NOT PUBLISHED

C. Jennings Breakey
The Western Front
Editorial

Valentine’s Day expresses a wonderful gift to humankind — love. But Feb. 14, a day of kisses, candles and romance, celebrates a love skewed by Hollywood and the media. People no longer know love’s true meaning.

Everyone longs for love in some way, shape or form. The problem is, however, that most people rely on television, magazines and music as their guide to find it.

Media portrays a formula of finding love to its victims — Be sexy, find a warm body and fall in love.

People start their love quest by strutting their stuff, wearing tight clothing or sporting Hollister, Abercrombie or some other high-end brand name. This love is like hunting or fishing with your body, waiting for someone to bite.

Strong emotions and feelings kick in once somebody nabs the bait, creating what the media describes as love.

If a problem occurs during this process, then the media’s love conveys to people to repeat the steps.

Media’s portrayal of love usually begins as a physical attraction, which stimulates emotions soon thereafter. In other words, people fall in love without knowing the other person — their hopes, dreams, religion, likes and dislikes.

This is selfish, immature infatuation, not love. It screams, ‘How will this relationship fulfill me?’

In a world where love is used to describe pizza, football and vehicles, there’s no wonder why people haven’t found true love.

America’s media reveals love in sappy movies, where love is nothing more than flirting and sex. The Greeks, however, discovered true love by coining three levels of love — eros, phileo and agape.

Eros is a physical love, and is where English derives the word erotic. This level of love is sensual and conditional.

The media portrays love as eros alone, accounting for the abundance of relationship baggage and heartache in this day and age.

Eros is an important part of love, but without the other Greek levels of love, eros leads to disaster because people can’t please their significant other at all times.

Phileo is friendship love that can talk about nothing for hours — like best friends who share mutual interests. Phileo loves a person for his or her character, not simply for what one gets out of the relationship.

The third love is agape, which is unconditional love. Agape loves when someone doesn’t deserve to be loved. It gives without expecting anything in return and forgives the unforgivable.

The Bible uses agape love to describe Christ’s love when He died on the cross for the sins of the world. In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, a book in the Bible, God’s inspired word says love is patient, kind, not jealous, not boastful, not arrogant, doesn’t act unbecomingly, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered and does not rejoice in unrighteousness.

1 Corinthians then states that love rejoices with truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things — love never fails.

True love is the three Greek levels of love meshed as one. Together, these loves unravel the media’s deceitful portrayal of love, crush selfishness and can revolutionize the way people go about finding true love.

Unlike the media’s version of love, where one starts by becoming as sexy as possible, true love becomes generous, caring, other-oriented and forgiving — becoming the person instead of looking for the person.

Relationships always hit bumps in the road regardless if it’s anchored by the media’s love or true love. However, there’s a big difference between the two loves when relationships go through trials.

When the media’s version of love goes sour, then both people blame each other for the relationships’ mishaps. When true love comes across rough times, then both lovers check themselves to find and work through the problem.

Through it all, love is a choice. Most people choose to satisfy themselves at all times and ditch their significant other at some point in the relationship, accounting for America’s astronomical divorce rates.

The average couple marrying in recent years has a lifetime probability of divorce or separation close to 50 percent, according to the June 2004 “The State of Our Unions, 2004: The Social Health of Marriage in America” The National Marriage Project.

The media’s love gave birth to a generation of people afraid of commitment and marriage — people who are satisfied with one-night stands and shallow relationships.

If people continue swallowing what the media slams down their throats, then soon anniversaries will be a thing of the past.

A real man or woman isn’t defined by how many significant others he or she has had. Instead, real men and women are those who stay true to each other, leaving no space for the common copout phrases heard so often today: It just didn’t work out. He wasn’t the one. She didn’t love me like this other girl does.

Valentines Day is the day to express love to significant others, the media says. But true love expresses love for a lifetime — 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year.

"Making History" -- March 8, 2006

Statistics compiled by C. Jennings Breakey
The Western Front

The Western women’s basketball team finished its regular season Saturday with a 76-48 win at Northwest Nazarene.

The Vikings, 26-1 overall and 18-0 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, won the conference title and the NCAA Division II West Region No. 1 position. The team will host the regional tournament for the first time. This will be the Vikings eighth straight appearance in the regional tournament, which begins Friday in Carver Gym.

Player stats:

Samantha Hubbard
Position: Guard
Height: 5’6’’
Year: Senior

Key stats: Hubbard averaged 5.3 points per game and led the team with a total of 119 assists. She ranked second in the GNAC in assists, averaging 4.41 per game. Hubbard finished the season atop the GNAC in assist/turnover ratio at 2.38/1.

Coach Dolfo’s quote: “Sam is an amazing defender. She wears their (opponent’s) point guard down every game.”

Kelly Dykstra
Position: Guard
Height: 5’10’’
Year: Senior

Key stats: Dykstra averaged 13.2 points per game this season and finished first in the GNAC in field goal percentage, hitting 55 percent from the field. She also contributed from the three-point range, shooting 38.7 percent from behind the arc.

Coach Dolfo’s quote: “Kelly does it all — plays good defense, can score both outside and in, and is a great leader on the team.”

Courtney Clapp
Position: Center

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Height: 5’11’’
Year: Senior

Key stats: Clapp led the team in scoring with 13.8 points per game, sixth in the GNAC, and she pulled down 5.7 rebounds per game. She shot 53.3 from the field, third in GNAC, and was named to three all-tournament teams this season.

Coach Dolfo’s quote: “Courtney scores inside and out, and is a player who really steps up.”

Tina Donahue
Position: Forward
Height: 6’0’’
Year: Senior

Key stats: Donahue averaged 13.6 points per game this season. Her 42.1 percent three-point shooting led the team, and was good enough for fourth in the GNAC. She also led the team in free-throw percentage with 79.5.

Coach Dolfo’s quote: “Tina always guards the best offensive player on the other team, so I think she does it at both ends of the floor. She’s a very unselfish player.”

Mollie Stelmack
Position: Guard
Height: 5’11’’
Year: Junior

Key stats: Stelmack averaged 10.3 points per game and shot 38.4 percent from beyond the arc. Her free-throw percentage was 75.6.

Coach Dolfo’s quote: “Mollie can really get our team pumped up. She’s a great shooter and does a good job of creating on the court. She is very encouraging and gets people excited.”

Liz McCarrell
Position: Forward
Height: 5’11’’
Year: Sophomore

Coach Dolfo’s quote: “Liz can really change the pace of the game when she comes on the court. She’s a good driver and has been hitting some threes.”

Willow Cabe

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Position: Center
Height: 6’1’’
Year: Freshman

Coach Dolfo’s quote: “Willow is an incredible athlete with a real promising future. She is starting to step up more now that she’s getting more comfortable with the program.”

Claire Pallansch
Position: Forward
Height: 6’1’’
Year: Freshman

Coach Dolfo’s quote: “Claire comes into the post and really improved on her defense this year, and to me, isn’t playing like a freshman. She goes in and owns the boards.”

Elyse Hartman
Position: Guard
Height: 5’8’’
Year: Sophomore

Coach Dolfo’s quote: “Elyse is really starting to come on now. She’s got a good ability to score inside and out, and she’s a good passer.”

Stephanie Dressel
Position: Center
Height: 6’2’’
Year: Senior

Coach Dolfo’s quote: “She has had the most amazing attitude about her (torn anterior cruciate ligament). She has worked hard, our team loves her, she’s been so supportive, so selfless, and just a key part of our team.”

Krista Lersch
Position: Forward/Center
Height: 6’2’’
Year: Freshman

Coach Dolfo’s quote: “She comes to practice every day to work hard. She has been amazing on the end of the bench, encouraging her team.”

Krystal Robinson
Position: Forward
Height: 6’2’’
Year: Junior

Coach Dolfo’s quote: “She is the fire and spark of our team. She’s loud, gets people going, upbeat, and she gives people confidence.”

Chris Joseph Taylor / The Western Front

Western’s women’s basketball team circles around head coach Carmen Dolfo during practice Jan. 19 in Carver Gym.

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"Women extend win streak" -- Feb. 28, 2006

By C. Jennings Breakey
The Western Front

One by one, members of Western’s women’s basketball team gathered at the center of Carver gym Saturday night, extending their arms around each other before taking on Seattle University in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game.

Wearing their shiny white home jerseys, seniors Tina Donahue, Courtney Clapp, Kelly Dykstra, Samantha Hubbard and Stephanie Dressel led the Vikings in shouting, “Western.”

Fans praised the five seniors with cheers as the players proceeded to exchange hugs with Western head coach Carmen Dolfo minutes before playing their last regular season game as Vikings.

“They have just been amazing seniors,” Dolfo said. “It’s a lot of years, a lot of experience, a lot into the program and we love them.”

Still, the Vikings expect to play more games at home after crushing Seattle University 84-57 on senior night.

“I’m so confident that we are going to be hosting regionals,” said Clapp, who finished with a game-high 16 points. “It doesn’t feel like our last (regular season) game.”

Western, 24-1 overall and 16-0 in GNAC, needs to win its next two games against Seattle Pacific University and Northwest Nazarene University to have the opportunity to host the regional tournament, which begins March 10.

Seattle University, 13-11 overall and 8-8 GNAC, played physical against Western, diving for steals and pushing for position in the paint, which kept the score close for most of the first half, Clapp said.

But the Redhawks’ rough play lead to early foul trouble for Seattle University, and the Vikings used a 10-1 run to jump out to a 31-17 lead with 5:03 remaining in the first half.

Seattle University head coach Dan Kriley said his team competed for the first 20 minutes, but failed to step up in the second half.

“We talked about it at halftime, how explosive they are,” he said. “Against a team like Western, if you get down by more than 15 points, it’s pretty much over.”

Western forwards Dykstra and Donahue finished the game with 14 and 12 points, respectively, and the 5-foot-6-inch guard Hubbard contributed eight points.

Dressel, Western’s injury-plagued backup forward, played three minutes before injuring her right knee with 4:01 left in the first half while playing defense.

Dressel suffered a torn ACL in the right knee Jan 10., causing her to miss nine games before returning to. Dressel said she will be ready to play in the regional tournament.

Western junior guard Mollie Stelmack also chipped in with three assists and 12 points, including two three-pointers.

With four players scoring in double figures against the Redhawks, Dolfo attributed the win to the team’s chemistry and broad scoring attack.

“I think it’s kind of been our bread and butter all year, our balance,” she said. “It certainly showed tonight, and I think it showed their unselfishness of just one extra pass. They don’t care who does it as long as it gets done.”

Donahue, who moved into the 15th spot on Western’s career scoring list last week with 1,128 points, enjoyed her last regular season home game and is counting the days to next week’s game against Seattle Pacific.

“I’m not sad, I’m excited — just looking forward to the rest of the season,” she said. “It’s just the beginning.”

Chris Huber / The Western Front

Western senior guard Samantha Hubbard drives to the hoop against Seattle University defenders Saturday at Carver Gym.

"Vikings women pummel Saints" -- Feb. 24, 2006

By C. Jennings Breakey
The Western Front

One game at a time — that’s what Western women’s basketball coach Carmen Dolfo relayed to her players before Wednesday’s game against Saint Martin’s University.

Western senior forward Kelly Dykstra and sophomore guard Elyse Hartman got the message.

Shortly after entering the game midway through the first half, Hartman elevated for a three-pointer near the Saints’ bench with 12:27 until halftime. The shot was the Vikings first field goal outside of the paint.

Vikings players then pushed the ball up the court in their next possession and dished the ball to Hartman, who cut and drove her way through the Saint’s defenders for a lay-up.

“I just have more confidence right now,” said Hartman, who finished with 16 points and three assists. “Coaches have been telling me, ‘You’re a good shooter — shoot the ball.’ ”

The 5-point run ignited the Vikings, 23-1 overall and 15-0 in GNAC, offense and lead to an 84-52 Great Northwest Athletics Conference blowout.

Dykstra pestered the Saints, 9-16 overall and 5-11 in GNAC, from her first lay-up in the first two minutes of the game to her last lay-up with 20 seconds left in the game.

She ended the contest with 19 points on eight of 11 shooting, five rebounds and three steals.

“She runs the floor well, very strong on her moves — a bunch of ‘and-ones,’ ” said Western freshman forward Claire Pallansch. “She’s money.”

Midway through the game the announcers told the crowd that West Region No. 1 ranked Cal State Bakersfield lost to Cal State Los Angeles that night.

The Vikings came into Wednesday’s game ranked No. 2 in the Division II West Region, and now might find themselves dethroning Cal State Bakersfield when updated rankings are released next week.

Despite the news, Dolfo wants her players to learn from Cal State Bakersfield’s loss.

“The fact is, it could happen to us in a second,” she said. “I hope we can learn from that. We have to focus on each game and each minute we’re on the court.”

Pallansch and senior forward Tina Donahue cleaned up inside against the Saints, working the boards for a total of 12 and 8 rebounds, respectively.

Western sophomore Liz McCarrell netted five of her 11 points from the free throw line, and chipped in two assists.

With Western’s final home game Saturday against GNAC No. 5 Seattle University, Dolfo emphasized the Vikings need to stay focused.

“You have to come out and realize that they have nothing to lose,” she said. “One game at a time, and we can not look beyond.”

Chris Joseph taylor / the western front

Western senior center Stephanie Dressel extends the ball out and over Saint Martin University junior forward Whitney Golob as she scores two of Western’s 48 first half points Wednesday night at Carver Gym. The Vikings won 84-52