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Volume 61 Issue 4
Thursday, October 5, 2023
THE USD VISTA VISTA
The Official Student Newspaper of the University of San Diego since 1968
Presenting the first-ever Torero Runway Marketing students showcase fashion with a purpose
SPENCER BISPHAM MANAGING EDITOR As morning clouds finally parted last Thursday, the Paseo de Colachis was primed for the Torero Runway: a fashion show benefiting survivors of recent wildfires and the Maui Strong Fund. Seventeen students graced the catwalk in outfits from Fabletics, Forever 21, Express, Madewell, Allsaints, Vuori, American Eagle and Zara, all provided by the event’s sponsor: Fashion Valley Mall. The show was conceived from a partnership between the proprietor of Fashion Valley — Simon Property Group — and the Knauss School of Business. However, it was the students of an upper-division USD marketing class whose shared vision strung the whole event together. Last spring, USD Professor and Department Chair of Marketing Dr. Justine Farrell connected with Fashion Valley representatives at the “Art of Marketing Conference” here in San Diego. It was there that they offered to fund the show in hopes to drive business to the mall, a proposition Farrell was excited to accept. She brought the idea back to the Knauss School,
Students recruited by Dr. Farrell’s MKTG 480 class modeled clothing on the first-ever Torero Runway. Emma-Kate Squires/The USD Vista
where it turned into an elective course, MKTG 480 advertised directly to marketing students toward the end of the semester. Although USD regularly participates in outside partnerships, Farrell noted that the Torero Runway marked a special milestone in her department. “This is the first time in
Marketing — and I think in the Knauss School of Business — that we’ve done such a highly collaborative class with an industry partner,” Farrell said. “This was the first time that it’s been fully funded through our industry partner, fully supported and fully student-led.” Farrell also acknowledged
that the path to these victories wasn’t so easy. “It’s really hard, and it’s a slog going through it, there’s a lot of stuff that’s not very exciting and not very glamorous,” Farrell admitted. “It’s been more work than the students anticipated; I’ve pushed them harder and had more expectations than if it
Dialing for dollars
USD’s Telefunding Center and its purpose KATIE FOREMAN FEATURE EDITOR Many USD students may have never realized exactly where their scholarship or financial aid is coming from, or never even thought about it. But there is one source that is providing a large portion of this scholarship money: USD’s Telefunding Center. The Telefunding Center is a mostly student-operated center in Degheri Alumni Center responsible for raising money for student scholarships, financial aid, new technology, new buildings and more. The call center staffs 35 students every year who call 35,000 alumni and parents to gather donations; in the past years, they have raised over $400,000 annually. In
addition to Telefunding Manager Ahnyte Gomez-Cervantes, who oversees students, there are student-managers and studentcallers in charge of collecting these funds for USD. Students spoke about an average day in the life of a telefunder, as well as what a rewarding experience it has been. USD junior Alaon Saulet joined the telefunding team last spring and explained his process of making calls. “When I call, I usually ask first why they chose to go to USD, to kind of resonate with them and see if we have any similarity or something in common. And after that, I always love to hear from them. I like being a listener, so I let them talk about their experience at USD a bit and the things they liked about it hopefully,” Saulet said.
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were another class. [But] I know that day-of, when they see that stage erected and they see the students taking their seats and all of those pieces come into place, I’m so excited to watch them feel so proud of themselves.” To conquer these challenges, students were divided into different teams, like public relations, branding, finance and fashion styling based on their personal interests and background. Each team was composed of 3-5 members who began their respective duties in mid-August, just a little over a month before the show’s debut. USD junior and Marketing/ Visual Arts double major Skyla Setzler described her role working with the styling team to choose the models’ outfits, beginning nearly two weeks before the start of classes. “We started the class early, and she [Dr. Farrell] was like, ‘hey, go to these stores,’ so we met up and kind of divided and conquered,” Setzler said. “I took care of Madewell’s outfits, I also helped with the women’s Allsaints outfit, Fabletics men’s, Vuori and Forever 21 men’s and women’s.” Setzler also mentioned that although some of the selection process occurred in person, many of the clothes
See Torero Runway, Page 3
INSIDE La Jolla beach closure See News, page 2
Fall bucket list See A&C, page 4
Best places to cry on campus See Feature, page 6
USD’s Telefunding Center raises money for students’ scholarships. Colin Mullaney/The USD Vista
“After I’m done resonating with them on that, I usually ask them for any advice, like if they’re a business major or anything, then I’ll ask them advice on being a business major. Or if they’re not a business major, and they may just have somenotes, I’ll just ask them about advice on college in general,
and I always write it down.” Saulet explained that he keeps a paper with different pieces of advice or words of wisdom that alumni and parents have given him, which he values greatly. But he cited that the true purpose of making these calls is the way
See Telefunding, Page 10
Apple’s new chargers See Opinion, page 9
International student athletes See Sports, page 12