SPRING 2020 ISSUE #2

March marks the United State’s 33rd Annual Women’s History Month. This past Sunday was International Women’s Day (IWD), and people all across the globe used the day to publicly declare their advocacy and dedication to the advancement of women’s rights.

In Mexico, protestors marched against elevating rates of femicide, while women in Pakistan chanted “my body, my choice” through the streets. The Philippines, Turkey, Mexico, the United States, and many other countries showed public consideration for the day.

When I looked up coverage of these marches online, the headlines were all variations of the same story: “women’s rights activists attacked then detained;” “Women’s Day marchers hit with stones, sticks;” “women’s rights activists detained after hooligans attack IWD rally.”

These headlines left me feeling a varying degree of emotions; unfortunately, surprise was not one of them. I wish I was more shocked that many Women’s Day protests ended in violence enacted by those committed to traditional values and gender norms. I wish I was more shocked that women in the 21st Century are still fighting for the basic rights.

As a journalist, I wish I was more shocked by the way in which these headlines victimized the women involved.

The majority of the headlines I scrolled past on the first page of Google News framed the female protestors as victims of crimes, instigators of chaos, or as blatant criminals.

None of the headlines I saw spoke a word of the protestors’ bravery, self-sacrifice, or determination to fight for their freedom.

So, I thought I’d do the media a solid and draw some light to the power behind the protests with my own headlines and captions.

Women in Mexico Use Their Voices and Their Footsteps To Incite Change An estimated 80,000 Mexican citizens flooded the streets of Mexico City on IWD, making it the largest feminist street demonstration in the country’s history. Femicide has been on the rise in the country, and many of the protestors used the historical day to insist that the country’s president take action against the issue. Many in the crowd held signs with the names of their loved ones who had fallen victim to the crimes. The protests ceased after demonstrators began throwing petrol bombs, at which point police responded with tear gas.

Women Stand Up Against the Patriarchal Traditions of their Countries In Pakistan, hundreds of women, men, and transgender Pakistanis came together in Islamabad to protest for women’s rights. Despite prior attempts from conservative lawyers to stop the protests -- and threats from opposition forces -- citizens still showed up with signs reading “my body, my choice.” The marchers were met with opposition from hardline Islamist demonstrators, including more religiously conservative women who were enraged that women felt like they had the right to make decisions for their own bodies. The protests ended in violent attacks from opposing demonstrators, but organizers said that the violence proved their point, and that the stones and mud that were thrown at them just mean that people are afraid of their power to make change.

Fears of A Life Without Rights Trumps Fears of No Life At All Despite seeing over 1,300 coronavirus cases since mid-February -- and a noteworthy spike in virus-related deaths in the past week -- French citizens nonetheless marched for their freedom. The rallies began on Saturday night, the evening before IWD, and were broken up with tear gas and violent detaining of feminist protestors. However, rather than let this deter them, women were impassioned even more to risk their safety and march through the streets of Paris on Sunday morning. One group went so far as to stage a topless protest in the center of the city while wearing unbuttoned hazmat suits and masks, denouncing a “patriarchal pandemic” being ignored within the city.

It’s time we stop framing women’s rights activists as either victims or criminals, especially female protestors. It’s time we stop giving the attention to the cowards who lash out against representatives of change. During Women’s History Month, I urge you to recognize the superheroes among us, rather than the villains who lurk behind tear gas and hateful speech.

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Administration Prepares for Possible Coronavirus-related Campus Closure Aleah Antonio and Jack Hughes | News Editor & Managing Editor Tues., March 10 was supposed to be a scheduled staff development Flex Day, but instead, it was changed to accomodate an evolving COVID-19 preparedness effort.

To prepare for the possibility that Santa Monica College (SMC) may close its campus and move classes online, faculty members were invited to participate in both hands-on and webinar-based classes to learn about internet education. This comes amidst a smattering of statewide school closures to decrease campus-wide risk of contracting coronavirus.

Superintendent Dr. Kathryn Jeffrey emailed faculty and staff on Sunday, stating the change was “to allow time for faculty, staff, and administrators to participate in training and make other preparations in the event that a campus closure becomes necessary.”

SMC’s emergency task force, cochaired by Chief of Police Johnnie Adams and Director of Health Services Dr. Susan Fila, currently has an emergency action plan in the event of a coronavirus-related campus closure, flexible according to different levels of severity.

According to Vice President of Academic Affairs Jennifer Merlic, SMC’s decision regarding a campus closure is dependent on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

“We can decide to do what we think is appropriate, but what we think is appropriate is to follow the advice of public health officials,” said Merlic. “We are waiting for public health officials to indicate that there

is a reason for us to suspend on-ground instruction… They are not indicating that there is enough risk for us to make a change at this time.”

SMC administration plans to temporarily suspend classes for its Emeritus program, a program that focuses on catering to the older adult community with non-credit classes. The Emeritus campus will be closed to all except its employees.

When asked if this procedure applies to students over the age of 60 at other SMC campuses, Merlic said, “That is up to them and their physician… we would follow the same procedures we do any time a student is sick.”

The administration also cancelled “all non-essential travel for college employees and for students,” including events such as conferences and study abroad programs.

The college has not yet decided to cancel athletic events.

As of March 10, a variety of schools around the nation, including those within California, are transitioning a majority of courses into online versions to avoid large congregations of students. UC Los Angeles, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, Whittier College, Stanford, and UC San Diego are among the many schools in California digitizing their curriculum. Out of state, the University of Washington in Seattle, Berea College in Kentucky, and Harvard University in Cambridge are also taking steps to preserve the health of their students.

Despite a lower number of Coronavirus cases in the state of Kentucky than there are in the city of Los Angeles alone, Berea College is closing its classes. In the March 10 statement, the College said “after careful analysis, [we have decided] that it will not be possible to adequately assure

student and employee safety in the circumstance of a case of COVID-19 occurring on campus, we have decided that the College will cease instructional activities as of the end of the day on this Friday, March 13.”

Gene D. Block, the Chancellor of UCLA said in a statement “like many of you, I have been carefully following news about the novel coronavirus… I believe that it is important for communities to look out for one another and do what is best for our global and UCLA communities.” He then proceeded to announce the immediate transition from in-person classes to online, with winter quarter finals to be taken remotely.

Katie Gorak, a freshman at the University of Washington, decided to come back home to Southern California for the last two weeks of her quarter following a campus-wide move to online classes. The Film and Education double major says she believes the university is not handling the situation as well as it could.

“I think there’s a lack of transparency and a lack of communication, which is incredibly frustrating,” said Gorak. “It’s a tough situation, because you don’t want to cancel class. Obviously, you want students to be healthy. It’s really hard, since coronavirus is really prevalent in Seattle…. but I don’t think they’re handling it to the best of their ability.”

She, like many other students impacted by the current events, feels as though her education is negatively affected.

“I think, for me, it’s really hard to be motivated to do stuff when I’m laying on my couch at home,” Gorak said. “If we don’t go back next quarter, it’s going to be really difficult to do all those classes online. I’m sure I wouldn’t get a fraction

out of it that I would if I actually went to class.”

A UC Berkeley computer science (C.S.) major, Sohrob Eslamieh, described the online classes there, saying “It’s just going to be different. I’m a C.S. major, so all of my C.S. classes have already been webcast. They’re 800-person classes... The C.S. department is very well-equipped for this. But all of my humanities classes… [are] going to be really different.”

Stanford sophomore Cooper deNicola says the university is deciding things “on the fly.”

“On Friday night, we were told around 5pm that there were two students being tested for possible exposure to coronavirus who were self-isolating. A couple hours after that, Stanford informed us that they were cancelling classes for the remainder of the quarter,” said deNicola.

DeNicola added, “so much of learning comes from collaborating with people in class, being able to talk to your professors, and I think a lot of that is sadly lost by this system.” Despite this though, he believes “it is the right call to make... they’re making the best decisions for the health and life of the people around them.”

“We need a little bit more time to get our faculty ready,” said Merlic. “I want to have a plan for how we’re going to have faculty ready to make this move, because [something] does seem likely to occur.”

Closing her email to the SMC staff, Dr. Jeffery said “I deeply appreciate your flexibility, cooperation, and collegial collaboration at this time of uncertainty.”

Jackie Sedley contributed to this report.

A Seat at the Table: Everytable Thrives on Center for Media and Design’s Campus Emely Chavarria | Staff Writer Santa Monica College’s (SMC) Center for Media and Design (CMD) found its first major food vendor in Everytable this February.

Everytable’s mission statement proposes an intent to fight food inequality and was founded on the principle of making a social impact.

Everytable currently has several locations in food deserts around Los Angeles, including Baldwin Hills, Watts, and Compton.

These areas are low income communities that primarily serve people of color, and have been neglected from businesses serving healthy food. Limited access to healthy food

means that, after a long day at work, residents are often forced to settle with fast food.

Everytable aims to be the nutritious counterpart of these fast food chains, striving to have the same convenience, affordability, and ubiquitousness. In the name of efficiency, all items are kept in ready-to-go containers, meaning that there has yet to be a solution for the high waste issues synonymous with the fast food industry. However, Everytable plans to transition toward 100 percent compostable packaging by next year.

Prices are kept competitively low through the company’s creation of the SmartFridge.

These tech-enabled fridges keep stock fresh and secure through credit-card activation, while minimizing the overhead cost of op-

erations.

Everytable has tried to expand into affluent communities as well, adjusting the price in accordance with the higher income of the neighborhood. This additional profit is meant to facilitate the food desert initiative.

However, several westside locations, such as the one at Santa Monica Promenade, and another at the Century City mall have since permanently closed.

Although Santa Monica does not qualify as a food desert, food options near CMD were limited before the new addition of a SmartFridge lounge. Previously, the only secure food vendors on campus were vending machines. Students would flock to the comparatively expensive food trucks located

nearby on Pennsylvania Avenue, which are often crowded by employees of neighboring businesses.

Additionally, overall food insecurity is a concern of many community college students dealing with economic hardship. In a lease agreement facilitated through the SMC Foundation, Everytable will provide students with hundreds of free meals on a regular basis. These meals, as well as a selection of additional food items, will be accessible through SMC’s first centralized food pantry, the Bodega, which is now open next to the cafeteria on main campus.

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Presidential Primaries: The Complexity of Delegates, Explained James Shippy | Staff Writer The voting public in America is quite familiar with general election terms such as “popular vote” and the often-debated “electoral college” to elect the President of the United States. However, during primary season, the process becomes a bit more complicated.

For Super Tuesday’s Presidential Primary, statewide votes are allocated to decide how many delegates a candidate will receive.

Delegates officially function as spokespeople for voters, making their choice for a candidate in July at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

California, the largest populated state in the country, accounts for a robust 415 pledged delegates (144 state-wide, 271 congressional). Those pledged delegates are distributed in a proportional process, with 33 percent allocated to state-wide delegates, and a

majority, 66 percent going to congressional district delegates.

During the California Primary, a candidate must receive 15 percent of state wide or congressional districts votes to maintain their delegates. Any candidate that received less than 15 percent loses their delegates, and they have to be redirected. While state-wide delegates are proportionally reallocated to candidates with the highest totals, congressional district delegates have the freedom to choose which candidate they support at the DNC. How do these “free agent” congressional district delegates choose candidates at the convention? One of many options is to base their final choice on dropped-out candidates’ endorsements. For example, as Senator Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the race within days of Super Tuesday, they pledged support for former Vice President Joe Biden. This could sway delegate votes to Biden at the convention, especially

if he or Senator Bernie Sanders fail to lock up the Democratic nomination beforehand.

To make matters more complicated, California voters could wait weeks to find out the results of the primary. This is due to California allowing same day provisional ballot registrations and mail-in ballots which were able to be postmarked up until midnight of Super Tuesday.

Some states are trying to reform the primary voting process going forward. For instance, Hawaii, Kansas, Alaska, and Wyoming are using ranked-choice voting for the 2020 Democratic primaries. Rankedchoice voting allows for voters to vote for multiple candidates on a single ballot, ranking them by preference. Kat Nilsen, a Santa Monica College (SMC) student, prefers this option.

“Instead of choosing just one, you get to rank your candidates on a scale from best to worst,” Nilsen said. “That way you’re not wasting your vote or doing a spoiler vote. It

takes away the policy of voting for the lesser of two evils.”

Although ranked choice voting could provide an outcome more reflective of the majority of voters, there’s not enough research to guarantee it would improve the current primary process. “I believe it’s somewhat confusing, but I don’t know the ramifications of removing the delegate process,” said SMC student, Maxwell Scarlatelli.

As of today, Joe Biden currently leads Bernie Sanders in delegates, 664 to 573.

These totals are bound to change, as primaries are taking place this week in Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri and Washington, along with North Dakota’s Democratic Caucus. There’s still plenty of primary delegates to be divvied up before reaching the magic number of 1,991, to clinch the nomination.

Former Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Steps into the Non-Profit World Paris Wise | Staff Writer Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang made an appearance on the daytime television show “The View” on March 5 where he announced the launch of his non-profit, Humanity Forward, that wants to build a “Human Centered Movement.”

Endorsing political candidates who share the same platforms as Yang, such as Universal Basic Income (UBI) and data privacy protection, lay the foundation for this movement. The non-profit has already secured $3 million for these projects and issues important to Yang and those who join Humanity Forward.

Yang’s version of UBI, which he calls the Freedom Dividend, proposes that $1,000 is given to American citizens over the age of 18, every month in order to take the stress off of American workers being replaced by automation and technological advances. UBI would provide a “basic income” for necessities as those workers seek out other opportunities to support themselves and their families. This is a platform Yang stood on during his campaign and still does with this non-profit.

Through Humanity Forward’s site you can donate to help the “grassroots campaign in the months ahead,” as Yang seeks out recipients to begin the UBI movement. Humanity Forward has already received celebrity endorsements, including Reddit

working to tackle is data privacy protection, with an aim to “empower Americans to retake control of their data and get compensated

activate new voters through endorsing candidates as well as starting a podcast in the near future.

The non-profit Humanity Forward is not meant to be confused with the Super Political Action Committee (PAC)*, the “Humanity Forward Fund,” that was initially launched in July 2019. Although Yang accepted the backing of the Humanity Forward Fund, Yang’s campaign site has promised if he were to become president, he would “Eliminate super PACs and vessels for corporate intervention in campaigns.” Regardless of Yang’s stance on Super PAC’s, the non-profit Humanity Forward is its own entity as it has been met with a great amount of support.

Yang will not only implement change through his own non-profits hands’, but hopes to do so with plans to run for Mayor of New York City. As Yang declared during his presidential drop out in New Hampshire, “This is a beginning…this is just the starting line…”

Andrew Yang addresses a rally of 5,000 supporters in MacArthur Park during his 2020 presidential bid, Monday, Sept 30, 2019. Los Angeles, Calif. Yang has since aanounced the foundation of his non-profit. (Kiran Baez / The Corsair)

*A Super PAC is a political action committee that can raise funds anywhere from individuals to big corporations, without any legal cap on how much they can accept, and spend that money for a campaign or candidate. Super PAC’s are required by the Federal Election Commission to report their donors.

co-founder Alexis Ohanian Sr. and comedian Dave Chappelle.

Yang has stated that he will be choosing

an early donor to be a recipient of the UBI trial for one year, in which they will receive $1,000 every month for twelve months. Yang hopes to expand this, as Humanity Forward pledged to donate half a million dollars in UBI to an unnamed city in New York.

Another issue Humanity Forward is

for its use by big tech companies.” Yang believes our data is our property and it is our right to protect it and decide how it is used.

Humanity Forward also strives to appeal to the younger generation and people who are economically marginalized in order to

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L.A. Convention Center “Feels the Bern” Kiran Baez | Staff Writer Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, the independent senator of Vermont, held a rally in the Los Angeles Convention Center on March 1, two days before the crucial California vote on Super Tuesday. The rally, which had well over 15,000 attendees, featured several acts and speeches from various musicians and activists such as Dick Van Dyke, Public Enemy, and Ana Tijoux.

Several speeches were focused on energizing and appealing to the Latin-American communities, which make up around 35 percent of California’s population, yet only 19 percent of California’s likely voters, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Speeches by Marisa Franco, the founder of Mijente, a Latino advocacy group, and Ana Tijoux, a French-Chilean activist and musician, frequently slipped into Spanish, jokingly apologizing for their “Spanglish”, to the delight of the crowd.

Many of the speakers chose to interject political statements about subjects rarely touched in the Sanders stump speech. Tijoux took a moment to denounce far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and to attack patriarchy in her song “Antipatriarchal”, which she dedicated to the people of Palestine. Marisa Franco took the opportunity to talk about local issues by endorsing Los Angeles County Measure R, a measure also endorsed by the Los Angeles Times for “sheriff accountability and smarter criminal justice”, which passed with 71% of the vote on voting day.

Other speakers and performances emphasized the importance of voting, regardless of who they actually voted for. “Voting is as important as wiping your ass in the morning,” said Chuck D of Public Enemy.

Dick van Dyke, one of the headlining acts, also urged people to vote, even if it wasn’t for Senator Sanders. Dyke also cited President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidential farewell speech, which warned Americans about the development of a military-industrial complex. “We heard [Eisenhower],

Presidential Canidate Bernie Sanders addresses supporters during his campaign rally held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on March 1, 2020. (Anthony Mayen / The Corsair)

but we didn’t listen. And now we understand,” Dyke said Other speakers, including Sanders, took the opportunity to emphasize the anti-war movement, something Sanders has championed since his lone-wolf vote as a member of the House of Representatives, against the Gulf War in 1991. Guests also equated the high price tag for “endless and pointless war” with the costs expected for several of Sanders’ policies including Medicare for All, free public tuition, and the Green New Deal, which add up to a price tag of over $60 trillion over ten years. They argued that if the United States was able to pay for such wars, they could pay for his plans. Despite being frequently argued by Sanders supporters, the actual cost of the war on terror totals to $6.4 trillion over the course of 20 years, according to the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University, one twentieth of the cost of Senator Sanders’ plan.

The price of many of Sanders’ plans has been used frequently to attack the Senator, citing already soaring national debt, which reached a record $22 trillion in February of

Bernie Sanders supporters stand in a long que to purchase merchandise from a concession stand inside the Los Angeles Convention on March 1, 2020. (Anthony Mayen/The Corsair)

2019, and is expected to top $36 trillion by the year 2030. Some, such as comedian Sarah Silverman, chose to brush off the cost, branding it as a necessity to be taken care of regardless of price.

“Here’s how to explain to your loved ones when they have fallen prey to the fear mongers who count on them to not understand,” said Silverman, “Ask them: Do you like calling the fire department when there’s a fire? Do you like sending your kids off to school in the morning? Do you like driving on roads?... These are socialist programs!”

Whilst running through his stump speech on criminal justice, raising the minimum wage, and several attacks against incumbent President Donald Trump, Sanders also chose to emphasize the mobilization of people around his campaign.

“The political establishment… You are making them very nervous!” Sanders exclaimed to the roar of the crowd’s approval, only a week after an overwhelming number of superdelegates interviewed by the New York Times said that they would not vote for the Vermont senator even if he had the plurality of delegates and raw vote count in

the case of a brokered convention.

Sanders has changed his position on superdelegates since his last presidential bid in 2016, when he implored superdelegates to vote for him despite being over 300 delegates behind Hillary Clinton in May. “At the end of the day the responsibility that superdelegates have is to decide what is best for the country and what is best for the Democratic Party,” he told a group of reporters in May of 2016.

Now faced with the likely scenario of him carrying the highest raw number of delegates, Sanders has advocated that the candidate with the plurality of delegates should get the nomination automatically, skipping over the national convention process.

The message of Sanders’ tour-de-force, and his emphasis on his own populism has moved from proving himself to superdelegates to ensuring that he rallies his supporters into action. This is crucial to the Sanders campaign strategy, particularly after a disappointing turnout from young voters during Super Tuesday, which failed to see a single state with more than 20 percent of the voter population under the age of 30.

The need for turnout, volunteering, and voter participation within the Sanders campaign has also increased significantly in the wake of exits from the remaining moderates including Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, and Amy Klobuchar, all of whom have endorsed Joe Biden in an effort to unify the moderate sector of the Democratic party.

In a press conference following Super Tuesday, Sanders continued to emphasize the anti-establishment nature of his campaign, “There has never been a campaign in recent history that has taken on the entire corporate establishment. There has never been a campaign in recent history which has taken on the entire political establishment,” he said.

When asked about turnout on Super Tuesday, he responded “Have we been as successful as I would have hoped? The answer is no…

We have not done as well in bringing young people into the process. But we’re making some progress.”

Rally attendies browse a Bernie “Merch shop” for Bernie Sanders memerobelia inside the Los Angeles Convention Center on March 1, 2020. (Anthony Mayen/The Corsair)

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Los Angeles Marathon: Running from the Stadium to the Sea

Izzy Colindres | Staff Writer On the 35th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Marathon, Men’s runner Bayelign Teshager, 20, from Ethiopia won after finishing with a time of 2:08:26.57. Kenya’s Margaret Muriuki, 33, led the Women runners after finishing with a time of 2:29:27.68.

For Muriuki, it was her personal-best-time in a marathon and her second marathon won in three months, after winning the Honolulu Marathon in December 2019.

The marathon also includes a handcycling race, where Travis Gaertner, 40, and Jenna Rollman, 33, were the winners for the men and women group.

The winner of the men’s wheelchair race was Rafael Botello Jimenez, 41, from Spain with a time of 1:44:34, while Vanessa Cristi-

na De Souza, 30, from Brazil won the women’s wheelchair race at a time of 1:59:51.

The LA Marathon is an annual event that started in 1986, and was inspired by the success that the 1984 Summer Olympics brought to the city as a whole.

Since 1986, the LA Marathon has grown to be one of the largest participated marathons with 27,000 athletes running-- coming from all 50 states and over 78 countries worldwide.

The marathon route runs throughout historic landmarks in Los Angeles and is known as the “Stadium to the Sea” course. The marathon starts at Dodgers Stadium and ends at the Santa Monica Pier, however the beauty of the route is consistent throughout the run with a major landmark recurring every mile of the course.

Margaret Muriuki of Kenya wins the women’s race at a time of 2:29:28 during the 35th L.A. Marathon

Bayelign Teshager from Ethiopia nears the finish line at the LA Marat won the men’s marathon with a time of 2:08:26.(Marco Pallotti/The C Runners passing by Hollywood Blvd in Los Angeles, Calif. Sunday, March 8, 2020. (Alex Ramirez Canales / The Corsair)

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Vanessa Cristina de Souza wins the women’s race in wheelchair category at the 2020 Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, March 8, in Santa Monica, Calif. (Yasamin Jafari-Tehrani / The Corsair) in Satan Monica, Calif. (Yasamin Jafari-Tehrani / The Corsair)

thon, in Santa Monica, California, on Sunday, March 8th 2020. Teshager Corsair)

Runners walk through a sea of empty cups on Sunset and Laurel Canyon during the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, March 8, 2020. Los Angeles, Calif. (Kassandra Alvarez / The Corsair)

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Santa Monica College’s cafeteria remains vacant amidst the the campus wide flex day on March 10, 2020. Santa Monica, Calif. (Anthony Mayen / The Corsair)

Ghost Campus?

On Tuesday, March 10, Sergio Mechoulam, 25, a fourth-year SMC animation student from Mexico City is the sole student in a 76-workstation lab at the SMC CMD campus. (Glenn Zucman / The Corsair)

Overwhelming vacancies at SMC’s Main Campus parking structure on March 10, 2020. This vacancy was due to a Flex Day-turned-emergency preparation day for college faculty.

Santa Monica, Calif. (Anthony Mayen / The Corsair)

On March 10, Santa Monica College (SMC) hosted what was supposed to be an institutional staff Flex Day, but turned into a coronavirus emergency planning day. Nonetheless, students were still exempted from all classes. The main campus looked particularly barren, with very few non-staff members scattered throughout the college. Several buildings, including the Center for Media Design’s main facility, were locked off to the majority of students. This student-free day occurred as a large number of universities publicly announced their indefinite closure due to coronavirus. UCLA and USC are among the institutions in closest proximity to SMC that have announced they will convert to online classes.

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The Importance of Body Diversity Kodi Mabon | Staff Writer We live in a society that constantly tells people with fatter bodies that they don’t deserve basic love and respect due to their weight. Many deny that fatphobia exists, even when it finds a way of showing itself everyday, especially with many people favoring skinnier bodies.

Fatphobia, in its simplest terms, is the dislike of fat people. Examples of fatphobia can have a wide variety in how it presents itself. This can fall under the way people with fatter bodies are treated in employment, education, dating/relationships, fashion and even in medicine.

The plus-size community, however, is slowly learning to take up space. It takes time, patience, and confidence to fight to have their voices heard – to stand up against society’s standards and opinions about body proportions. This is why plus-size pool parties can be a great start in building a community, contribute a great deal in showcasing more body diversity, and can be an all round great boost in confidence for plussize people.

Over the recent years, plus-size pool parties have been gaining a lot of popularity and attention – whether it’s in television

shows, such as “Shrill” starring Aidy Bryant of “Saturday Night Live,” which tackles the subject of representation of how we see fat women in the media.

So what exactly is a plus-size pool party?

What properties make a plus-size pool party so much more special than just an average party or social gathering?

To begin, a plus-size pool party is a safe space for plus-size men and women as well as gender non-conforming folks. More specifically, it highlights the people who are excessively excluded from the media, fashion, advertisement, etc.

One of the many plus-size pool parties hosted right here in LA is the one by social media influencer and owner of the clothing brand Big Bottom Behavior, Havala Hidalgo.

Every year in Los Angeles, Havala has her own plus-size pool party called, “Big Bottom Bash.”

These parties mainly center around encouraging women to embrace their bodies.

“Big Bottom Bash” contributes to the positive effects of having a safe space while also surrounding plus-size women with others who look like them, and allowing them to finally feel recognized. It also provides self love workshops and brunch table panels that include conversations from different women

of all sexuality and sizes. These include panels on topics relating to fat women that aren’t talked about often, such as fat liberation intersecting forms of oppression, and fat positive sexuality.

“We have to begin really celebrating all bodies in the media and making it clear that happy lives exist at any size, color, gender, or sexual orientation,” said Carmen Rene, a social media influencer and in special guest attendance of “Big Bottom Bash” since it began over two years ago. Going further into conversation with Rene, she expressed she didn’t want another generation of young people growing up and not seeing themselves represented.

Something that “Big Bottom Bash” wants to focus on is that all bodies are worth celebrating. There’s no such thing as a perfect body and you have to learn how to celebrate your body in the face of fatphobia. If we really think and try to make sense of it, everybody is different. How can we ever say what a good body is and what a good body isn’t?

Going more into this conversation, Rene brought up that not seeing representation can be “toxic and perpetuates this notion that not all bodies are worthy of loving themselves, being loved and finding happi-

ness. Nothing is further from the truth.”

While “Big Bottom Bash’s” target audience is plus-size women, you don’t have to be plus-size to attend. All women and gender-non-conforming folks can attend and the message isn’t to dismantle people who are “thin.” With the new world of body positivity, thin people are encouraged to celebrate their bodies as well.

Plus-size pool parties are just one of the many milestones the body positivity movement has to hold under their belt. It provides the representation that everyone deserves to see and feel. If given the chance, everyone should attend and experience a safe and lovable space and truly take in the moments of people loving themselves carefree and accepting themselves as they are.

Plus size pool parties are just one of the many milestones the body positivity movement has to hold under their belt, it provides the REPRESENTATION that everyone deserves to see and feel, if given the chance, everyone should attend and experience what a safe and lovable space that is provides and truly take in the moments of people loving themselves carefree and accepting themselves as they are.

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C U LT U R E

Women’s Suffrage History on Display Dana Binfet | Social Media Editor A display case of letters written by the famous women’s rights activist, Alice Stone Blackwell, attracted a small crowd of museum visitors on Thursday March 5, during the grand opening of the “All Is Possible: Women’s Suffrage in California” Exhibition at the Santa Monica History Museum. The exhibition is open in tandem with Women’s History Month and will run until June 6.

Through a number of artifacts and photos donated by local collectors, the Santa Monica community is woven into the fabric of this exhibit. “We were fortunate for this exhibition to share Alice Stone Blackwell letters from a local family collection that have never been shown publicly,” explained the Santa Monica History Museum Archivist Sarah Crown.

The Los Angeles native Alice Lynn has a profound personal history with Blackwell, and she shared the incredible story that brought these letters to the eyes of the Santa Monica community. “My daughter and I found some 180 letters from Alice Stone Blackwell to my great uncle, grandmother, and mother and then to me. I was her namesake. They reflect the very strong influence that Alice Stone Blackwell had on my family.”

Lynn shared that her mother named her Alice after Blackwell, the journalist and suffragist who was editor-in-chief of the Woman’s Journal publication. Founded in 1870 by Blackwell’s parents, this newspaper was the official publication of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA).

Santa Monica History Museum Archivist, Sara Crown(middle) on opening night of the All is Possible: Women’s Suffrage in California Exhibition at the Santa Monica History Museum. In Santa Monica, California.

March 5, 2020. (Fernando Duran/ The Corsair)

“My great uncle, Karekin Manoukian, was an Armenian freedom fighter against the Turkish Government. He emigrated to this country in search of freedom in 1900, and began working in the Boston area for the Blackwell family upon his arrival,” explained Lynn.

“Alice Stone Blackwell became a mentor, good friend, and strong supporter of my family, most importantly, encouraging them in finding work, writing letters of recommendation over the years for Karekin and my grandmother, and getting my mother and grandmother enrolled in school. She was a

constant and caring friend,” said Lynn. “Her correspondence with my family spanned fifty years from 1900 until Alice Stone Blackwell’s death in 1950... I would not be the woman I am today were it not for her influence.”

Blackwell advocated for equal voting rights for women, using her aptitude for writing to provide a voice for those who couldn’t speak for themselves.

Every year the theme for Women’s History Month is chosen by the National Women’s History Alliance, this year’s theme being “Valiant Women of the Vote.” The Museum

Archivist Sara Crown explained the unique timing of this exhibit and its relevance to the community, noting that “the exhibition honors the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.”

Crown spoke on behalf of the museum to say that their “mission is to share Santa Monica’s history with the community. This exhibition presents Santa Monica as a microcosm for the larger suffrage movement”.

Crown went on to shine a light on local suffragettes, who rallied around the Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club.

“California was essential to the success of nationwide suffrage,” Crown shared.

“California women doubled the number of eligible female voters in the US, propelling the movement forward.”

The opening of this exhibition occurred just days after California held its Primary Election which took place on Super Tuesday, giving California voters more influence on the Presidential nominees than ever before.

This draws a parallel between the ability California voters had to incite change in the 1920’s and the impact California voters will continue to have in 2020 elections.

This exhibition displays the impact of the women’s suffrage movement on the Santa Monica community. The museum pairs purple and gold banners with the powerful slogans: “Lifting as we climb” and “Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty,” to inspire a new generation of voters. The striking artifacts, combined with local contributions, creates an exhibit that is rich with California heritage.

The UnReal World Vanessa O‘Brien | Staff Writer On February 29 was the official opening for the new exhibit Unreality at SMC’s Pete and Susan Barrett Art Gallery. Showcasing works by Lisa Adams and Kelly McLane.

The exhibit is free and will be on display until Saturday, March 28. These two artists have known each other for years and found that this common theme of nature versus man became more prevalent as time went on. Together the different paintings, drawings, and sketches show a reflection of the disheartening tragedies that have been impacting the natural world. While acknowledging the damage being done to the earth an underlying message of hope is still being communicated to the public.

Artist Lisa Adams explained to me what inspires her to create the artwork, “I take inspiration from these times, and there’s a lot going on about the environment. And even before Trump was elected I’d been making these types of paintings since 2007.

So, I’ve been painting a long time about the dystopic qualities that humans have brought in the world and this kind of collision between the natural world and the human made world

and just things gone wrong… I’m a big advocate of what they call ‘The Life of the Mind’ so I live in my mind as much as I can.

It’s more comforting to me than the real world… I am introverted and I’m glad that people get to see the work” Adams and McLane’s individual perspective and talent is translated in a truly creative expression. Appreciated widely because the representation is unique and current to what is happening in society now.

Some of the masterpieces are titled, ‘Impersonating a Politician’, ’City of Industry, City of Fear’, and ‘In the Era of Me Too’all created with a stroke of genius from two female artists that have been developing their skill for years.

Kelly McLane lives in Missouri and was unable to attend the opening here in Santa Monica. However, the artist statement she shared was beautifully written. Describing that, “Paintings contain the immediacy of drawings with rich and vibrant impastos, creating classic textures. Delicate detailed passages are drawn and integrated through paint. Endless layers of information and resolutions appear and recede through addition and negotiation. Space, harmonize

and clash with color and mark making to literally define subject matter within ecosystems of tempo and mood. Individual bodies of drawings are the ethereal conscious that orchestrates the narrative realms of my journey. I create humorous interpretations of the worlds with uncomfortable, unapologetic images… Myths and symbols of Americana are blurred and entangled with those of the world both past and present, creating a multifaceted cultural lexicon ripe with possibility” The Gallery has held exhibits by American Contemporary Artist Raymond Saunders, Mixed Media artists Kelly Berg and Caroline Larsen as well as held exhibitions in tandem with African-American Heritage Month. The Gallery has upheld this level of variety and continues to create exhibitions that are inclusive to SMC students and the Santa Monica community.

People of all different ages are welcomed to attend and appreciate the various displays.

The exhibit is arranged with certain purpose and care. Well presented with impeccable lighting and thoughtful placement. Each work of art telling a story about the reality we have come to know.

‘Princess Peckerwoods - Lithopedion’ by Kelly McLane, drawn in pencil, personifies the dying forest.

The photo represents the importance that McLane believes drawings hold, as stated in her artist’s statement for the show. (Photo Courtesy of the Pete and Susan Barrett Art Gallery)

ENTERTAINMENT

ǀCORSAIR 11

THE

Disabled Artists Shine at Tierra Del Sol Gallery Tatiana Louder | Culture Editor John Maul is the solo artist of his own sold-out gallery exhibition in Los Angeles (LA). He also happens to be in his mid-sixties and have non-verbal learning disability (NVD). “Well, it’s not that he’s completely non-verbal,” explains Page Wery. She is the curator and Art Director of the Tierra Del Sol Gallery in Chinatown, which is tucked behind the Chinese restaurant Foo Chow, whose sign boasts ‘Rush Hour was Filmed HERE!’ “It’s just that he doesn’t form sentences the way you or I would,” Wery continued.

Per their mission statement, the Tierra Del Sol Foundation’s goal is “empowering people with developmental disabilities through workforce development​,​college to career​, ​careers in the arts.” Part of how they accomplish this is by working with artists like Maul in their studio spaces in Upland and Sunland, each with about 40 to 50 artists making work. Maul and many of the other artists at the Tierra Del Studios have NVD, which, according to the Learning Disabilities Association of America is​“usually characterized by a significant discrepancy between higher verbal skills and weaker motor, visual-spatial and social skills.”

In place of verbal communication, one of Maul’s modes of primary expression is his artwork. He uses repetition and his own

Founding Tierra Del Sol artist Michael LaVelle practices craft of ceramics at the foundation’s progressive studios. The legally blind artist makes two and three dimensional works inspired by his love of architecture.

His work is the next solo show at the gallery. (Photo Courtesy of Tierra Del Sol)

secret language, featuring his own name intentionally misspelled in every piece. Also consistent within his colored pencil, ballpoint pen, and paint pieces are his signature subjects of trees and wildflowers that he used to garden with his mother growing up in south LA. Pete Verdin, the gallery manager, said “They would throw wildflower seeds in the backyard, and plant a number of different plants, and that’s how these beautiful landscapes developed. It left a lasting impression on him. About 15 years ago he moved out

to the Inland Empire where he joined the Tierra del Sol foundation.” The clients of the studio program are not limited to visual art; at the studio, artists have the freedom to excel in a variety of areas. “We have ceramic studios, drawing studios, painting studios, and Sunland has a farm...Our clients are able to work with these animals and hopefully get employment somewhere else in the equestrian neighborhoods,” said Verdin.

The Tierra Del Sol Gallery is an annex space solely for the artists of the foundation.

With Maul’s art all sold and ready to go on tour, veteran Tierra Del Sol artist Michael LeVell will be showing in the space next. A legally blind senior citizen, LeVell has been a part of the foundation since the inception of its arts branch in 1989. His work features his impression of architecture digests reduced to their most simple lines and painted in acrylics. LeVell’s work will be in the exhibition beginning March 14 and concluding May 2.

The support for the differently-abled artists extends out into the community with their workforce and school programs, but it also reaches back into the families who help place their loved ones in good programs.

Wery was moved at the family involvement with Maul’s show. “Because he had never had a solo show, about 15 members of his family came to the opening to support him. They had never seen his work framed and hung up. It was this really emotional evening, everybody looking at how talented their brother is when they hadn’t really realized that before,” says Wery.

“That’s a lot of what this space is really about, just showing underrepresented artists in this light, giving them solo shows, and giving them a chance to shine.”

The opening reception of LeVell’s studio show will be held 6-9pm on March 14.

Gabriel Fernandez Docu-Series Brings Justice to Betrayed Boy Melissa Trejo | Staff Writer Streaming giant Netflix has released their most heartbreaking true crime series yet.

The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez is a limited six-part series that explores the life and death of eight-year old Palmdale boy, Gabriel Fernandez. Fernandez’s mother, Pearl Fernandez, tortured and killed him, with the help of her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre.

Filmmaker Brian Knappenberger’s limited series offers incredible insight into the case for those that are not familiar with Gabriel’s story, from the emotional interviews with family members, friends, and district attorneys, to the appalling testimonials recorded in court. Adding to the devastation of Fernandez’s death is the constant neglect of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). The falsified documents of Gabriel’s case astound and terrify.

The series opens up like an episode of ER. “My son’s not breathing,” Pearl Fernandez said to the 911 operator. Cut to the emotional interview from nurse Christine Estes, who was deeply affected by Gabriel’s death when he was taken to the ER. Her recount of the severity of his injuries is powerful, giving a peek at the emotional roller-

coaster the audience is about to endure in the six part series.

The silver lining of the devastating documentary is the introduction of the ever-compassionate deputy district attorney, Jon

Hatami. From the moment he was assigned, Hatami poured dedication and emotion into justice for young Fernandez. There was no doubt in his mind: he believed that he was meant to take on this case. His own experiences help him empathize with victims. “I can never, like, compare anything that hap-

pened to me, to any of my cases, including Gabriel. But at least a little bit of what I’ve been through, I could have some understanding.” Hatami’s goal is to, “fight for the kids who couldn’t fight for themselves.”

Netflix does not shy away from exposing the dark side of humanity with their original, award-winning documentaries. “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez” is gut-wrenching, riveting, and overwhelming. The series differs from others like “The Keepers” and the “Ted Bundy Tapes,” as it hits more close home

for the people who live here in LA County.

Trigger warning for the abused. Viewers can also expect to be pulled in as they are taken on a timeline of Gabriel’s early life, the systematic progression of the torture he endured, and the trial of the People v. Isauro Aguirre.

“Trials” dives deep into the failure of DCFS and the process of bringing Fernandez’s mother and Aguirre to justice. District Attorney Jackie Lacey goes in with full force to prosecute the social workers that were assigned to Gabriel’s case. She believed from the beginning that there was a strong case against them as it was revealed that they did not follow up with calls from Gabriel’s teacher, and family, “There are affirmative things that they did to keep that kid in an abusive environment and it was quite frankly, foreseeable that kid was going to die.”

It’s an unforgettable case that brought tears and outrage to the Palmdale community, parents, and to social workers. In the lingering aftermath of Gabriel’s death it is important to remember that, unfortunately, there are many children like him whose stories might never be told.

Illustration by Dana Binfet

12 THEǀCORSAIR

SPORTS

Corsairs Lose To Riverside 77-68 In Regional Finals of The State Playoffs Deshawn Pouper | Sports Editor In all too familiar territory on March 7, the Santa Monica College (SMC) Corsairs once again faced off against Riverside City College Tigers in the Regional Finals of the State Playoffs. Last season, these two teams competed against each other in the same round (SMC won 66-54), which brought more anticipation to the match. For Riverside, they were back with vengeance facing an opponent from last year. For SMC, it was simply about getting to the next round, with big aspirations to get to the Finals of the State Playoffs.

In the beginning of the first half of the game it was back and forth, with neither team being able to gain the upper hand on the other, until Riverside was able to get hot from the perimeter, and hit some shots. As-

sistant Coach Devon Richardson spoke about the halftime message to the team, and how they were going to contain Riverside, explaining that “they got some open shots because we weren’t executing our game plan defensively, so we just went over it again… we actually wanted to just deny the paint, and still keep a guy close to the wing.” In the second half, the Corsairs were able to ramp up the intensity of their defense, and create some turnovers to help get back in the game. However, costly turnovers of their own and a cold shooting night wouldn’t suffice.

At one point in the second half with just under five minutes left, SMC managed to tie the game 61-61 with a three-pointer from shooting guard Daisone Hughes, but after that Riverside started to pull away again.

The only time the Corsairs led in the game

was in the beginning of the first half 7-5, but they were never able to fully get back into the game and grasp a lead. The 29 points from the freshman power forward Elias King, who had an outstanding game, wasn’t enough to overcome the 15 turnovers, and 34 field goal percentage.

The 77-68 loss was disheartening, especially considering at the beginning of the season SMC was ranked number two in the state, according to the California Community College Men’s Basketball Coaches Association (CCCMBCA). Many players are eager to move on and continue to push themselves to the limit, like sophomore point guard Chastin Moutin.

“I’m going to push even more, push myself to even more limits that I know I can reach... it’s not over for me,” said Moutin (G). “Obviously I can still go to another school, and

to let balls get past them. This was due to the Corsairs ineffective defensive positioning and AHC’s ability to attack the defensive gaps that SMC provided.

The Corsairs dug themselves in an early hole due to their constant infield and outfield errors. Throughout the five innings, the Corsairs committed six errors, where AHC was able to score on four of those errors.

SMC’s inability to adjust and clean-up their mistakes led to AHC opening-up the flood-gates and scoring eight-runs in the top of the fourth-inning alone. This extended SMC’s deficit to (13-0) at the end of the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, SMC sparked some life back into the game when they were able to get the bases loaded with only one-out in the inning. However, the next at-bat resulted in a pop-fly, which led to their second

out in the inning.

Now, with SMC’s last chance to stay within reach of this game, Sophomore, Chica Sanchez, 17, was at-bat. She was caught looking at the first two strikes, and the inning ended with her swinging at a curve-ball thrown by AHC’s Sophomore pitcher, Alexis Porter, 9.

In the fifth-inning, the Corsairs were unable to get anything going and gave up another score to AHC, which brought the score to (14-0).

At the end of regulation, the Corsairs lost (14-0), and moved their record to (1-15) on the season.

continue to hoop. So, I’m just going to keep hooping, keep pushing myself and be in the gym even more.”

As for the Corsairs, and what their message will be going forward, Richardson acknowledges they have to stay focused, “The main message will be just the approach to the game, the approach to the game of basketball. Nothing can be taken for granted, there can’t be any lapses. So the main thing is more of a focus, and having a championship mentality.”

It’ll be a tough road trying to get back to this point next season, considering nine of the 11 players will be transferring and playing at other colleges. It’s a sizable task at hand for any coaching staff, but it’s one to look out for and see how the Corsairs bounce back from an early unexpected elimination in the playoffs.

SMC Women’s Softball Fall Short Against Allan Hancock College

Izzy Colindres | Staff Writer Santa Monica College’s (SMC) women’s softball team loses against Allan Hancock College (AHC), with the score of (14-0) on March 5. Moving SMC’s record to (1-15) on the season.

The tempo was set early in the game for SMC when they allowed AHC to score fiveruns within the first two innings.

This early deficit (5-0) for SMC played against their strength as a team, which is to get an early lead and hold their opponent at bay for as long as they can. The early struggles that the Corsairs faced on the defensive end began with Freshman pitcher, Talia Hunter, 6, who was unable to get in a groove and make consecutive strikeouts.

As a result, Allan Hancock College was able to expose SMC’s infield, who continued

Talia Hunter #6 freshman pitcher for the Corsair softball team, SMC lost 14-0 to Allen Hancock College. The Corsair’s record is now 1-15 for the 20192020 season. The game was held at John Adams Middle School, in Santa Monica, California. March 5, 2020. (Fernando Duran/ The Corsair)

Illustration by Deshawn Pouper