Corsair Fall 2010 Issue 3

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Corsair The Santa Monica College www.thecorsaironline.com

Volume C, Issue 3

Nov. 2 ballot measures given unanimous trustee support

Informing Since 1929

Parading America

Emeritus class cuts anger local residents Health and fitness classes fall foul of the latest round of cuts, but local residents are vocal in their disdain for the move

But measures supported by SMC trustees may not go to fund local services purported to on ballot By Alexandra Leighton Staff Writer At their Sept. 7 meeting, the Santa Monica Board of Trustees voted unanimously to support the inclusion of Measure Y and Measure YY in the list of propositions to appear on the city’s Nov. 2 Ballot Measure Y is the latest measure that would increase the city’s sales tax by 0.5 percent, (to 10.25 [percent). Measure YY, unlike Y, doesn’t necessarily have to be passed into law, rather, it serves to communicate to Santa Monica lawmakers whether or not the city’s residents want half of the funds to go to education. What does this mean for SMC students? Measure Y means an additional $12 million in sales tax revenue “for the general fund,” said Kate Vernez, assistant city manager, and “YY is only advisory.” 90 percent of Santa Monica’s voters can vote for the measure, but, “if it passes, the city council will decide if the funds should go to education,” said Vernez. And in particular, Vernez, specified “the general education fund.” The general education fund does not include only The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and Santa Monica’s Community College.

Wednesday, Septemeber 22, 2010

By Miles Arnold and Jonathan Bue Staff Writers

Jennifer Martinez Corsair Karla Gonzalez, from Nicaragua, in full traditional regalia stands astride a float as part of the Central American parade that took place near MacArthur Park on Sept. 19. [See Parade, page 6]

Up to 38 sections of health and fitness classes are in jeopardy of being cut from the spring 2011 Emeritus College class schedule, a move that has already upset many who view these classes as invaluable to the local community. At the most recent Santa Monica College Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 7, residents from Santa Monica and surrounding communities attended en mass in order to voice their opposition to the cuts. The reduction of classes is the result of a recent memo released from the office of the Chancellor of Community College’s in Sacramento that “prohibits state funding for non-credit health and fitness classes.” Four of the initial cuts were courses in Tai chi, yoga, and general exercise, which have been saved only as a result of converting them into reduced fee-based community service courses. In doing so, it allows the college to keep those courses while staying within the guidelines set by the chancellor’s office. This is one of the long-term methods that SMC is using in an attempt to maintain some of the sections affected by the

[See Emeritus, page 3]

[See Y, page 3]

Hundreds rally around Jamines shooting Downtown LA scene of rally in response to the LAPD shooting of Manual Jamines By Ariana Masters Staff Writer The crowd roared chanting in unison “¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!” (the people united will never be defeated) last Saturday in Downtown Los Angeles. Approximately 700 protesters, consisting much of the Guatemalan immigrant community, united to protest the killing of Manual Jamines. They lined the streets

of downtown Los Angeles where they expressed indignation with fists of vehemence, voices of reverberation and signs of detestation towards the police. “People don’t really know what happened, but we’re all here because we feel that cops shot him unnecessarily,” said the Student-Workers Action Team protest leader George Gordillo. “Everyone shared his or her stories. It relates to the entire community and was not just about him getting shot,” said Gordillo. “It’s more about changing the

community, and I wish there would have been a better turn out than the hundreds that showed up.” The attendees verbalized a feeling of anger and sorrow towards the loss of their loved ones to “police brutality,” as so many of the speakers also stated. Carlos Montes, a cofounder of the Brown Berets, a Chicano Working Class Youth Organization in the United States since the late 1960s, organized this “walk” with the Community Service Organization as a part of the Southern California Immigration Coalition.

“Our main campaign is fighting for legalization for all, and demanding an end to the attacks by the immigration deportations. In the issue of Manual Jamines, we took on the case because not only is he an immigrant, but he was a Guatemalan worker who was killed by the police,” Montes said. According to Montes, many immigrants, especially in Central America, are victims of the police, as well as Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE). George Mikhail Corsair Besides the Jamines Protestors wear the mask of immigrant Manual

[See Rally, page 2] Jaminez in the rally at Downtown LA Sept. 18.


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