves and continues to work with them to help them work through any trauma they have. Ballard believes “The rescue isn’t complete until the healing of the child happens.” Since O.U.R.’s founding in 2013, it has been directly responsible for the liberation of more than 500 sex slaves and has put more than 180 traffickers behind bars, according to www.ourrescue.org. The film brings to light how common, especially among children, sex trafficking is in the world today. When O.U.R. visits Colombia in the film, child pornography is so commonplace, it can actually be bought on the street corner of a busy marketplace. Purchasing an evening with an underage girl there is as easy as going to the beach and asking around to find out who’s selling. When the team goes to Haiti to help a man track down his abducted son, they discover an orphanage where children who aren’t old enough to speak can be bought after about 15 minutes of talking to the caretaker. Anderson said, “I couldn’t believe how nonchalant the traffickers were.” While O.U.R. is out traveling the world to liberate children from the hands of their slave-trading abductors, they have provided a way for members of the general public to use their time and resources to raise awareness of the issue. Anderson said, “After the movie, I looked into how I can help with the cause using my own talents. I submitted an application to volunteer with collecting humanitarian needs and aftercare.” She continued, “Hopefully I’ll be able to work from home right now as part of the recruiting team, website management, fund raising, collecting humanitarian needs and educating people about the project.” O.U.R.’s website shows several celebrities who have committed to join the movement, including popular electronic music producer, Kaskade, who went on record to say, “The day I became a father, it felt like a primal switch was flipped. There’s little I wouldn’t do to secure the safety of my own children. O.U.R.’s mission to do just that for children who have been involved in modern-day slavery speaks to that same feeling. This is a fight I can get behind.” While O.U.R.’s movement is gaining popularity through social media and with the limited nationwide release of “The Abolitionists,” there is still a long way to go to fully abolish child sex slavery. The FBI reported sex slavery is “The fastest growing business of organized crime and the third-largest criminal enterprise in the world.” Esther Candari, a junior art major from Kaneohe, said she has been following the topic for a few years and explained the growing prevalence of child sex slavery is due in part to pornography. She explained, “So many Westerners go to countries like that to engage in child trafficking because they got into porn and became desensitized.” She added that in many cases, porn addicts no longer get excited by “normal” pornography and start exploring more “hardcore” genres until they eventually end up addicted to child pornography. Candari explained that after a while, the addicts “want the real thing” and go where they can get it. To learn more about Operation Underground Railroad and how you can support the movement, visit www.ourrescue.org. “The Abolitionists” was only available for viewing on May 13 and 16 in select theaters. The times and locations of future showings can be found on www.theabolitionistsmovie.com.

Last week the Sundance Film Festival hosted the new Mitt Romney documentary that gives viewers an exclusive look into the two presidential campaigns by Mitt Romney and his family. “[One] thing I need to tell you about the Romneys is that they are polite to a fault. They are extremely gracious people,” said the director of “Mitt,” Greg Whitely, to US News. “So as the couple of them that came up to me and wished me congratulations, I’m not sure I can tag that as an indication of whether they liked the film or not. I just don’t know.”The documentary was produced by Netflix and released on Friday, Jan. 24. The documentary features footage shot over the course of six years by Whitley, including intimate moments in the Romney home from as far back as 2006. The film portrays Romney as a family man and narrows the gap between the public’s perception of “Robot Romney” and who he really is, according to the New York Daily News.“I think it will be helpful for people to see what Mormons are all about,” said Taylor Bramwell, a junior majoring in EXS from Kailua. “A lot of people have questions because he was a very popular candidate for the presidency, so I think it will be good for people to see more about his personal life. A lot of what they see is skewed.”Whitley, after showing friends various cuts of the film, found that the candid scenes he captured surprised and shocked those who viewed Romney the way the media portrayed him. “These were people who mostly were pretty disposed to not like Mitt Romney, and then when they would see this footage they were surprised,” Whitley told US News on Jan. 23. “There was a gulf between how he was publicly digested and the footage that I got. I think that’s probably the secret sauce to the movie I made.”Romney was aware of his weaknesses as a Republican candidate, but knew it would ultimately give him an identity he would be proud to represent for the rest of his life. “When this is over, I will have built a brand name,” said Romney, as quoted in Rolling Stone Magazine’s “7 Things We Learned from the Mitt Romney Sundance Doc” by Logan Hill. “Everyone will know what I stand for,” said Romney.Chelsea Owens, a senior majoring in EXS, agreed, saying, “I hadn’t actually heard about it, but it would probably be an interesting movie and good to see a more in depth perspective.”