Corsair fall volume 115 issue 03

CORSAIR

MARCH 28, 2018 | VOLUME 115 ISSUE 03 | SANTA MONICA COLLEGE EVERY COPY OF THE CORSAIR IS FREE

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VOLUME 115 ISSUE 03 •MARCH 28, 2018 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

EDITORIAL STAFF EDWARD LEE.................................. Editor-in-Chief

corsair.editorinchief@gmail.com

LAUREN LABEL............................ Managing Editor HARLEY PHILLIPS............................ Design Editor DANIEL FARR..................................... News Editor TREVOR SCHOCK..................... A&E/Culture Editor NICOLAS JOHNSON............................ Sports Editor PYPER WITT....................................Opinion Editor THANE FERNANDES............................ Photo Editor DIANA PARRA GARCIA..........Opinion Photo Editor ZANE MEYER THORNTON.........Sports Photo Editor MATTHEW MARTIN...................News Photo Editor EMELINE MOQUILLON...Social Media/Digital Editor ROY GARZA...................Social Media/Digital Editor HELENA SUNG............................ Multimedia Editor

Zane Meyer-Thornton / Corsair Photo

Kendall Jenner (left) and Jaden Smith (right) join the crowd at March For Our Lives on March 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Jenner along with Jaden were two of many celebrities in attendance that day.

CORSAIR STAFF Zeynep Abes, Yasmine Da Silva, Wilson Gomez, William Wendelman, Theo Verdier, Ryanne Mena, Ruth Iorio, Reed Curtis, Rebecca Valsly, Petia Nicholos, Oskar Zinneman, Nicole Washington, Michael Irwin, Martha Virginia Russell, Kayla Hardy, Juan Gomez, Jennifer Nystrom, Isai Palacios, Heather Creamer, Hannae Izumiguchi, Elijah Cuffee, Eduardo Cortes, Dylan Cortez, Dorothy Montague, Damaris Lizama, Claudia Vardoni, Carlos Lopez, Ashutosh B Singh, Alejandro Correa, Clyde Bates Jr, Ethan Lauren, Earl Agustines, M. Fernanda Rivera

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Edward Lee Editor-in-Chief

ADVISORS ASHANTI BLAIZE-HOPKINS

...... Journalism Advisor

gerard burkhart.........................Photo Advisor

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FRONT COVER High School student Sabrinah Lopez, 17, attends the March for Our Lives protest with the words “enough” written across her cheeks, listening to key speakers voice their opinion on gun regulation in front of Los Angeles City Hall in Downtown Los Angeles, California on Saturday, March 24 2018.

Lopez stated, “I have never been this angry.

I am fighting for my right to survive and the NRA just ignores us…well we are not going to go silent till we have the change we seek.”

Matthew Martin/ Corsair Photo

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Dear Readers,

article featuring them and their perspective. We also had contributors like SMC Professor David Burak, who brought up different angle on ways to reduce gun violence by providing help to our vulnerable students.

Both are available on our website, thecorsaironline.com.

As part of the Corsair, I wanted everyone at Santa Monica College to be able to translate your passion and energy about issues into action by getting politically involved: voting for our Associated Students Board of Directors candidates. For the first time this semester, we had our print edition extended from eight to 12 pages to include space profiling every candidate currently running our A.S. board.

I believed that the additional hours our team put in to fill these extra pages was not only important, but necessary.

A large part of the Corsair’s purpose is to be a medium to make ways that students can get more involved in our

The March for Our Lives that took place all around the nation this Saturday showed once again how much society’s youth, including Santa Monica College students, can achieve if they have the determination and will to do so. Being tech-savvy, these students can now use the power of social media to spread their cause to all corners of the United States in seconds. Never before have high school students had such an ability to bring organizers and volunteers to work towards their goals. But in hindsight, passionate high schoolers and their tech-such a development now seems like it was always inevitable.

Although the context of a march would mean that our coverage of the event would be dominantly on those who want gun control, the Corsair did its best in also covering the counter-protestors, including an

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school as transparent as possible.

The 22 candidates who applied this year are diverse in their backgrounds, political beliefs, and the specific changes they wish to see in SMC. But what I admire about these students is their resolve to bring their desire for change into action. They put long hours into campaigning, planning, and eventually working as our student leaders.

Whether or not you may have attended the march to support or oppose gun control, or been involved in the national conversation about current issues, all of us should show solidarity in our universal desire to be a part of the change we wish to see for both our present and future. Although each student may only have one vote, it symbolizes something beyond all of us: a way to shape our passionate positions and beliefs into reality.

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VOLUME

115 ISSUE 03 • MARCH 28, 2018 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

NEWS

Active Shooter Protocol: Current & Future

Ryanne Mena STAFF WRITER

On June 7, 2013, a gunman entered Santa Monica College’s library with an AR-15 assault rifle and began shooting, leaving three dead. The gunman commenced his shooting rampage prior to walking on SMC’s main campus, where he was shot and killed by a police officer. This shooting has been one of at least 239 school shootings nationwide after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012, with 438 people shot and 138 of whom were killed, according to The New York Times.

Santa Monica College implemented policies to try to prevent such shootings from occurring. After the second deadliest shooting in US history occurred at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, which resulted in the death of thirty-two students and staff members, SMC reacted by creating a Crisis Prevention Team.

Brenda Benson, senior administrative dean of counseling, retention, and student wellness, said, “it was this incident in 2007 that really caused a lot of people in higher education to realize that there needed to be a different model to keep campuses safe.”

Benson stated that the purpose of the Crisis Prevention Team is ultimately to help any student in need: “Of course we definitely want to prevent crises from happening, but we’re really more of a care team.

Trying to identify students who are in need of additional support services and getting those students the resources and care that they need."

Benson gave the Virginia Tech shooter as an example of "a worrisome student who was definitely showing signs of worrisome behav-

ior with his roommate, in his classes, in his counseling sessions, but there was no one there to connect the dots and to realize this was a student who really needed help.” Although the team works to help students dealing with varying difficulties that could prevent tragedies, the CPT is not the on-campus resource to contact in the case of an urgent and immediate emergency, such as an active shooter being on any of SMC's campuses.

According to Santa Monica College Police Department (SMCPD) Chief Johnnie Adams, there is a video on SMC's website titled, "RUN. HIDE. FIGHT." that discusses recommended safety procedures in the case of an active shooter. Referencing the video, Chief Adams states, "as a matter of fact, before the 2013 shooting, what saved some of the people’s lives was the fact that they were trained." He also said that faculty and staff members were emailed the link to that video to watch. The first thing Chief Adams recommends to do in the case of an active shooter is to run. The next recommended step would be to hide.

"If you have to hide there’s certain things you have to look at when you come into any classroom or any setting, know your environment. First thing I know is I have my blinds, I want to close my blinds so no one knows I’m here, turn off the lights," states Chief Adams. The third step would be to fight, in which he would have a plan. Chief Adams also stated, "you have to look at every single classroom that you go into and have a plan in place… Once you start to think that way, then when something does happen you don’t panic.”

For more information, please visit www.thecorsaironline.com.

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Santa Monica College Student Services Emergency Preparedness Document

Fees Can't Be Opted Out Online, says SMC Last semester's proposal fizzles out.

Ethan Lauren STAFF WRITER Last semester, Santa Monica College's Student Affairs Committee proposed being able to opt out of A.S. fees online, but a recent follow-up shows that no immediate changes are in progress.

Every semester, students at Santa Monica College see two fees they need to pay: a $19.50 Associated Student body membership fee and a $13 student ID fee. While the A.S. fee provides benefits such as unlimited transportation on the Big Blue Bus, the ID fee provides a less discernible benefit, as students who lose their card must still pay a $30 replacement fee.

The student affairs committee on campus updates and follows the administrative regulations as one of their core duties. These regulations includes those the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) require community colleges like SMC to follow.

On these A.S. and student ID fees, the CCCCO student fee handbook states that “it is imperative that the optional nature of the fee be communicated to students and that students have an effective means of declining to pay the fee.”

Currently, the process to opt-out is to go to either the bursar’s office or the admissions and records and asking them to remove the fees, which must be done up until the first two weeks of the semester.

Beatriz Magallon, chair of the committee, voiced her opinion on the merit of the ID fee. “That’s where the language of the Chancellor’s office comes in,” Magallon said. “Where is it that they should be charging $13 every semester?

It’s something that should be important to students. The A.S. fee I fully support, I’m not discounting that at all.”

Student trustee Chase Matthews sits on the board of both the SMC Board of Trustees and the A.S. Board of Directors FOR

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Ethan Lauren/ Corsair Staff

The Bursar’s office at Santa Monica College is where students can not only pay for their fees, but ask to have optional fees removed in Santa Monica, California. The two optional fees include a $19.50 Associated Student membership fee, which provides several benefits such as unlimited transportation on the Big Blue Bus and a $13.00 ID card fee. Taken on Thursday, March 22, 2018.

meetings. “I’m such a strong supporter of paying-in to the A.S. allotment, I’ve never thought about opting out, I’ve always supported and think it’s something all students should support,” Matthews said. “It’s a great thing for students to buy into. It provides funding for essential community-building events that make SMC one of the greatest institutions.”

The CCCCO later notes a suggestion that colleges can add a way online while paying fees to check a box to opt-out of US

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optional fees.

Michael Tuitasi, the vice president of student services, also sits on the student affairs committee. “Right now, we haven’t discussed as far as changing that, just based on the system we have and the format we currently have,” Tuitasi said. “Everything of course is up for discussion, but it hasn’t been something we’re talking about.”

Tuitasi went on to talk about how discussions about many fees are held in these committee meetings, but the ac-

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tual process to make changes requires a more extensive look from the various channels on campus.

In regard to the optional fees, though the requirement for them to have been properly marked as optional has been met according to the administrative regulations, Magallon thinks it’s important to know where their money is going.

But Magallon said if disclosing how the money is spent is "not pushed by students, then I don’t see how. It’s revenue for the school, but it impacts students."

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NEWS ASSOCIATED STUDENTS

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VOLUME 115 ISSUE 03 •MARCH 28, 2018 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

Associated Student Candidates

Daniel Farr / Corsair Photo

Angel Rading, a business administration major, runs for the Budget Management position.

Daniel Farr / Corsair Photo

Position: Student Trustee

Position: President of A.S.

Major: “Communication, political science, and ethnic studies major.”

Major: Biochemical/Biomedical Engineering

Slate: TIE

Club: “I am. I am the acting President of the Student Veteran Association.”

Club: “I am the director of student advocacy for Phi Photo Kappa. Last semester I was the ICC delegate for black colligates I am apart of PASU and apart of the model united nations club and as well as the chess club.”

Promise: “To give power to the students.”

Thane Fernandes / Corsair Photo

Beau Espeso, a Biomedical Engineering major, runs for the President position.

Chi Yuen Sham, a foreign languages major, runs for the Community relations position.

Slate: For the Students

Position: Community relations

Position: Student advocacy

Major: Foreign languages

Major: Political science and public policy

Slate: For the Students

Slate: TIE

Club: Honor society

Club: “I am involved in student life heavily, pre-law pathways, black colligates, and I founding club called MEND.”

Promise: “I attended the international day, I will keep this event to share all cultures and languages.”

Promise: “Really to get the college tours going again in Santa Monica as it happened back in 2009, but it stopped because the school itself is losing money. So if that’s something the students still want, then let’s have them going out every single semester.”

Daniel Farr / Corsair Photo

Gosple Ofoegbu, a Political science and public policy major, runs for the Student Advocacy position.

Promise: “I'm going to change the way clubs operate on our campus.”

Daniel Farr / Corsair Photo

Daniel Farr / Corsair Photo

Arthur Sanchez, a Public Policy and Pre-Law major with a concentration in Urban Socio-Economics, runs for the Director of Student Advocacy position.

Position: Director of Student Advocacy

Major: Public Policy, Concentration Urban Socio-Economics, and Pre-Law Slate: Independent Club: “Apart of A.S. as a commissioner i’m also apart of the pre-law society, and a member of the speech and debate team.”

Promise: “Within my tenure, I will look to continue to advocate for the students regarding their rights pertaining to the constitutions, the ED codes, the regulations, and title five.”

Joshua "Daniel" Cha, a Communication major, runs for the President position.

Daniel Farr / Corsair Photo

Position: President

Ben Kolodny, a Communications major, runs for the Student Trustee position.

Major: Communication

Position: Student Trustee

Slate: TIE

Major: Communications

Club: "ICC delegate for black collimates, primary commissioner for associated students president.”

Slate: For the Students

Promise: “I will make sure that all the students will be heard. I will be there for the students.”

Club: “I’m only the captain of the debate team, I’m not a member of any clubs really except for I was the vicepresident of the small gov club.”

Courtesy of Associated Students Isabel Rodriguez a Business Administration major is running for

for Director of Student Advocacy. The Corsair reached out to Daniel

Position: President

Garcia, but as of print, he did not get back to The Corsair.

Major: Business Administration

Major: N/A

Slate: Step Forward

Promise: “I would create more leadership opportunities

Slate: N/A

Club: N/A

by facilitating an increase in the students being civically engaged through Civic engagement Act.”

Club: N/A Promise: N/A

Promise: “I really want to create a platform where we include more student leaders... because it is not just the AS board voice that matters.”

Club: N/A

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Position: Director of Student Advocacy Major: N/A Slate: N/A

Position: Director of Student Advocacy

Slate: N/A

Club: “Phi Theta Kappa, President of SMC United Nations club, and founder of the arabic club on campus.”

get back to The Corsair.

Daniel Garcia, a second year student at Santa Monica College, is running

Major: Communication

Slate: TIE

The Corsair reached out to Alexa Benavente, but as of print, she did not

Student Trustee. The Corsair reached out to Charlene Boyd, but as of

Position: Student Trustee

Major: Economics and Political Science with a concentration in global studies.

Promise: “I am willing to go above and beyond that students are properly represented.”

Promise: “Honest advocacy. I’m not going to do anything that students explicitly ask me not to and I’m going to do my best to speak with students, understand what they want from me, and fulfill that in my role as student trustee.”

Charlene "Alex" Boyd is a Communication major and is running for print, she did not get back to The Corsair.

Daniel Farr / Corsair Photo

Hesham Jarmakani, a Economics and Political Science major with a concentration in global studies, runs for the Vice President position.

Position: Vice President

Club: N/A

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Promise: " I plan to engage with students, to create open forums and understand your needs."

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VOLUME 115 ISSUE 03 • MARCH 28, 2018 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

ASSOCIATED STUDENTS NEWS

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Courtesy of Associated Students

Daniel Farr / Corsair Photo

Gema Ceron is running for secretary and is a Film Production

Thane Fernandes / Corsair Photo

major.

Courtesy of Associated Students

Itzchak "Isaac" Maghen, a Film major, runs for the Secretary position.

Jeremy Thurman, a Computer Science major, runs for the Director of Publicity position.

Position: Secretary

Position: Secretary

Position: Director of Publicity

Position: Director of Budget Management

Major: Film

Major: Film Production

Major: Computer Science

Major: Business Administration

Slate: TIE

Slate: Step Forward

Slate: For The Students

Slate: N/A

Club: Students Support Israel

Club: N/A

Club: “I am a member of the STEM and Scholars program.”

Club: N/A

Promise: “Instead of making A.S. food vouchers $15, we want to make it $20 per semester. So students can have two meals a week.”

Promise: As the chief of the Budget Management committee,I will make sure that the budget is equally distributed among clubs and students, that only what will truly benefit students will receive funding, and that everybody will get benefits from the money that we equally invest when we become AS members.

Promise: “I would commit to being out on the quad, telling students ‘hey, you have the opportunity to tell us (AS) what you think,’ cause we have clubs and our club life is very strong and I’m happy for that, but how many students are affiliated with these clubs? But if people really knew the opportunities that existed, they wouldn’t just come here to study and bounce after a year of two, they would be like “wow, this is a really nice campus life and I want to get involved.”

Promise: “I want to be able to work to change the Associated Students constitutions so that we can make sure the major action items are proposed one week and then a meeting is held on them the next week and we want to make a requirement for an ICC meeting to be held in between those two meetings. We want to do that for transparency.”

Maria Damian is a Business Administration Major.

Courtesy of Associated Students

Daniel Farr / Corsair Photo

Jason Manigo, a business administration major, runs for the Budget Management position.

Position: Budget management Major: Business administration Slate: TIE Club: “Black collegians” Promise: “I will work extremely hard, and be the best I can.”

Courtesy of Associated Students

Cathy Phung is a Communication major and is running for Director of Publicity.

Kimberly Hernandez is a Sociology major and is running for Director of Student Assitance.

Joesph "Joe" Kolko, a Environmental Studies and Geography Major, runs for the Director of Sustainability

Position: Director of Publicity.

Position: Director of Student Assistance

Major: Communication

Major: Sociology

Position: Director of Sustainability

Slate: Step Forward

Slate: N/A

Major: Environmental Studies and Geography Major

Club: N/A

Club: N/A

Slate: TIE

Promise: "One promise I’m going to fill is social media on campus to promote the events and make sure students are aware of what’s going on around campus."

Promise: “It is with my best intentions to advocate for students’ rights and education by not only communicating, but engaging with the students.”

Thane Fernandes / Corsair Photo

Club: “I am the ICC delegate for plastic free SMC, and i’m working with another student to reform the care club which was previously left out of the ICC list for the past year or two.”

For full profiles go to www.thecorsaironline.com

Promise: “I believe that it’s not clear what the roles are for us and waste. We do not have composting bins throughout the cafeteria and at every trash can I want there to be a waste station where students are able to sort through their waste and understand where it goes to be more educated about our waste system.”

Follow The Corsair on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and on YouTube.

Facebook: @Thecorsairnews Twitter: @The_Corsair Instagram: @corsairnews YouTube: @TheCorsaironline Website: www.thecorsaironline.com FOR

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VOLUME 115 ISSUE 03 •MARCH 28, 2018 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

March for Our Lives: Los Angeles The streets of LA flooded with protesters over gun violence

think that’s the main problem.”

Protestors began to march at around 10 a.m., where tens of thousands of people began their way to city hall, filling the streets of downtown Los Angeles. March attendees cheered and scream as they awaited the speakers and performers to come on the stage set in between Grand Park and city hall.

Octavia Anthony, 14, stood along the fence dividing the crowd and the backstage, waiting to perform with her group, the Compton Kids Club. “I feel like it’s better because it’s students that’s doing it, the new generation that has to live in the world with gun laws… we’re the one’s that are making the change because this is our generation, this is our future,” Anthony said.

Ryanne Mena STAFF WRITER

Matthew Martin/ Corsair Staff

High School student Sabrinah Lopez, 17, attends the March for Our Lives protest in front of Los Angeles City Hall in Downtown Los Angeles, California on Saturday, March 24 2018. Lopez stated, “I have never been this angry. I am fighting for my right to survive and the NRA just ignores us…well we are not going to go silent till we have the change we seek.”

Thirty-eight days after 17 students and faculty members lost their lives in the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, approximately 60,000 people gathered in downtown Los Angeles to support gun reform in the United States of America this Saturday, March 24.

The student-led March For Our Lives movement in Los Angeles, California started at the intersection of West 5th St and South Broadway at 9 a.m., where speakers told their stories to the growing crowd, many who held colorful protest signs. “And we the students have had enough, because we are sick and tired of watching our friends die in our classrooms while Congress sits on its hands and does nothing but offer thoughts and prayers,” said a student speaker following screams of support from the particularly youthful crowd.

A survivor of the 1999 Columbine school shooting, Richard Castaldo, followed this sentiment, saying on the chilly morning: “It’s good that Black Lives Matter is here.

Unfortunately, for our governments, no lives matter apparently, right…We need a government that actually listens to the people, instead of the NRA and gun manufacturers, I

“I don’t want to go to college and have to deal with school shootings" Down the street from the crowd filling Grand Park stood a smaller crowd of over a dozen. Trump supporters filled the policetaped southeast corner of North Spring St and West 1st St, with LAPD officers lined up outside of the police tape keeping the general public’s interaction with the counter-protesters under control. Trump supporter Arthur Schaper, a counter-protestor who says he attends these protests frequently, spoke of why he attended the event: “I’m here counterprotesting this mindless attack against the second amendment, against gun rights… We definitely shouldn’t be passing legislation dealing with peoples second amendment rights based on emotion.”

The march attracted students from all across Southern California, with Simi Valley High Schooler, William Viehauser, being one of them. When asked why he attended the march, Viehauser said, “I don’t want to go to college and have to deal with school shootings…our generation is going to run for office…we don’t use bullets, we use ballots.”

The event ended at around 2 p.m., with the streets of downtown Los Angeles opening back up. Officer Mike Lopez of the LAPD stated that the March ended with no arrests or recorded counts of violence.

Zane Meyer-Thornton / Corsair Staff

Santa Monica College student Jessica Flaum spoke in front of thousands of people at the March For Our Lives protest on March 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Flaum was one of the many student activists speaking on gun control.

Matthew Martin/ Corsair Staff

Alex Garcia (left) and Avery Dehart (right) cheer and shout with enthusiasm as they listen to guest speakers give their opinion on the lack of gun regulation in the U.S before protesters began their march toward city hall in downtown Los Angeles, California on Saturday, March 24 2018. The rally began near Pershing Square at 9 a.m. and the march moved to Grand Park, where there were speakers and performers.

Speakers included students and survivors of previous mass shootings like Columbine, Las Vegas and the Seal Beach salon shooting.

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EVOLUME

115 ISSUE 03 • MARCH 28, 2018 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

PHOTOSTORY NEWS

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Matthew Martin/ Corsair Staff

A March for Our Lives demonstrator, who wished to rename anonymous, leads the march that took place in front of Los Angeles City Hall, in Downtown Los Angeles, California on Saturday, March 24 2018.

Daniel Bowyer / Corsair Staff

Young activists, parents, and demonstrators stand on 5th and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, before marching to City Hall during the March for Our Lives rally on March 24, 2018, in Los Angeles, California.

Daniel Bowyer / Corsair Staff

Young activists chant gun control next to City Hall during the March for Our Lives rally on March 24, 2018, in Los Angeles, California.

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VOLUME 115 ISSUE 03 •MARCH 28, 2018 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

A.S. Election Rules: A Rundown Rulebook changes after last year's controversial campaign.

papers a nd ca rd s for advertising was set to reduce the amount of paper waste.

Associated St udent s Since the number of (A.S.) candidates began their Snapchat and Instagram respective campaigns this media filters are limited past Monday for positions geographically, candidates on the A.S. Board of were not allowed to advertise Directors, Santa Monica on these platforms. Some College’s student leaders of those running have sought that are responsible for club to amend this rule since this activities, the A.S. budget, article was published, as and many other items crucial they believe the number of to SMC students. slates was too low to warrant In order to maintain a the concerns about slates level playing field, Associate dominating advertising on Dean of Student Life Dr. those platforms.

Nancy Grass and A.S. Lead If any of the candidates Counselor, Benny Blaydes, or their campaign workers laid out the r ules all make serious violations, candidates are required to they will be discussed by a follow for this year’s committee to determine the elections in three meetings punishment, which could held in the Cayton Center, be seve re enoug h to Room 206 from March disqualify those offending.

13-15. The meetings went Election results will be over the 2018 election code posted on Friday, April 6, that underwent revisions in 2018 at 9:00 a.m. unless Ethan Lauren/ Corsair Photo consideration of last year’s credible accusat ions of election, in which candidates Benny Blaydes, a counselor for the Office of Student Life serves on the election committee for the next year’s Associated Students board and serious violations are made. lead mandatory orientation for applicants running on Wednesday, March 14 2018 at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California. During a ccu sed ea ch ot he r of the election season, candidates will follow the election code or face being removed from the running.

Candidates who are found to campaigning unethically. have violated any rules, have A message both Grass and down, and may count as a campaign Rules limit the scope of the 72 hours to appeal.

Blaydes emphasized was keeping violation. advertisements and campaigning Those interested in the details the discussions civil and appropriate.

Candidates are not allowed to that candidates are allowed to do. of all the official rules for the 2018 “Don’t attack people, attack ideas,” campaign in the librar y and Candidates are not allowed to spend Grass said. The two expressed computer labs, and all campaign more than $250 per person, with A.S. election can f ind more concern about the false rumors and workers must be SMC students. an additional $15 granted if they information in the 2018 Election allegations that some candidates Although the candidates and their are part of a slate, an official group Code, which was posted on the SMC have spread through social media. campaign workers can post in the of two or more candidates that share student life page and is available T hey bot h emphasi zed t hat “unofficial” SMC Facebook page, a similar platform. Of that campaign h e r e: h t t p: // w w w. s m c . e d u / u n s ubst a nt iat e d a c c u s at ion s they were asked not to over post, fund, up to 20% can be used on St ude nt Se r v ice s /St ude nt Li fe/ Documents/AS%20ELECTIONS/ towards candidates must be taken or else they will be deleted. paper materials, while a cap of 500 Election%20Code%202018.pdf.

Edward Lee EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SMC Associated Students Celebrate Return from D.C. Conference Reed Curtis STAFF WRITER

Last weekend, student leaders from across the nation attended the National Student Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C. The event, which took place from March 17 - 20, provided workshops to community college students on congressional lobbying, practical advice on how to advocate for issues that directly impact community colleges, as well as opportunities to speak directly with our Congressional and Senatorial representatives.

Santa Monica College sent four student leaders to the event: Student Trustee Chase Matthews, A.S. President Jennifer Chen, Director of Student Advocacy Santiago Guerrero, and Director of Budget Management Charlene Alex Boyd. President Chen stressed the importance of events like these in building leadership skills, saying, "I got to learn what Congress is actually doing and learn how to push and advocate for what we want."

Board members at the event had the opportunity to speak to members of Congress at the event on specific issues, while taking away information to share with the student community at large. Chen's focus remained largely on Pell Grants: a source of federal funding for college students, which comes in the form of cash aid awarded each academic year.

Community college students receive 30percent of all Pell Grants annually, which makes the Pell Grant their largest source of financial assistance for attending college.

Chen was particularly concerned that the maximum individual grant amount of $5,920 - which has been increased to match inflation in previous years - will no longer be tied to inflation due to recent decisions made by the Trump administration. Student Trustee, Matthews, also pointed out that there is a massive surplus of Pell Grant money, and that our representatives are currently fighting to "constructively use that surplus to further FOR

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Reed Curtis/ Corsair Staff

In the Associated Students' Center at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, Associated Students President Jennifer Chen presents a "behind the scenes" video of the Associated Students delegation's recent trip to the National Student Advocacy Conference to her fellow board members. (L-R) President Jennifer Chen, Faculty Advisor Dr. Nancy Grass, Director of Student Assistance Ana Laura Paiva, Director of Publicity Stephanie Hernandez, Director of Activities Saori Gurung, Director of Student Advocacy Santiago Guerrero, Director of Budget Management Charlene Alex Boyd, A.S. Vice President George Sandoval, Student Trustee Chase Matthews, and Director of Student Outreach Max Gong in Santa Monica, California on Monday, March 26th 2018..

advance higher education instead of seeing that surplus be lost to military spending."

Boyd, who focused on student loan reform at the conference, was pleased to find out that Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) is "very active on student loan reform." Boyd was particularly impressed by the fact that while our delegation was debating on how to best approach our representatives about issues like such as student loan relief, Senator Harris was simultaneously tweeting about the very same issue. While speaking to Harris, the Santa Monica College delegation found out that our congresspeople are currently pushing to extend the grace period from six months to twelve, in US

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order to, in the words of President Chen, give "students more time to get a job, so they wont be bumping into high interest rates to repay the loan."

One of the most important issues to many SMC students is the status of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) legislation. Guerrero specifically focused on this matter, pointing out that "currently it's [DACA] is caught in the courts, and it's estimated that it will stay in the courts for at least two years."

During those two years, Guerrero explained that "anyone already registered with DACA is safe, but they're not allowing anyone else to register"; however, Director Boyd pointed out that already registered DACA recipients can re-

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register. Our representatives want to, in the words of Guerrero, "keep kicking the can down the road," in order to pass comprehensive immigration reform in the future.

In addition to the extensive information acquired, our delegation also began to form personal relationships with the movers and shakers of D.C. One of Senator Diane Feinstein's (D-CA) aides was a former SMC student, and allowed our delegation into the chambers of Congress to sit in on both a session of the House and Senate. Though the information and advocacy were the main focus of the trip, Chen said, "it's so amazing to learn that our congressional leaders are really pushing to help the students."

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VOLUME 115 ISSUE 03 • MARCH 28, 2018 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

CULTURE NEWS

Music Brings Students Together

Zeynep Abes / Corsair Staff

Music Appreciation club members Jaewon Choi (right) and Luis Emmanuel Panotes (left) perform during their club meeting on Thursday, March 22, 2018, at Santa Monica College's Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles, California.

Isai Palacios STAFF WRITER

The welcoming sound of piano echoes throughout the hallway behind Santa Monica College’s concert hall on the college's Performing Arts Center. Performing at the head of the class is Leo Rodriguez, 20, president of the

Music Appreciation club who is excited to get the club up and running again for another semester along with previous members and newcomers.

The music appreciation club was founded in 2015 and is “mainly dedicated to providing an encouraging platform for musicians and enthusiasts through workshops,

concerts, collaborations, and live performances,” Rodriguez said.

“We’re just basically trying to bring music lovers together man, that’s all it is.”

He emphasized that the club strives to create a welcoming atmosphere. “We don’t look at your skill set or anything like that, [It’s] more of a collaborative collective

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experience, a networking thing,” Rodriguez said.

Gary Galeas, 20, an all-around music lover, says he “has gotten out of his shell,” since joining the club. He has also made friends in the club and it inspired him to join other clubs. “Its really cool that there's a music club, that a bunch of people that like the same thing can get together and perform and just do what they like to do.”

Last semester, the music appreciation club collaborated with the Adelante club to hold a banquet for Thanksgiving. The music club performed both pieces that they had practiced, some of which was improvised by music club members that attended the event and wanted to join in.

Jaewon Choi and Luis Panotes are a couple that first met within the club. Since then they have been performing on stage as a duo, with Panotes on guitar and Choi on vocals. After spending some time with the music appreciation club, Choi decided to follow her passion and change her major to music.

The couple performs regularly at the club’s events.

Rodriguez said “What music appreciation is, it's about bringing performers and enthusiasts together and giving people the platform to kind of meet each other through... and as long as you want to be on stage, we’ll give you that platform.” The music appreciation club meets every Thursday at 11:15 on the Performing Arts Campus in room 115.

The club will be performing at 4:30 pm at SMC’s Cayton Center on the main campus.

Santa Monica ArtWalk: A Community Affair

Even if they aren't not an artist or an art aficionado, visitors can explore many different art styles and mediums.

Heather Creamer STAFF WRITER Santa Monica College (SMC) Airport Campus buzzed with people, live music, food trucks, students spinning clay, and art at the 12th Annual Santa Monica ArtWalk, put on by The City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs this Saturday, March 24.

The airport campus serves as a studio to over 60 artists and several creative venues, and this ArtWalk showcased various art studios, including the Ruskin Group Theatre, SMC Ar t Mentor Program, SMC Ceramic Arts department, live music, DJs, food trucks, workshops, and hands on activities, all at no cost to the public. The st udios feat ured sculpt u res, pai nt i ngs, d rawi ngs, photography, cloth art, ceramics and creative installations, making for a diverse collection.

The event is going 12 years strong, and continues to grow and adapt to better suit the community. Allison Ostrovsky, City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Supervisor, said, “With all of my events, I think it is important to allow them to grow and to tweak them a little bit… this year is the first year we have a workshop that is not led by an artist based here at the airport.”

Ostrovsky eagerly praised the event’s ability to encourage the community’s love of art. “Even if you’re not an artist or an art aficionado you can come here and find something that you love or that moves you and there are so many different styles and mediums that it is fun to explore,” she said.

Something brought up over and over again by coordinators, artists, students, and attendees is the sense of community that this event is able to create.

Studio resident and artist, Susie McKay Krieser, had this to say about the community the ArtWalk and Airport Artist Studios created: “I love being FOR

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Heather Creamer/ Corsair Photo

Nerea Nicholson, an Early Childhood Development major at SMC with a love for ceramics, poses while working on two pieces in the SMC Ceramic Arts Gallery at the 12 Annual Santa Monica ArtWalk on March 24th, 2018 in Santa Monica, California.

apart of this group of people - a community. The ar tists are ver y supportive of each other. When you do art it can be a very lonely thing, so it is nice to have friends here.”

Santa Monica College students had opportunities to showcase work through the SMC Art Mentor Program exhibit and Ceramic Arts exhibit featured.

Students were grateful for the opportunity to not only be featured alongside many established artists, but also get exposure, US

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credit, and feedback on their own work.

Emily Eisen, artist, model, creative director, and student in the SMC Art Mentor Program, shared her experience: “It is important for us to get exposure to the artist who are up and coming and be in the same environment of artists who have been around a while… Half of the meaning of the work to me is the feedback I get and the conversations that I have with the people who see my work.”

Nerea Nicholson, a ceramic student

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at SMC who was featured in the ArtWalk was incredibly excited and humbled that her work “pretty much sold out”, in her own words. She felt “really lucky” that she did a lot this semester to sell and present.

Yet again, Nicholson summed up the event by celebrating the people and the sense of community it brings each year.

“The people - all the people coming to support us is amazing.”

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NEWS CULTURE

VOLUME 115 ISSUE 03 •MARCH 28, 2018 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

Documenting Students' Mental Health Struggles Increasing number of students seeking help for mental health issues

Helena Sung/ Corsair Photo

Kathy Welch points at a collage of photos of her son, David Sliff, at her home in Hermosa Beach, California on Saturday, March 17, 2018. The collage was displayed at Sliff's funeral on December 30, 2017.

Helena Sung/ Corsair Photo

A photo of David Sliff, a former SMC student who commited suicide in December 2017, leans is displayed in the living room window of his home in Hermosa Beach, California on Saturday, March 17, 2018. Sliff's mother, Kathy Welch (center) and her husband, Tom Welch, talk to a reporter.

Wilson Gomez & Helena Sung STAFF WRITER & MULTIMEDIA EDITOR As Kathy Welch and her husband Tom were driving back from a short trip up to Big Bear on Dec. 31, 2017, she received a text from her neighbor telling her to get back home as soon as possible.

Kathy called her neighbor and was told to pull over.

Her neighbor handed the phone over to a police officer and the first thing Kathy asked the officer was, “Is my son dead?” Her son, 23-year-old Santa Monica College student David Sliff, after years of suffering from depression, had committed suicide.

Surrounded by photographs of Sliff, Welch opened up about her son's struggle to overcome depression, in the hope it will help others. "I've been an ICU nurse for 22 years," Welch said. "I typically see this on the other side helping people who survive suicide attempts."

Sliff had been clinically diagnosed with depression in 2016. According to Welch, her son contacted numerous doctors and applied to clinical trials in an attempt to find a drug that would cure him of his depression. Sliff felt the solution to his problem was not talk therapy, but medication that would cure a chemical imbalance in his brain. He researched various drugs with the help of his psychiatrist and sometimes on his own. He tried a variety of drugs, but nothing worked. "He tried desperately to get help, but for some reason he couldn't," Welch said. "I don't know why."

A sensitive and trusting person, Welch said Sliff was extremely hurt by his schoolmates' reaction when he revealed in middle school that he was gay.

"He told one person and then the whole school knew and the baseball team showed up at my front door saying, ‘David’s gay. David’s gay,’” Welch recalled. Sliff was bullied for coming out, though Welch does not think he killed himself because he was gay.

Depression is one of those taboo topics that people avoid for myriad reasons. Yet, 27.1% of college students surveyed admitted to having suicidal thoughts at some point in their lives, according to the Spring 2017 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment. And 10.4% of students had attempted suicide at least once in their life. Statistics among LGBTQ students are even more dismaying.

According to the Healthy Minds Study, which surveyed 14,000 students, 23.2% of LGBTQ students had suicidal thoughts in the past year, compared with 8.1% of heterosexual students.

And among community college students, nearly half reported experiencing at least one mental health issue, with depression and anxiety being the most common, according to a 2016 report by the Wisconsin Hope Lab. These rates were higher than those reported by students at four-year colleges and universities.

At SMC, the Center for Wellness and Wellbeing on the main campus offers short-term counseling and referrals. Most students are seen for one to three therapy sessions with the center providing referrals for longer-term needs, according to Susan Fila, the center's director.

Additionally, the center offers crisis walk-in hours from 9-11 a.m. and from 2-4 p.m. There is FOR

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Helena Sung/ Corsair Photo

Kathy Welch holds up a tank top she had made honoring her son, former SMC student David Sliff, at her home in Hermosa Beach, California on Saturday, March 17, 2018. Welch wore a blue version of the tank top when she ran the Los Angeles Marathon the next day.

no waitlist, and students are seen on a first-come, first-served basis. The availability of crisis intervention is mentioned on the center's website, but as of the writing of this article, it does not specify the walk-in hours.

From 2015 to 2016, the number of crisis walkins at the center jumped 29%, according to Fila.

Additionally, the percentage of students seen at the center with thoughts of suicide increased from 15% in 2015 to 21% in 2017.

Despite this increase, the center only has two full-time licensed psychologists, two part-time psychologists (who work for a combined total of 18 hours a week between them), and two unlicensed interns who are supervised by licensed staff. Special programs on campus, such as the Latino Center, African American Collegians, the Veteran Resource Center, Guardian Scholars, and the Center for Students with Disabilities have a part-time psychologist on staff.

In the 2017 calendar year, the center served 960 students and scheduled almost 3,500 appointments. Fila has no doubt that "if we doubled our staff, we'd double our numbers [of students served]."

Santa Monica College has received a new grant of $225,000 from the State Chancellor’s Office to expand mental health services, according to Fila, US

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but the school cannot use that money for direct services. Instead, SMC will use that money towards training, outreach and raising awareness. By the end of the semester, they hope to have “Mind Care” kiosks on campus that can assess students for anxiety and depression and educate students on campus resources.

A new campus club and peer-to-peer support group, Active Minds, aims to help students dealing with mental health issues. It is a peer-to-peer support group. “We’re trying to get people comfortable with the idea of speaking out about [mental health] and… I believe that comes from seeing students that represent the comfort of talking about it," said Monica Salazar, Vice President of the SMC chapter.

The club is planning student outreach events for May, which is Mental Health Awareness month,.

Earlier this year, Edgar Mauricio Gonzales resigned from his position as Associated Students Vice President, and revealed his struggles with depression. He grew up with a violent father who left when Gonzalez was 13 years old, and a mother who became distant. Gonzalez said that he blamed himself.

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cannot see her because of an incident involving his daughter's mother and his previous alcohol problems. “I get seasonal depression because during Christmas, I’m always by myself," Gonzalez said.

"Thanksgiving I’m always by myself, and TV and social media plays a lot on it [with] everyone with their families and stuff.”

Gonzalez sought help at the center. While he appreciates the work being done, he wishes the staff was more diverse and inclusive so that students from different backgrounds feel more comfortable seeking help. "I feel that they don’t fully understand where I come from," Gonzalez said, recalling how a white female therapist looked scared when he said he had been shot at. Because of his financial situation, Gonzales hasn’t been able to find the professional help he knows he needs. Last year, Gonzales wanted to commit suicide but stopped himself when he remembered his daughter.

Welch has a message to those who have friends who may be suffering from depression. “Reach out… don’t be afraid to ask questions," she said.

"If you sense that your friend is changing, if they’re getting more isolated -- isolation is a big sign.

Getting rid of your possessions is another big sign.”

Salazar has a similar message: “The best thing to do is ask direct questions in a very neutral tone.

You don’t want to sound like you’re pressuring someone.”

“One thing that I would like to tell people is just don’t be afraid to be weak," Gonzalez said.

"That masculinity bullshit. Why can’t I express my emotions? Why can’t I cry? Don’t be afraid to be weak and cry because at the end of the day you’re stronger than other people because you’re willing to lower your pride. Now I feel better I feel like I can cry… My life matters.”

Hundreds of friends and family attended Sliff's funeral, which was a celebration of his life. Friends spoke of how much Sliff meant to them and how he had helped them through their hard times, some occasions being only weeks before Sliff took his own life.

Sliff's bedroom is still full of his things. Welch sometimes stays in her son’s room to feel a sense of connection with him. “I was so proud of him, even after he died, because of all the people that he helped," Welch said. After his death, his family found a suicide note on his computer. "Mom," it read. "I’m not prone to writing suicide notes, but I was born and lived a depressant life and nothing’s helped. I’m sorry for the heartache."

The Center for Wellness and Wellbeing is located in room 110 in the Liberal Arts Building. You can contact the 24/7 emotional support phone line at (800) 691-6003.

In case of an emergency, contact the school police at (310) 434-4300. The Active Minds club meets every Thursday from 11:15 to 12:30 in room 124A at the Counseling Complex.

Other resources include the Trevor Project, which offers crisis intervention and suicide prevention: 1-866-488-7386. There is also the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273TALK (8255) or the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

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VOLUME 115 ISSUE 03 • MARCH 28, 2018 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

OPINION NEWS

Facebook Breach: Nothing's Ever Truly Safe Online

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Earl Augustines STAFF WRITER On March 17, Cambridge Analytica, a political data firm based in the United Kingdom, came under fire after it was discovered that the firm had taken the personal information of over 50 million Facebook users to influence the 2016 United States election.

Naturally, people were furious upon knowing this, causing the hashtag #DeleteFacebook to go viral, urging others to leave Facebook and delete their accounts. However, what people don’t realize is that their data has always been at risk, and has been used to make large amounts of money legally and illegally.

The whole situation has been overblown thanks to our current political climate, and there are some things to clear up. First off, the information taken was about who you were, what you liked, and what kinds of sites you visit.

Secondly, the reason why Facebook allowed this to happen, and why they took this long to take action, was because it was business as usual.

You may be confused. “Business as usual?" To answer that, we need to answer another question: How does Facebook make money? A website that provides the ability to socialize with anyone anywhere for free can’t sustain itself with people interacting with the site, even if there are millions of people on the site. The solution is that Facebook sells your data to advertisers.

Facebook's CEO and co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg, claims it's the companies' “responsibility to protect your data,” and they willingly sell that “protected” data to advertisers. To be fair, Facebook never sells personal data that specifically identifies anyone.

The information may be anonymous, but your movements, your behaviors, your likes and dislikes, and everything you do on Facebook is tracked and

Illustration By: Andrew Khanian

sold off. The same kind of nonsense we don’t want the government to do, but Facebook does and makes money off it.

Nevertheless, Cambridge Analytica isn’t an advertising company, and even then, the data they obtained isn’t what Facebook would’ve provided. So, what’s going on there? To put it short, a researcher at Cambridge University created an app that allowed him to obtain personal information via an online quiz which when accessed, allowed them to get data from quiz takers and their friends. But maybe this is an isolated incident, our infor-

mation is safe all the time, right?

Nope, we’ve always been at risk since the internet exploded in usage, and there have been plenty of hacks and data breaches, with some affecting billions of people. In 2013, Yahoo had over one billion of user accounts hacked and information stolen, which has since been used for various illegal activities.

In 2016, Uber had 57 million accounts hacked. In 2011, 77 million accounts from Sony’s PlayStation Network were hacked and had money stolen from each of these accounts. In 2013, Target had 110 million accounts compromised, and the list goes on. The point is that

SMC Professor’s Take on Gun Violence

How to Live Safe: The App See Something, Say Something!

Damaris Lizama STAFF WRITER LiveSafe is a safety application that students, faculty, and staff from Santa Monica College can download for free on their smartphones. LiveSafe provides discreet ways to communicate with Santa Monica College safety officials in order to increase protection for the students.

LiveSafe lets students send texts, pictures, and videos to campus police officers in real time, while having the choice to remain anonymous. Emergency options will let police know your exact location, and they’ll arrive to the destination as fast as possible. In the app, SafeWalk will let your friends virtually escort you to the bus stop, to your car, or anywhere. It is vital to stay up to date with any emergency alert that is coming from SMC police department.

Many students are unaware of the LiveSafe app that SMC encourages students to download so they can have a safer environment all around campus. SMC student, Mikayla Conley, states that she actually was not aware of the app, but heard about it on the Santa Monica College Facebook page. It is important to make sure that students at SMC can count on the campus for their own safety and well being of others.

Around the first four semesters 84% women end up experiencing assault at a college campus and 19% of women will have the exact same experience their first time at a college. Roughly 6% of men as well will be assaulted at a campus without their knowledge.

Since not many stories of men being assaulted are ever heard, it does not mean that it is not happening.

Another SMC student, Erika Simpson, says she would encourage her friends and peers to download the app. Simpson states, “if there were like in a situation where they’re like alone walking in the middle of the night type thing.” Simpson was referring to students who take night classes because Simpson herself would take them and no one was ever really on campus.

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David Burak CONTRIBUTING WRITER Let me start with what might sound like an old school observation: parents should take responsibility for keeping their children (including those that might be considered grown) from possessing automatic weapons, as well as other weapons with significant destructive potential. Let me cite a significant example – i.e. Blaec Lammers’ mother, Tricia.

When she became suspicious that her son was stockpiling ammunition and had purchased two AR -15's, Tricia Lammers called the police in Bolivar, Missouri and told them that she feared that Blaec was planning to launch some kind of attack.

After the police located the bearded Mr. Lammers at a local diner, he eventually acknowledged that he had purchased hundreds of rounds of ammo, as well as a ticket to the opening night screening of the second film in the Twilight vampire series. If he ran out of bullets for his AR-15's, he had planned to go to the local Walmart & kill the clerk at the gun counter, then take more ammo.

Lammers told police that he had intended to emulate James “The Joker” Holmes' killing spree at the midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises,” at a mall theater in Aurora, Colo. The “Batman” attack resulted in 12 dead and over 50 wounded. In the meantime, let’s consider the irresponsible reaction of Jared Lee Loughner’s father after his son ran off with his dad’s Glock. However, Mr. Loughner couldn’t catch his progeny.

Instead of calling 911, dad went back to the house, sat on the couch and turned on a baseball game.

Let me suggest something that could’ve been done to prevent the murder of a half dozen individuals, and the wounding of about two dozen others, including Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

It seems obvious, but I'm compelled to emphasize that policy-makers should require that any student who is expelled for behavior which could pose a danger

Screenshot of Live Safe app

“I would think it greatly benefits the students here because its an open campus, meaning anybody can pretty much walk on here so you never know who you’re going to encounter,” says Simpson.

Many of these perpetrators are known by the victims themselves and even 13% of women at a college campus have reported that they have been stalked during their time attending college. Since LiveSafe has the option of virtually walking with someone, crimes like assault and robbery can be prevented with just a click.

LiveSafe app will fulfill communication within Santa Monica College community, and safety officials in order to increase safety and awareness, and prevent crimes before they occur, and keeping the campus safe.

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hackers will find ways to access your account, and the security of these companies can't stop them.

So, what can you do? To be blunt, there’s not a lot. You can add security to your online accounts by creating complex codes, add more security checks, pretty much add every single security setting they offer, but in this digital age, hackers find ways around it all. The best advice anyone can offer is to simply be extremely cautious about what kind of information you share online and to who you share the information with.

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Illustration By: Andrew Khanian

to the lives of others, should be subjected to a substantive psychiatric evaluation, as well as follow up actions. This procedure could have provided the evidence for institutionalization of Jared Loughner.

If that wasn’t the immediate result of a diagnosis, at least there could’ve been the probability of regular counselling, both for the son and his father.

Also in the realm of prevention, at the very least, a unit of every police force should be trained and mandated to make a preliminary diagnoses and to inform the parents of a mentally unstable young person who is dealing with a situation wherein the son (or daughter) may pose an immediate threat to the lives of others.

This collaborative effort can help facilitate the proper next step, and possibly institutionalization.

In this era, it is rational to suggest that concerns for a student's privacy re: his past record of potentially violent legal offenses should be considered in light of the importance of protection of the lives of his fellow students and instructors.

Hence, something as simple as a notation that a "student has demonstrated a propensity for outbursts of violence" would seem both appropriate and potentially helpful.

Read the full version of this article online at thecorsaironline.com

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NEWS SPORTS

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VOLUME 115 ISSUE 03 •MARCH 28, 2018 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

SMC Swings it with Taylor Liebesman and Nicole Valdez Taylor Liebesman and Nicole Valdez have been standout players for the struggling Corsairs softball team Dylan Cortez STAFF WRITER The Corsairs softball team has struggled to find light this season, but two players have worked to keep the team going. Sophomore Taylor Liebesman (#23), and Freshman Nicole Valdez (#14) have had multiple stand out games this season, and they aren’t stopping any time soon.

Taylor Liebesman is a transfer student from San Diego Mesa, and has not played softball since her freshman year of high school. Liebesman had no problem finding her rhythm with the bat and on the mount.

A key tool for the Corsairs, she usually starts the game at third base because of her powerful arm.

The last two to three innings you can catch Liebesman striking out batter after batter no matter who the competition is.

Liebesman completely stopped the Bakersfield Renegades with her arm after Bakersfield ran up 10 runs in three innings.

Liebesman said that when she comes in the game to pitch, “its been really helpful just being involved with my team”.

Liebesman says that as a two-way player, she produced mixed results. She holds a 9.34 earned run average and 20 strikeouts in 69 2/3 innings as a pitcher, and has improved down the stretch.

However, her skills on the plate shows her true ability, as she crafts a .377/.450/.585 slash line with one home-run and 16 runs batted in. Her home run is also the team's only home-run of the season.

Liebesman's biggest motivator has been her father. When she told her father she was ready to lace up her cleats again he relied with, “Are you kidding me? Lets go now!” When asked if she was willing to further her softball career, Liebesman says, “softball is not something I will sell myself short with, if teams look at me i going to go forward with it and I will try to get on their softball team”.

The Corsairs center fielder #14 Nicole Valdez has made the outfield a danger zone for her opponents all season long.

Whether she’s making a simple catch off

Ashutosh Bikram Singh/ Corsair Photo

Santa Monica College Corsairs women's softball players Taylor Leibesman (Left), and Niole Valdez (Right) in Santa Monica, California, on tuesday March 20, 2018.

a pop fly or diving across the outfield for a ball, she is a pleasure to watch. At the plate, she holds a slash line .333/.440/.476 while anchoring the outfield with a field percentage of .900, a great statistic on defense.

Valdez has been playing baseball her whole life, but only started playing softball at the age of 14. Valdez isn’t worried

about going on to play at a four year, saying, “if it happens its going to happen.”

Valdez still has time to grow as a player before she needs to make a decision to keep playing at a four year or not. Valdez was sure to make it clear that school is the most important to her, so that will continue to be her main focus throughout her softball career.

When she was asked if she thinks she could help the team win more games as she progresses and her response was: “It’s not just about me, not about my plays or my hits but more about our attitudes, how we help each other out and how we pick each other up so I can definitely help in that aspect of the team.”

Corsairs Tennis Bounces Back with Sweep The Corsairs tennis team dominate Victor Valley with 7-0 sweep Ethan Lauren STAFF WRITER

The Santa Monica Corsairs breezed past the Victor Valley Rams with a win of 7-0 on Tuesday, March 27 on their final home game of the season. This match was the final home game of the season. The sun was high, while winds were constant on the Ocean View Park tennis courts.

Bouncing back off the team’s 0-9 loss against the Glendale Vaqueros, and facing a postponement due to rain against the Ventura Pirates last week, the Corsairs currently have a 4-8 record for the season.

With the Rams bringing only four players against the five Corsairs, one singles game was automatically given to the Corsairs.

In court one, SMC standout player Abby Mullins played against sophomore Ally Samp and won with ease, posting a score of 6-0 and 6-1. Mullins, a passionate player known to exclaim phrases such as, “come on, Abby,” was ultimately satisfied with her performance for the day. "The whole season’s been pretty good,” Mullins said. “[Just] a couple matches here and there that weren’t too pretty.”

Corsair Mina Girit played in court two against junior Ava Andrasi, giving the Corsairs another win with sets of 6-0 and 6-2. On court three, Amanda Golling faced off against sophomore Lorene Connors with a win after sets of 6-0, 6-1.

Golling, relatively new to the

Matthew Martin/ Corsair Photo

Santa Monica College Corsair sophomore Abby Mullins (#1, singles) prepares to hit a powerful, backhand against her Victor Valley College opponent Ally Samp at the Ocean View Park Tennis Courts in Santa Monica, California on Tuesday, March 27 2018. Mullins won the match with sets of 6-0 and 6-1, helping the Corsairs achieve their 7-0 clean sweep victory against Victor Valley College.

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sport, enjoyed the match and playing with the rest of the Corsairs. “I think we’re friends first, then teammates second,” Golling said.

Yurim Han, on court four, beat freshman Vanessa McAllister with a set of 6-1 and 7-6, the latter set being the longest match of the day.

Though Han won both sets, she was hard on herself afterwards. “It was the worst day ever, I should have played so much better,” Han said.

“I just couldn’t focus on anything.

I should have tried to meditate.”

Head coach Richard Goldenson said, “I’m really proud of Yurim, she fought back and didn’t let the frustration overwhelm her and won that match.” When asked about Hans performance, assistant coach Kathy Kellermann also added, “The most important thing is that she adjusted her game... she learned how to adjust her game and it was a first --- it was a breakthrough.”

After the singles, the score stood at 5-0 for the Corsairs. Doubles started later in the day, with court one consisting of Mullins and Girit against Samps and Andrasi. Court two held Ki Ho Hirayama, an SMC player who didn’t play during singles, and Golling, who played against Connors and McAllister.

The Corsairs won both doubles, with court one playing a clean 8-0 and court two ending the afternoon with 8-1.

The Corsairs will be playing their final game of the season on the road on Thursday, March 29 against the Antelope Valley Marauders, a team which the Corsairs beat with a win of 7-2 earlier in the season.

/THECORSAIRNEWS

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/THECORSAIRONLINE