A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 over a Boeing 737-8 Max. The 737 -8 Max has been involved in two crashes in the last four months. (Illustrated by Conner Savage).
N E W S Debacle Over Esports Club at SMC Evan Minniti and Eric Martinez The room was filled with the sound of ancient televisions, the energetic clack and snap of the controllers, and the creatively varied insults from the mouths of the attending patrons. There was around twenty to thirty people, many of whom had just met in person for the first time, spread across the room huddled around the behemoth TV sets, intently focused on destroying their opponents. This wasn’t just a match for fun, there was money riding on every battle, with the winner taking home a grand prize of a few hundred dollars. Santa Monica College (SMC) student Ryan Dempsey didn’t always just host twelve hour Super Smash Brothers tournaments in his family’s home. In the spring semester of 2018, he pursued the formation of an Electronic Sports (Esports) club on campus but was never able to have this dream come to fruition. Along with Dempsey, there was an avid group of gamers who sought to establish the club. Despite their efforts, they found the Inter-Club Council (ICC) system to be unaccommodating to their request. They are forced to meet unofficially in places like this, where they can exercise their mental fortitude in combat. “I didn’t get much help to set up a club in any way,” Dempsey said. “They would give you cards to talk to people but those people don’t talk to you or call you back... It wasn’t that helpful, and when the Associated Students office isn’t making it easy for you to make a club when it’s already really difficult to make a club, it makes it really hard to get the rest of the people in the club.” One of Dempsey’s friends and a fellow
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gamer, Michael Silver, describes the sense of community that gamers found with each other when playing older titles such as Super Smash Brothers. “I really like [Super Smash Bros.] and what it can do for people. This game, because it’s so old school, it’s not online, isn’t so developed as games like League of Legends or Fortnite, etc. There is more intimacy when you meet someone,” Silver said. SMC, though a community college, is located near a number of universities like UC Irvine, UCLA, and USC, who all sponsor their A group of SMC students gathers near the vending machines in the Main Campus cafeteria to play video games and have friendly esports teams. Dempsey competitions against each other, Monday, March 4, 2019, in Santa Monica, Calif. Despite their regular meet-ups, the restrictions and qualifications for a club have kept the group from forming an official Gaming Club through the college. (Nicole Haun/ The and his friends dreamed Corsair) of doing the same at SMC. However, they soon ran into pitfalls. The history of video gaming class at SMC, and make it a comfortable space to play in,” ICC requires that every club have a group she was willing to help me… [but] she Dempsey explained. of officers who are all taking at least six wouldn’t have been able to go to all the Despite the failure to form a club, and units, a club president who holds only this meetings.” the challenges they face bringing materials Dempsey also encountered problems with to school, the group of gamers can easily be office, a delegate to attend all ICC meetings who must also be an approved officer, and constantly bringing equipment to and from found duking it out on a TV and Nintendo a full-time professor to be their advisor. All the main campus. He would have to haul Switch in the cafeteria. They still hope to of whom must take a quiz provided by ICC three heavy cathode-ray tube (CRT) one day form their club and gain access to televisions to campus, in addition to a "duffle the coveted college tournament circuit that in order to be approved. “We wouldn’t be able to find a professor bag full of consoles." could help launch their professional Esports "And we were stealing the tables from careers. that’s full time to sponsor us," Dempsey said. "Professor Julia Raz was super cool the cafeteria to do it… We had no funding and she teaches the video gaming class, the which meant that we had no resources to
A.S. Finance Committee Working On Plans To Revise Fiscal Policy Joshua Gonzalez ǀ Staff Writer The Active Minds Club’s budget request at last February 25’s Associated Students (A.S.) Board Meeting at the Santa Monica College (SMC) Cayton Center is the latest argument for the A.S. Finance Committee’s initiative to revise fiscal policy. The organization’s SMC chapter requested $4, 655.25 to partially fund an upcoming national conference between March 22 to 23 in Washington, D.C. that aims to improve the group’s efforts in destigmatizing mental health. While the request passed unanimously, fiscal policy limits trips outside the states of California, Arizona, and Nevada to 25% funding, meaning the club knew requesting full funding was unlikely. The board was aware of the importance of mental health to most college students, which lead them to examine potential solutions to the club’s predicament. “I didn’t even bring up the conversation about more funds,” said John James, vice president of Active Minds SMC. “That was brought up by the A.S. board members.” A Student Trustee Charlene “Alex” Boyd
urged the board to consider making exception to fiscal policy for the club’s conference. The idea prompted a broader discussion on fiscal policy. “Almost every board member . . . mentioned an interest in revising the fiscal policy,” James observed. David Atash, the Inter-Club Council (ICC) delegate for Active Minds SMC, also noticed this. “What we’re doing is important. The A.S. Board gets that. We’re sure the financial committee understands that as well. They just have to get over the legal hurdles that they’re faced with.” Atash’s judgment was accurate, but fiscal policy made fully funding the club difficult for the board. “My problem is I know that they’re active . . . and I know I can only approve this much,” said ICC Vice-Chair Paniz Karimpour, a member of the finance committee. The issues with fiscal policy led Karimpour to further aid the club by researching various on-campus departments who could partially fund the trip. According to Karimpour, the committee is revising the fiscal policy over concerns of the current issues affecting more clubs.
The A.S. Board will bear with these issues for the remainder of their terms, because according to fiscal policy, any revisions will only be implemented a year after their approval. Despite this, the Vice-Chair was not the only committee member interested in revisions. “We’re here for the students, we’re here to fund what they wanna do. Being so restrictive — it doesn’t make sense,” said A.S. President Isabel Rodriguez, noting that fiscal policy was also an issue in November 2018 when the Student Veterans’Association requested funding for a similar conference. Director of Student Advocacy Alexa Benevente was particularly troubled by the issues with full funding. “I’ve personally been in conferences for A.S. and have had to pay for my own things. I know how hard it is to have those $25 for one meal when you’re going on a two to three day trip,” Benevente explained. While Active Minds is well-connected enough to generate additional funding, not all clubs have the same opportunities. “Sometimes we’re gonna have students who are wealthy enough to fly themselves
to the conferences, sometimes we’re gonna have students who are unable to pay for their fees,” Benevente explained. These factors lead her to support the revision plans. While these issues are important, Director of Budget Management and Finance Committee Chair Maria Damian reminded the committee to exercise caution in the revision process. “I completely understand why right now we only have 25%, because it’s expensive” Damian clarified. Damian also requested the Board to consider whether costs from an expensive proposal would be feasible. “There are ways that [clubs] can benefit the student body and student population more than those conferences,” she said. Revisions are currently a work in progress, but according to Rodriguez, their gratitude for consistent club activity on campus is certain, because it highlighted the flaws with the current policy. “We’re grateful for all they do, for coming in and letting us know how they think, because that’s how things change over time,” said Rodriguez.
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The Youth Behind the Strikes: A Profile on Arielle Martinez-Cohen Pyper Witt ǀ News Editor Sitting at a small table in the middle of Santa Monica College’s Center for Media and Design courtyard, waiting in the midday Santa Monica sun, sits 17-year-old singersongwriter, activist, and head of the Zero Hour Partnerships team, Arielle MartinezCohen. A local to Los Angeles, MartinezCohen is a senior at New West Charter School and has just finished her college applications alongside organizing the climate strike in Los Angeles, planned for Friday, March 15. “I've always been passionate about environmental issues, and I've been lucky because my parents have helped me learn
about climate change when I was growing up,” explains Martinez-Cohen regarding her stance with the environment. The young activist got involved with Zero Hour, a movement platform founded by 17-year-old Jaime Margolin, a year ago. “So, when I heard about them, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to get involved,’ and I had the song that I wrote, so I reached out to Jaime, the founder, and she really liked the song and we made it the official song of the movement.” The song, "Two Minutes to Midnight" is an original composition by Martinez-Cohen, and it can be found on all music platform outlets. Zero Hour was started in 2018 before
Arielle Martinez Cohen began her involvement with activist groups at the age of 17. The first group she joined was March For Our Lives and currently is with Zero Hour. She fights for environmental change and social justice. Cohen is a senior at New West Charter School and plans to major in music in college. "I love writing about social justice. I do a mixture, kind of folk, kind of alternative, singersongwriter genre. But also I want to study social justice, even Sociology," says Cohen. Photo was taken in Santa Monica College Center Media of Design on Thursday, March 07, 2019. (Yasser Marte/ The Corsair)
the first Youth Climate March in July, and has since gained traction as a youth-led organization with over 40 partnering organizations which include the Sierra Club, 350.org, and the Indigenous Environmental Network. This year Zero Hour is partnering with the US Climate Strike, and Martinez-Cohen has been working closely with the Co-State Lead of its California chapter, Austin Michael, a 19-year-old Sacramento State University political science student. “Striking is inherently non-accessible, if you can't strike, wear green,” notes Michael on the stance for those who can't walk out due to attendance; or for those who wish to participate in “weekly strikes,” which were started by Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old political activist from Sweden who is leading the frontier in Europe for its climate strikes. Elaborating on recent partnerships with youth led climate strikes around the world, “We are organizing this event in Miami over the summer,” Martinez-Cohen explains, “and we’re inviting Greta to the summit, so we have some connections with her and the climate strike in Europe.” The partnerships are putting together climate strikes throughout the country set for Friday, March 15. In California specifically, Austin Michael listed several cities where strikes will transpire, including, but not limited to: San Francisco, Oakland, North Bay, Berkeley, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Chico, and Santa Cruz. The strike in Los Angeles will be staged at City Hall in Downtown, and although the times are still uncertain, Martinez-Cohen explains that they are most likely going to
go from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. that Friday. There will be art, music, speakers, and tables where people can find out about other organizations around LA. “People ask us ‘Why do you have to skip school? You have to learn, don't make the teachers lose money.’ And as much as I care about all that stuff, it's also important that we make a statement,” says Martinez-Cohen. “We want to make a statement. We want to share our message.” Zero Hour states one of its core beliefs as an organization is to “focus on intersectionality,” and to accomplish that, they need to have a diverse team. “We have people of color, disabled people on our team so we can hear everyone's perspective.” The movement not only discusses rising sea levels and carbon emissions, it also focuses greatly on who will be affected the most and how to protect these groups when disaster comes. “It disproportionately affects people of color, disabled people, and people of lower incomes,” states Martinez-Cohen. “If there are scarce resources or there's a natural disaster, those with lower incomes can't get out as quickly, you know? They won't be able to go and stay at a hotel. We call that a just transition.” Zero Hour and the California Youth Climate Strike are currently searching for more youth to get involved in their movement. They encourage Santa Monica College students to become a part of the organization as well. “We said 25 is the cut off for working in our core team,” explains Martinez-Cohen. “We think that because climate change will affect youth the most, we think that its integral that we’re leading the movement.”
Measles Outbreak in the Pacific Northwest Sparks Vaccination Controversy Jackie Sedley ǀ Staff Writer Although 2019 is only three months in, there have been 206 cases of measles in the United States this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those cases, 74 were attributed to the outbreak in Washington and Oregon. The Pacific Northwest region is known for being heavily anti-vaccination, as Washington, Oregon, and Idaho allow both religious exemptions and personal belief exemptions from vaccinations. Personal belief exemptions include philosophical, moral or other inherent beliefs. Because Washington and Oregon were host to the most recent outbreak, provaccination states are spearheading a movement toward removing personal exemptions for vaccines. California is included in this group. After a 2015 measles outbreak at Disneyland and California Adventure in Anaheim infected 147 people, California Senator Dr. Richard Pan headlined legislation to rid of any vaccine exemption not solely reliant upon medical reasoning. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, 17 states and Washington, D.C., allow for parents to object to
immunizations for their children based upon personal belief exemptions. Forty-seven states grant religious exemptions and all states allow medical exemptions. California, Mississippi and West Virginia are the only states that prohibit every exemption, other than those strictly medically-associated. Unlike many battles currently occurring between states over potential federal involvement in state laws, the vaccine policy debate is not considered a bipartisan issue. Vaccines have been a highly-discussed topic of conversation since the 2016 election, during which Donald Trump and other Republican candidates claimed that vaccines cause autism. In late January, Oregon state representative Mitch Greenlick introduced a bill to prohibit religious and personal belief exemptions from vaccinations for the state of Oregon, referred to as OR HB3603. Also in late January, Washington state representative Paul Harris introduced WA HB1638, which would eliminate personal belief exemptions for the vaccine that addresses measles, mumps and rubella. Both senators received negative responses from their respective state populations, Greenlick receiving personal threats via phone calls and
voicemails. A database updated by the National Vaccine Information Center reports that lawmakers have introduced over 140 vaccinerelated bills in over 30 states since the beginning of this year. This is a significant increase compared to the 184 bills introduced in total regarding vaccine regulations over the entire course of 2017. States from the anti-vaccination standpoint argue that mandating vaccines takes away American citizens’ rights to freedom of thought and freedom of religious belief. Vaccine skeptics also believe that doctors should be mandated to provide people a list of vaccines’ trace chemicals and potential side effects. Those pushing for vaccination legislation are driving forward the concept of “community immunity,” or “herd immunity.” The CDC defines community immunity as “a situation in which a sufficient proportion of a population is immune to infectious disease… to make its spread from person to person unlikely. Even individuals not vaccinated… are offered some protection because the disease has little opportunity to spread within the community.” President and CEO of the nonprofit
Immune Deficiency Foundation, John Boyle, spoke about this concept at a March 5 United States Senate hearing, explaining that, “the current decline in vaccine usage is literally bringing back plagues of the past. While those of us who are immunocompromised will suffer first and suffer more, the loss of community immunity is a threat to us all.” While vaccination is not always mandatory for enrollment into elementary, middle and high schools across the country, some colleges require certain vaccinations in order to attend their universities. However, this is not implemented across the board. At SMC, vaccinations are not required but are offered to students at a cost. Although the scientific consensus regarding harmful side effects from vaccines is that these repercussions are very rare, this does not assuage thoughts and feelings of those who believe that mandatory vaccination laws attack citizens’ rights to freedom of personal choice. As the year continues, the conversation about vaccine mandates will continue at the state and government levels, potentially altering states’ control over the health of their populations.
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Madlyn Spence, a 27-year-old Conservation Biology major from Chicago, and Ariana Kidd, a 22-year-old English and Japanese major from Los Angeles, Calif., prepare chopped fava stalks in the SMC Organic Learning Garden (OLG) on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. Spence, Kidd, and other members of Club Grow are preparing the fava stalks as part of Club Grow's "Composting with Cover Crop" activity. Club Grow meets every Tuesday in the OLG. (Glenn Zucman/ The Corsair)
Fresh fava pesto with sliced almonds on a cracker, made by SMC students who picked fava leaves grown in the Organic Learning Garden on SMC's main campus and then ground the leaves with a mortar and pestle, Tuesday, March 5, 2019. SMC Organic Learning Garden (OLG) leader Dana Morgan, a master gardener from University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) and a retired SMC English professor, commented that "Every household should have a mortar and pestle. The Cuisinart just turns it to mush." (Glenn Zucman/ The Corsair)
SMC Organic Learning Garden leader Dana Morgan, a master gardener from University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) and a retired SMC English professor, and Madlyn Spence, a 27 year-old Conservation Biology major from Chicago, Illinois, pass out tasting samples of freshly made fava pesto featuring ingredients grown in the SMC Organic Learning Garden (OLG) on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. Spence has been participating at the OLG since 2010 and says that the garden has really influenced her major. Attending SMC on and off, Spence noted that the friends she started SMC with are all gone now and that she too has started to apply to a few University of California campuses to finish her education. (Glenn Zucman/ The Corsair)
Below: Anthropology major Alex Sonnenschein, 29, of Montrose, Calif., grinds fava pesto with a mortar and pestle at Club Grow in the SMC Organic Learning Garden, Tuesday, March 5, 2019. Sonnenschein says he finds the Organic Learning Garden a relief from the stress of his academic studies. (Glenn Zucman/ The Corsair)
SMC Organic Learning Garden
A not-so-secret place in the middle of campus where students can grow their own food. Glenn Zucman ǀ Staff Writer
English major Nick Glover, from Houston, Texas, and cultural anthropology major Katrina Preiss, from Santa Monica, Calif., pour compost over freshly chopped fava stalks in SMC's Organic Learning Garden on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. Glover, Preiss, and other members of Club Grow are working on the club's "Composting with Cover Crop" activity. (Glenn Zucman/ The Corsair)
On the Santa Monica College (SMC) main campus nestled between the Art Department and Theatre Arts is a narrow strip of campus known as the Organic Learning Garden (OLG). Here students from all majors can de-stress from their academic demands, and students in related majors can consider organic and sustainable ideas. Every Tuesday from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Club Grow meets in the OLG to try a new activity. Students with majors ranging from Conservation Biology, Japanese and Sustainable Technologies, and ranging in age from at least 22 to 55, meet together to try activities like
making fava pesto or composting with cover crop. The OLG website states, "We, the students of Santa Monica College, want to learn to grow our own food so that we can make our communities self-sustaining, have access to fresh and healthy food, reconnect to the earth, our food, our traditions, and experience the happiness that comes from being connected to the beauty and wholeness of nature and each other as we work together in our gardens." In addition to Tuesday workshops, SMC students can apply for their own plot in the garden and grow crops of their choice.
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Chelsea Healy
Corsairs Make it to the Elite 8
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PHOTOSTORY
It has been a thrilling and exciting journey for the #15 seed Corsairs men’s basketball team this postseason. Their first regional playoff game took place at Santa Monica College's (SMC) Corsair Gym on Wednesday, February 27 when they played against #18 seed San Diego City College. The game was intense with SMC trailing 46-35 after the first half. Santa Monica started in zone defense that backfired in the first half with San Diego knocking eight three-pointers. In the second half SMC tightened up their defense with man-to-man coverage holding San Diego scoreless for the first seven minutes. SMC came back with momentum towards the end of the second half with sophomore Marcus Harris (#12) making a three-pointer to tie the game 72-72 in the last minute of play. Then just after San Diego picked up two free throws to give them a 74-72 advantage over SMC. The pressure was on SMC, and freshman Teddy Parham (#1) made an epic three-point play in the last second to claim the victory win 75-74. Advancing to the next round of playoffs action, SMC went on the road to face #2 seed East Los Angeles Huskies on March 2. The Huskies were undefeated all season and were ranked the #2 rebounding team in the state. The Corsairs trailed behind in the first half 32-28. The game got physical as each team battled for rebounds. With 1:27 left in the game freshman Mekhi Kimble (#2) made a three-pointer to give SMC a 61-60 lead. The Huskies had possession to take the lead, and Kimble was able to grab a defensive rebound and got fouled. With 6.8 seconds left Kimble made two free throws that claimed the victory for SMC 63-60 over East LA. The Corsairs had a total of 40 rebounds, while East LA was limited to a season low of 31 rebounds. On March 9, the Corsairs were on the road, again, to face #8 seed Riverside City College (RCC) for the Regional Finals. The game started out with a lopsided score. SMC lit up the score 7-0 in the first four minutes of the half. Mid-way through, RCC regained momentum and took a nine point lead. As the end of the half approached, Corsairs' Marcus Harris (#24) dunked the ball with 34 seconds left. SMC went into half-time up 30-29. The second half saw SMC take advantage of a three-point play when Harris (#24) was fouled by RCC's Cam'Ron Wilson (#5). Harris was unable to complete the free throw. It was rebounded by Lucas Zemen (#11) and shot in the paint to take a 40-37 lead. From this point forward, SMC held the lead and played tight defense. With seven minutes remaining, SMC took a commanding 15 point lead, their biggest lead of the game. Riverside fought hard but it wasn't enough. The Corsairs finished victorious 66-54 to claim the Regional Finals. The Corsairs advance to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Tournament at Ventura College, which features the final eight playoff teams. They will play in the quarter-finals against #1 City College of San Francisco (29-1) on Thursday, March 14 at 5pm.
LeAndrew Knight (#22) of the Santa Monica Corsairs between Cam'Ron Wilson and Franky McQuay of the Riverside City College Tigers at Riverside City College on Saturday, March 9, 2019. The Corsairs defeated the Tigers, 66-54, to claim the regional title. (Tanya Barcessat/ The Corsair)
SMC fans and teammates celebrate after the win against San Diego C
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At Left: Marcus Harris (#24) from SMC and Joseph Riley from SDC College reach for the ball at the SMC vs. SDC College game, at Santa Monica College on Wednesday, February 27th, 2019. (Tanya Barcessat/ The Corsair)
At Right: SMC's head coach, Coach Joshua Thomas, gives his team a talk after calling a timeout, during the SMC vs. San Diego City College game on Wednesday, February 27, at Santa Monica College. (Tanya Barcessat/ The Corsair)
City College at SMC on Wednesday, February 27, 2019. (Tanya Barcessat/ The Corsair)
Chastin Mouton (#21) of SMC playing against San Diego City College at SMC on Wednesday, February 27, 2019. (Tanya Barcessat/ The Corsair)
At Left: Santa Monica Corsairs locker room team photo after defeating the Riverside City College Tigers, Saturday, March 9, 2019. The Corsairs defeated the Tigers 66-54. (Tanya Barcessat/ The Corsair)
Below: Chastin Mouton (#21) from the Santa Monica College Corsairs playing the Riverside City College Tigers at Riverside City College on Saturday March 9, 2019. (Tanya Barcessat/ The Corsair)
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“A Book Must Be The Axe For The Frozen Sea Within Us” -Kafka Lauri Helin ǀ Design Editor I grew up in the promised land of socialism, Finland, a free-market nation that is also blessed with universal healthcare and quality, free education. Through experiencing the lovely summer breeze of the government taking care of you, with everything practically handed to you — I will proudly say: I’m a socialist. One day I walked through the aisles of bookshelves at the library, and after a while I saw it, read the title and author in the binding, and extended my arm to take it home with me. They were the feelings of curiosity, masochism, and an unabashed sense of selfrighteousness that made me choose Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. If you are unfamiliar with the work and moral philosophy (Objectivism) of this tremendously influential 20th century author, here is her gist in a one-sided, black and white, crude brevity: money is the blood of a working and morally correct nation; greed and industrialism, shameless acquisition of the material is the heart; government, socialism, regulation are venomous curse words, the wooden stake struck through the beating organ. With a “let them eat cake” attitude — she adored wealth, loved those with it, and held those without it deplorable without pity. She is what Karl Marx is to communism: she is the messiah of the rich; she is the fifth horseman of the poor. She once said: "If any civilization is to survive, it is the morality of altruism that men have to reject." So why would I, a person relatively far on the left in terms of economic policies,
voluntarily read the work of Ayn Rand? The reason is pretty clear. I wouldn’t tell Gordon Ramsay how to cook a chicken. I am not a good cook. Would I argue the existence, purpose, or function of black holes with Neil deGrasse Tyson? No, I know nothing about them. So how could I in good conscience have a conversation or debate about politics without knowing the other side as well? Where fiscal conservatives and capitalists are coming from? Maturity and intelligence aren’t measured by the quantity of what you know, but by realizing how much you don’t. Of Rand’s published works, Atlas Shrugged is her pièce de résistance. It focuses on characters of particular dedication to and necessary values and skills for capitalism. They are captains of industry whose purpose is creating wealth freely, they are virtuous in their battle against regulation. In the novel, Rand creates a dystopian world where government interference goes too far. Less moral men of Washington D.C., who believe in equal opportunity and common wellbeing, pass legislation comparable to the ideas of communism/socialism. In Rand’s fictitious universe, the United States (and the world) plummet into darkness and despair, an inertia of hopelessness. To this day, people agree with her writing with such fervor that its effects are shown in legislation, her ideology most matching the Tea Party and Libertarians. I wanted to understand why. In parts of the book I was shocked at the unapologetic transparency of the allegorical nature of her writing. The prose was wonderful: compelling, captivating, and thought-provoking. In a scene with Francisco d’Anconia–a character of physical, moral,
and intellectual perfection according to Rand’s standards, , goes on a lengthy monologue in response to a woman saying “money is the root of all evil.” D’Anconia argues it is not. Through Francisco, Rand also argued against the often misquoted saying from the Bible, “the love of money is the root of all evil.” I surprised myself when I didn’t disagree with many things d’Anconia said. Transparently, in the politics of today there is an unproductive and stigmatic pride in people’s views — on both sides of the spectrum. Conversations turn to screams and arguments are turned to insults. The cacophony of unhealthy discourse causes sensory overload where the introduction or exposure to others’ ideas are like a foreign language: they’re incomprehensible. But in these hieroglyphics there is one shared emotion: fear. Not necessarily a fear of the
other side, but a fear of one’s own worldview being challenged — and here lies the trench we are in. The acquisition of knowledge, peeking through the perspectives of others, and accessing the part of one’s brain are growth. These days we talk about social issues, legislation, elections, or budgets like petulant children. But of course a la-di-da, moral relativist attitude can’t be practiced always. Things happen that deserve and demand justified outrage. But even when outraged, there is someone whose actions caused it, they had a reason for their actions, and getting to the bottom of what these reasons is integral: if you want change, you must know what it is you must change. So read books that challenge how you think. Knowledge is necessary for understanding, for action, for the future.
Illustration by Pyper Don Witt and Oceanna Hain
Traditional Tuva Music Resonates in Santa Monica Shayn Almeida ǀ Staff Writer Rooted in Buddhism and the beliefs of the indigenous shaman of Tuva, Alash performed to a sold out crowd at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, Friday, March 8. Audience members were transported to a healing, spiritual realm of the "Forest People" of Tuva. Tuva, a federal subject of Russia (also known as a Russian state), is located in the Southern region of Siberia, bordering Mongolia and China. Originally cattleherding nomadic tribes, the Tuvans have continued to use their indigenous instruments and uniquely enhanced vocal overtones to sing to spirits for health, healing, positive elements, and abundance. Many of the songs, like the traditional instruments that accompany them, have been passed down through thousands of years and multiple generations of people. Alash recently came to America and blessed us with their presence and flawless performance. Although Western Music has a focus on harmony, melody, and rhythm - from Africa, whereas Asian music has a focus on timbre - with subtle variances in overtones, vibration, and dissonant frequencies.
Musicians Bady-Dorzhu Ondar, AyanOol Sam, and Ayan Shirizhik, all studied at Kyzyl Arts College, located in Russia, where they each received awards and gained recognition for throat singing before eventually forming Alash. Since forming their band and beginning to tour worldwide, Alash has toured with American bands such as Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, The Sun Ra Arkestra, and in 2008 they won a Grammy. Alash sings in the Khoomei — a style of throat singing, which is known to be a softer style, producing the root-note while also producing an octave below and one or two octaves above the root note. Essentially, one vocalist sounds like three or four singers, and three throat-singers sound like a choir of nine to twelve people. Awe inspiring to say the least. As amazing as this actually might sound, singing is not the only instrument where the Tuva use overtones to produce their musical stories. Just as there are many personalities and various body types, there are also multiple instruments used to penetrate the varying levels of chaos within our minds, into a universal stillness of barely fluctuating bliss. Wind instruments such as flutes, string
instruments similar to banjos, and rhythm instruments like shakers and drums are all used by Alash while performing their vocal acrobatics, hypnotically mesmerizing the audience into a solitary state of joy. Tuvan shamans believe that sound connects all of us and that vibrations can realign our minds, recalibrate our bodies, and reconnect us to our highest selves. Although there was nothing implicitly 'spiritual' in the program notes, it was obvious after the show that something had shifted. What once seemed like a claustrophobic and turbulent space, now somehow seemed transformed into a peaceful and tranquil place — breathing with life and bursting with a renewed childlike energy. The performance flew by. Overcome by waves of sound and visions of nature, only in hindsight did one realize
Courtesy of The Broad Stage
that they'd been taken on a journey through the forest and mountains of Tuva, into the plains of Mongolia, the snow of Siberia, and beyond the Alash River (which the band was named after) to finally find themselves back at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, California. Unique performances, amazing art, and phenomenal artists like these can be found every week in Santa Monica at The Broad Stage.
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The Clothesline Project: A Visual Reminder of Domestic Violence Martha Ramirez ǀ Staff Writer The shirts hang, colorful and bright, fluttering in the midday breeze. Sitting at tables, volunteers wait, encouraging smiles on their faces. Most students walk by without a care. Some linger. Others hesitate before moving on. One or two approach the tables and, in quiet voices, ask for a shirt. Santa Monica College (SMC) is holding several events for Women's Empowerment Month. The first of these was the Clothesline Project, which took place on Tuesday, March 5, in the quad on main campus. Volunteers collected donations for Sojourn, a local women's shelter in Santa Monica. The Clothesline Project is an event held on college campuses throughout the nation. Founded in 1990 by a group of women in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the goal of the project is to bring awareness to domestic violence and to honor those who have been affected by it. Participants decorate a t-shirt either with their own stories of survival or with encouragement for others. Jabria Allen, Director of Activities for the Associated
T-shirts from the Clothesline Project at Santa Monica College honor domestic violence victims, Tuesday, March 5, 2019 in Santa Monica, Calif. (Martha Ramirez/ The Corsair)
Students, coordinated this year's Clothesline Project. "Statistics show that women 18 to 24 suffer the most domestic violence from their partner. It can be anything due to the stigma of being young and accepting relationships that are maybe unhealthy,” explained Allen. “When you're young and you're dating people, maybe you don't have the access to have people to talk to." Allen encouraged women to take advantage of the resources SMC has available for students who are victims of domestic violence. "All the counselors on campus…have access to resources locally, like shelters and hotlines to call, but the wellness center is really good at helping people who are in immediate danger and just need someone to talk to. That's the first step, opening up and talking about it." Ashley Hernandez, a volunteer, spoke about her reasons for participating in the Clothesline Project, "Nothing like that has ever really happened to me, but… I know
people that have gone through that, so it's kind of a really profound topic for me.” Hernandez also spoke about how the Clothesline Project helps educate others on the topic of domestic violence. "It just makes people aware of…what's happening," she explained. "Not a lot of people really talk about it. You do hear things about it and people mention statistics and stuff, but… people really don't have full conversations about it." Some of the students who participated shed light on domestic violence in other countries, such as India and the Ivory Coast. One of these students, who asked not to be named, devoted a lot of time to decorate a shirt advocating peace and unity. A microphone and stand were set up between the two tables. Allen encouraged passersby to share what women's empowerment meant to them and, if they felt comfortable, their own experiences with domestic violence. "You don't have to suffer alone," Allen said. "We are with you."
Santa Monica Library's Homegrown Teaching Eric Martinez ǀ Staff Writer Walking through the front door of the Santa Monica Public Library, up the patio stairs to the second floor, around the building to the community rooms, and through the second door, is a room with 30 or so people actively listening to speaker Alyssa Sullivan – a young cheerful woman, who is tending to a four-foot tall marijuana plant. Off to the side, standing in front of a massive indoor growing tent seeping out a purple hue from the grow lights, stands event organizer Keenan Chao. This is “How to Grow Your Own Cannabis at Home,” a series of events hosted by Chao’s company, “Plant Buddies,” a personalized beginner growing experience that provides sessions like this one educating on the basics of growing one’s own cannabis. Chao decided to start hosting these events and create his company after his own personal struggles with figuring out the intricacies of growing. Realizing that there was no solid platform to efficiently educate people with reliable advice, he decided to create “Plant Buddies.” “When I started growing I went through every single way there was to grow a plant, so some of the questions I had were just really silly ‘How do I water it? Do I pour it all down or pour it around?’ Even though those questions might seem mundane, to me they were huge issues and I just felt embarrassed or intimidated by the whole thing. The other part of this is the cannabis industry is growing, but in a very different sense from a consumer market, there’s nothing really there to empower our rights
to grow," explains Chao. The classes are framed like any other gardening classes with discussions about soil composition, pH levels, and the best feeding techniques, the only difference between this and a flower garden club is the product. The people in attendance come from a range of backgrounds, and are here for a variety of reasons with some present for better techniques for growing, others out of curiosity, and some to learn how to save money. Yet, Chao has seen some real positive impacts from starting these Alyssa Sullivan during Plant Buddies’ educational event on growing cannabis at home, hosted by the Santa Monica classes, aside from helping people keep Public Library on Sunday, March 10, 2019, in Santa Monica, Calif., “I think as far as flower is concerned, I think it’s important that people be growing their own flower just to verify what’s in it. You know there’s so many heavy a few more bucks in their pocket. chemicals in the world that so many cultivators are still using to this day. If you’re growing your own you have “We had a family come in who’s complete control over everything that’s going into the plant.” (Danica Creahan/ The Corsair) son had epilepsy, they actually moved here when weed was illegal. They wanted in the world it just benefits everyone.” world that want to be informed, that want to know about growing and we were happy She met Chao a few years ago and helped to grow their own cannabis, that is what to help them out, and we’ve had people him to start one of his first grows, after that, motivates me, what keeps me going, what who’ve had cancer come to us, and people they became close friends and she helps him makes me happy.” looking for an alternative to opioids. The out on occasion at these events. She feels Chao hopes to keep hosting classes like people we’ve helped, we stay in touch with.” that anyone who uses cannabis should grow this one and educating people on how to Sullivan, who helps to instruct the class, their own, however, she is realistic about produce home-grown cannabis. Aside from is an experienced grower that has been the convenience of dispensaries in the running these classes and owning his own producing cannabis in California for the past cannabis community. company, he is also active in lobbying for seven years. She runs a large scale growing “I’m really good at cloning and I am the cannabis community of Los Angeles. operation that provides organically grown really good at cultivation but I am not good He began after the passage of Prop 64 which cannabis for customers and vendors at baking. So I still have to go to a dispensary allows for recreational growing. throughout Los Angeles. to get edibles but as far as flower is concerned, The session closed with a raffle, the prizes “I like growing cannabis because I think I think it’s important that people be growing included seeds, clones, and fully grown it gives me the best platform to make a their own flower just to verify what’s in it,” plants. The winners of these left with their difference in my community," states Sullivan. remarked Sullivan. new knowledge and a grin on their face as "I think that especially with cloning, if I can Sullivan expressed, “Being able to come they were ready to go home and start their help cultivators get a solid start, that means here and the fact that all these people showed gardens. there's gonna be more better flowers in the up and not just one person who was interested world and when there’s more better medicine in cannabis is huge. There are people in the
OPINION
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America has no business intervening in Venezuela Evan Minniti ǀ Opinion Editor The situation in Venezuela is a lot more complicated than what most major media outlets report. For the last few years, Venezuela has been in a state of political and economic crisis, which reached new peaks when an opposition leader named Juan Guaido challenged the authority of Nicolas Maduro as President of Venezuela. Guaido, President of Venezuela’s disbanded National Assembly (Venezuela’s equivalent of Congress), used Article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution to declare himself the interim President of Venezuela. Guaido has been recognized as the Interim President by the United States, the Organization of American States, and the European Union among others. On February 23, supporters of both Guaido and Maduro clashed on the Colombian border over the issue of an international convoy supposedly carrying international aid (who were condemned by the Red Cross for misappropriating their logo) arriving. While the details are still sketchy, trucks carrying aid into the country were set on fire by violent opposition supporters. In the weeks preceding this, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans marched in both anti and pro-government protests. But these tumultuous events are rooted in a process that goes back to 1998, when Hugo Chavez was elected president of Venezuela and embarked on an ambitious program of social transformation. Three successive American presidents have pushed a narrative stating that Chavez and his successor Maduro are tyrants whose policies led to the current humanitarian crisis and can only be removed through military means. This narrative just so happens to be entirely disingenuous. Since 1998, Venezuela has gone through more than 20 elections and the opposition has only won three. The opposition lost not because Venezuela is a dictatorship but because of their own internal divisions and because the majority of poor Venezuelans supported Chavismo at the polls. The policies of Chavez led to undeniable accomplishments that improved the living standards of Venezuelans. The Guardian reported that poverty dramatically fell, with only 8.5 percent of the population being in poverty in 2011, compared to 23.4 percent in 1999. UNESCO reported major gains in literacy and education under Chavez. Land reform policies benefited poor peasant farmers and nationalized industries were often placed under workers’ control. These actions angered the big business and landowner oligarchs that formerly held direct political power in Venezuela. Contrary to the narrative, these oligarchs are the force behind the opposition, not the broad masses of Venezuelan society.
Still, many claim that Venezuelan elections are rigged. This claim doesn’t hold much water against the facts. First and foremost, if elections were rigged, why did the opposition win three elections? The narrative immediately doesn't make any sense. In 2004, former United States President Jimmy Carter described Venezuela’s electoral system as “the best in the world.” And though the Carter Foundation hasn’t monitored Venezuelan elections since 2004, the same electoral body that Carter monitored, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), recognized the victory of the opposition during three separate elections. In addition to the CNE, there were many international observers who attested to the legitimacy of the election, including former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The United States government and the European Union, who both condemned the 2018 presidential election as illegitimate, didn’t even send observers to participate in the electoral process. Before the elections were held, the European Parliament, which had
allow Guaido to become president in the permanent absence of Maduro or his Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. The way that Guaido has interpreted the law is completely erroneous. Declaring oneself president of a country on Twitter doesn’t make them the president, no matter how often they miscite an article in the constitution put in place by Chavez. Guaido has about as much democratic legitimacy as businessman Pedro Carmona did when he tried to overthrow Chavez in the CIA-backed 2002 coup. Many opposition supporters point out that Venezuela’s elected, opposition-majority, National Assembly was shutdown in 2016 as proof that Maduro is a tyrant. While this happened, it was because the National Assembly was in contempt of court after Venezuela’s equivalent of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), found irregularities in the election of three Assembly members (two opposition, one government). The only thing that the TSJ asked for was new elections in those three local constituencies, which the National Assembly
Illustration of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, Opposition leader Juan Guaido, and U.S. President Donald Trump amongst a divided Venezuela. (Illustration by Conner Savage)
previously admitted that Venezuela has legitimate elections, demanded that the presidential elections not even happen. The US and the EU want to have their cake and eat it too. Though Maduro has been more authoritarian and business-friendly than Chavez, millions of Venezuelans identify Maduro with the revolutionary legacy of Chavez and are not prepared for a return to the American-dictated neoliberal policies of the opposition. In fact, these very same policies led Venezuela to an economic crisis and a right wing authoritarian government in the 1980s, which culminated in the Caracazo Massacre where hundreds, possibly thousands, of protestors were killed by state security forces. In addition to his lack of democratic credentials, Guaido also lacks any constitutional basis for his coup. Article 233 would only
refused to do and swore in the three Assembly members anyway. Around the same time, Maduro called for a constituent assembly election, which was held in the summer of 2017. Instead of choosing to mobilize their millions of supporters to participate in a democratic process of delivering to Venezuela a new constitution, the opposition boycotted and as such won no seats at said election. The opposition instead held their own referendum, outside of the internationally recognized CNE, on whether the constituent assembly was to be recognized or not. At the end of the day, over eight million Venezuelans voted for the Constituent Assembly and only sevenand-a-half million voted in the opposition referendum. It is appropriate to look at these two elections side by side, with Maduro clearly still having larger public support
than the opposition. With this in mind, plus the most recent presidential election, the simple fact of the matter is that Maduro is the democratically elected president and that Guaido is most certainly not. It is undeniable that Venezuela is experiencing a complete economic disaster which has led to a humanitarian crisis, reversing the previous progress made by Chavez reducing poverty, with millions of Venezuelans leaving to become refugees. However, it wasn’t socialism or communism that led to this crisis, as the harpies on the right mindlessly exclaim. In fact, over 70 percent of Venezuela’s GDP is still produced in the private sector. Instead of socialism, it was the recent fall in the price of oil that led Venezuela into a recession. A US-led economic war, waged with the complete complicity of the major corporations and landowners in Venezuela, has crippled the economy and caused much of the suffering that is seen today. This has been coupled with violent opposition rioting, which finds its support in the mostly white, economically wealthy areas of the population. Some of the most brutal examples of opposition violence include a long history of landowners murdering peasant organizers, and when a black man was set on fire and lynched by opposition supporters. If the United States and other nations care about the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, they wouldn’t illegally force a convoy through Venezuela’s borders; they would instead end their economic sanctions on the country, and allow the Venezuelan government access to its $8 billion of foreign reserves. For example, the Bank of England currently has over $1.2 billion in Venezuelan gold that they are refusing to hand back to Venezuela. There are people starving and this money, which rightfully belongs to Venezuela, could be used to buy food. However, US imperialism has no interest in allowing this to happen. At a time when Saudi Arabia wages a genocidal war with American complicity against Yemen, it becomes very clear that the United States doesn’t intervene in countries for humanitarian reasons. The United States has never been truthful about its interventions either. The United States lied when it installed murderous dictators (who often overturned democracies) in South Korea, South Vietnam, Guatemala, Indonesia, and Haiti, among many other nations. The United States lied when it intervened in Afghanistan and Iraq. The United States lied when it bombed Libya leading to its current state of civil war and chattel slavery. The United States is lying now. If Trump and his war criminal friends want to cry crocodile tears about the plight of Venezuelans, they can go ahead. It doesn’t change the fact that Trump is building a wall to keep refugees (including Venezuelans) out of the United States.
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SPORTS Corsairs' Tennis Win Drought Continues
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Cristian Vasquez ǀ Sports Editor The Santa Monica College (SMC) Corsairs’ tennis team continues to struggle for a victory. The Lady Corsairs faced the Antelope Valley College Marauders at Ocean View Park on March 5. This match had originally been scheduled for February 5, but was postponed due to weather conditions. The game began with singles matches. Co-captains, Fanny Harling and Iren Feher faced off against Antelope Valley’s Viktoriia Belanogova and Erica Garcia. The other four singles matches were SMC’s Dolores Padilla, Lisa Friman, and Sophia Abbinante against the Marauders’ Becca Jaimes, Mary Flint-
Herrera, Natalie Pinzon, and Marbella Rubio. The doubles match included captains Harling and Feher facing off against Belanogova and Flint-Herrera. Padilla and Friman faced off against Garcia and Jaimes, a match which was lost. “I see every match as a new match. I let them [the team] know…to keep a positive attitude, we are a team, we should all wear our [game] clothes and be on time to practice and be there after training,” said co-captain Harling after finishing her singles match. The Corsairs only managed to win four matches. The final score was 5-4 in favor of the Marauders. On March 7, they hosted the College of
the Canyons Cougars. This game was also rescheduled, originally set for February 7. The Corsairs only managed to win three of the six single matches with Zass, Feher, and Abbinante coming out on top. SMC was unable to find a win in the three doubles match. The final score of the game was 6-3 in favor of the Cougars. The Corsairs stand at 0-8 in season play. Their next match will be on the road at Santa Barbara on Tuesday, March 12 at 2 p.m. They will return home on Thursday, March 14 to host the Glendale Community College Vaqueros at 1 p.m.
At Left: The Santa Monica College tennis team’s co-captain Fanny Hariling facing off against Viktoriia Belanogova on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. This was one of four singles matches being played. The Corsairs lost to the Marauders, 5-4. (Clyde Bates Jr./ The Corsair)
At Left: Corsairs’ co-captain Iren Feher swings the ball to Antelope Valley’s Erica Garcia during their singles match on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. The Corsairs lost to the Marauders, 5-4. (Clyde Bates Jr./ The Corsair)
Santa Monica College Corsairs defeat No. 8 Riverside City College Tigers in Regional final. Chelsea Healy ǀ Staff Writer The Santa Monica College (SMC) Corsairs (20-11) defeated the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers (20-9) 66-54 Saturday, March 9 at Riverside City College to claim the Regional Finals. SMC started out with a 7-0 lead in the first four minutes of the game. Kyle Young (#15) was the first to score with a lay up followed by a jump shot from sophomore Marcus Harris (#24) and then three-point shot by freshman point guard Teddy Parham (#1). The Tigers, ranked #8 seed in the Southern California playoff bracket, took their first timeout at 16:26 to adjust to the momentum SMC came with into the game. Riverside’s CJ Clark (#0) answered back by scoring 9 points to tie the game 11-11 at 10:57. RCC took the lead with nine minutes left in the first half and held SMC scoreless for five minutes. The Tigers rebounded and got SMC into foul trouble to have a 9 point lead with 5:56 remaining in the first half. In the last five minutes SMC managed to make a comeback with Parham (#1), Harris (#24) and Eli Degrate (#23) adding each a three pointer to the scoreboard to make the score 26-26. After Degrate managed to make a three pointer he fouled Riverside’s Clark (#0) to give him two free-throws. Clark only managed to make one of the shots that led the score 27-26, but SMC's Marcus Harris (#24) dunked the ball in the last 34 seconds of the first-half to make SMC lead 30-29 at half-time. In the second-half, Santa Monica started off slow, unable to score in the first three minutes. Riverside’s Elbert Bibbs (#24) made the crowd go wild as he slammed dunked
at 17:38 and put his team ahead 35-30. Riverside managed to come back with a lead but could not confine SMC’s height for rebounds and size. “Riverside is smaller than us in height. We have a lot of length and size and I think that disrupted their flow a little bit,” said SMC Coach Joshua Thomas. The Tigers are known for being a good three point shooting team and SMC managed to limit their three point attempts by playing tight defense and making them work for their points. Riverside was only 2-11 from the three-point range. With fourteen minutes left in the second half, the Corsairs managed to make another comeback. RCC’s Cam’Ron Wilson (#5) fouled Harris (#24) which led to a three-point play. Harris was unable to finish the free-throw and it was rebounded by Lucas Zemen (#11) for an easy shot in the paint to make SMC's lead 40-37. It was from that point on that SMC would remain in the lead by containing the Tigers' three-point shots and playing tight defense. The Corsairs had their largest lead at 7:11 by fifteen points. The final score of the game was 66-54 in favor of Santa Monica. Harris led the Corsairs with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Eli Degrate added 11 points shooting 4-7 from the field. Lucas Zemen finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Corsairs will now advance to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Tournament at Ventura College, which features the final eight playoff teams. They play in the quarter-finals against City College of San Francisco (29-1) who is rated #1 in the NorCal division Thursday, March 14 at 5pm.
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