Spring 2017 issue 06 by Santa Monica College Corsair Newspaper

THE

CORSAIR MAY 17, 2017 | VOLUME 113 ISSUE 06 | SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

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VOLUME 113 ISSUE 06 •MAY 17, 2017 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

EDITORIAL STAFF ZIN CHIANG

.................................. Editor-in-Chief

corsair.editorinchief@gmail.com RYANNE MENA

............................ Managing Editor

corsair.managing@gmail.com DANIEL BOWYER

............................... Photo Editor

corsairphotoeditor@gmail.com MARISA VASQUEZ

.............................. Photo Editor

corsairphotoeditor@gmail.com

MAZYAR MAHDAVIFAR..................... Design Editor

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.......................... News Editor

OSKAR ZINNEMANN

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CHELSEY SANCHEZ

......................... Digital Editor

CHRISTINA KELLEY

........... A&E/Culture Co-Editor

corsair.webeditor@gmail.com corsair.culture@gmail.com

OSCAR CARRANZA .............. A&E/Culture Co-Editor

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LAZARO CARRANZA

.......................Opinion Editor

corsair.opinionpage@gmail.com

RAMSES LEMUS.................. Social Media Co-Editor

Illustration by Andrew Khanian

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JACKIE BONES................... Social Media Co-Editor socialmedia.corsair@gmail.com

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

MICHELLE AYALA....................... Multimedia Editor

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CORSAIR STAFF Jose Aguila, Clyde Bates, Haoyu Chuang, Alejandro Hernandez, Cecilia Martin , Matthew Martin, Diana Parra Garcia, Essence Robateau, Frank Southard, Linda Aviles, Setareh Bakhtiyari, Adrianna Buenviaje, Kathleen Cullen, Juan Gomez Zane Thornton, Emeline Moquillon, Edward Lee, Michelle Ayala, Luis Valladares, Jazz Shademan, Abraham Barkhordar, Angelica Ramos, Sade Richardson, Trevor Schock, Maya Toolin, Vanessa Wyatt, Brian Vu, Miguel Gonzalez, Pedro Xavier Hernandez Garcia, Jade Lew, Angie Ramos, Sam Green, Daniel Lee, Jasmin Rogers

FACULTY ADVISORS ASHANTI BLAIZE-HOPKINS

...... Journalism Advisor

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

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FRONT COVER

Santa Monica College Corsair sophomore athlete Michaela Cosentino competes in the Women’s 100 meter hurdels event during the So Cal track and field semi-finals and wins 7th place at the Cerritos College field in Norwalk, California, on Saturday, May 6, 2017. Photo By: Daniel Bowyer

RYANNE MENA MANAGING EDITOR

Hello Readers,

I, the managing editor, have the privilege to once again write to you all. Unfortunately, this issue of The Corsair is the second to last print edition of this semester. My fellow staff members and I are continuing to work day in and day out to leave you all with kick-ass stories. In this issue, you will see the many on-campus events we covered over the last week, a photo story of the most recent track and field meet, along with some more personal stories we felt should be told. As I hope some of you know, May is Mental Health Awareness Month. This issue includes coverage of an event The Corsair covered this past Thursday, on May 11. The Movies for Mental Health event showed films made by students where they talked about their own experiences and struggles with mental health. One’s own mental wellbeing is something that should be of great importance to everyone, as it is just as important as your physical well being. Luckily, the Center for Wellness and Wellbeing on campus has organized a variety of events throughout this month. There will be booths and workshops that will give students an opportunity to learn more about the matter. One of the workshops is about how to manage your own stress, which is the perfect time with finals week slowly but surely approaching all of us. That workshop will take place on May 30 from 11:15AM-12:35PM in HSS 253. Taking care of both your mental and physical health is crucial to doing as well as you can in school, and in life in general. I learned this the hard way, so trust me. My first semester at Santa Monica College was going well at first, until my mental health started to deteriorate. I may have been physically well, but I was not in the mental space to do well in school. I ended up taking some time off school and going into rehab. It took me some time to realize thereafter, but I am very happy to have learned that maintaining my overall mental and physical health is a great factor in my academic success. And I’m sure the same is true for you. Recent events have also emotionally affected a specific group of SMC students for the worse over the last few months. As I’m sure many other different groups have been negatively affected by Donald Trump’s presidency, the one I’m referring to is the undocumented students at SMC. A professor at SMC, Luis Andrade, conducted a research study to see just how and if this population’s mental health has been adversely affected since and because of Donald Trump becoming president of The United States. The findings of this study are not surprising, but a piece in this issue, which you can find on pages 6 and 8, goes into depth about how it is to be an undocumented student on campus under the Trump administration.

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In trying times like these, it is more important than ever to stay informed and fight for your rights as a citizen and human being. In a country that seems to be divided, SMC continues to fight to keep the campus a safe space for every single student. No one student, or person, should have to live their everyday life in fear, but it is the unfortunate reality for some. It is crazy to think that we as a country are still fighting for basic human rights in the year 2017. Luckily, there is a power in knowledge, as it triumphs ignorance. With every issue of The Corsair that is printed, I hope some ignorance is taken away that exists in the world we live in. And with that, I present you issue 6 of The Corsair for this semester.

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NEWS

VOLUME 113 ISSUE 06 • MAY 17, 2017 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

EDWARD LEE

Adrianna Buenviaje

STAFF WRITER

Illustration by Diana Garcia

As dozens of students packed SMC's Skybox Gym on Thursday, May 11, the big screen greeted them with a stark yet encouraging message on the main projector: “Everyone has a mental health story. Talking about it shouldn’t be taboo.” Nonprofit organization, Art with Impact,

FILMS FOR MENTAL HEALTH in conjunction with SMC’s Wellness Center, held a workshop that utilized four engaging short films to teach students how to overcome the stigma surrounding mental illness. Leslie Poston, a facilitator from Art with Impact, hosted the event and encouraged discussions about students’ personal thoughts on mental health, wellness, illnesses, and the stigmas attributed to them. In between each film, students discussed their thoughts and feelings about each one. The event began with a survey assessing the attendees' understanding of mental health. Students then enjoyed complimentary pizza and sodas while the first movie, the Vancouver Film School’s “Fine,” started rolling. The film showed how the stigma of mental illness raised a barrier that prevented the lead protagonist from seeking help, repeating “I’m fine” -- each assertion less convincing than the last. This theme of stigma isolating victims from help ties into the second film, “The Blind Stigma,” from Stacy-Ann Buchanan Productions. This film explores the misconceptions of mental illness through the lens of the African American community

LATINX FESTIVAL 2017

and its prevalently negative views on mental health. For "Blind Stigma," viewers noted that the views expressed in the film can lead to many African Americans suffering in silence when many of them need help the most. “mEAT,” the third short film, focused more on eating disorders. In this film, a dancer, alone in her hotel room, fights desperately to take a bite of food from her plate. The dancer's body reacts violently at even the slightest attempt at taking a bite. She suffers from hallucinations, uncontrollable shaking, and even does slight leg exercises in trying to calm down. The ending manages to be both realistic, yet optimistic. Although her healthy figure does not magically erase her constant struggle with the disorder, her continued perseverance to keep fighting portrays a difficult, but happier future. In response to “mEAT,” Wendy Alvarez, one of the three panelists, connected with the film’s message on food. As a cancer survivor, Alvarez suffered from depression after she lost her best friend to the same disease. When attending therapy, Alvarez

Oskar Zinnemann

STAFF WRITER

NEWS EDITOR

Ethan Chuang The Adelante Club members and Santa Monica College students participated in musicial chairs during the Latino Festival hosted by the Adelante Club on Thursday, May 11, 2017 at Santa Monica College main quad in Santa Monica, Calif.

tural awareness and how it applies to every human being. “Latinx cultures are very diverse... with different customs that are practiced. There's also a diversity of languages that are spoken with a lot of different dialects," Rono said. Rono explained that the Latin American world is not one, but many diverse cultures. "In the United States, Latinx people get lumped into the same category. We are often subjected to the process of cultural erasure to our differences in school, media, and also at work." She concluded that students could keep the culture alive by learning about their own history and continuing to share that information with the next generation. Professor Ricardo Garcia, who plans to teach Mexican history as well as the history of colonialism in Latin America in the upcoming fall semester, was all business after participating in a juggling competition. “We see languages as groups of dialect. In every

country, one of these dialects is raised and that becomes the dominant dialect. Based on the dominant culture, it can have negative consequences such as Latinx students who grow up speaking their own dialects... and so people just think ‘oh he’s speaking incorrectly.’ However, for you guys, you have to code switch in the university and speak the dominant dialect otherwise you’ll get corrected," Garcia said. As the flags of each Latin American nation flew above tables with collections of cultural ancestry artifacts, Garcia continued. "Just keep in mind your way of speaking at home, if you speak 'Spanglish,' if you speak African American vernacular [or] English at home, it’s not incorrect - it has its own rules. Because all languages are groups of dialects but for purposes of printing, writing, and hegemony, a certain dialect is raised,” he told the crowd. In addition to food and decorations, there were also resource booths to assist undocumented students with financial aid. Undocumented students can reach out to the Adelante program to be informed of any opportunities that are available to lessen the financial weight on their shoulders. After the brief history lesson from Monterrubio, the Latinx Festival concluded with a closing speech and a game of musical chairs -- showing that the Latin American culture is more than just a good plate of food.

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learned the importance of eating healthy, saying, “If you don’t eat, then therapy is going to get harder and harder.” “The Letter,” from filmmaker Brian Ross, was the final film. It presents the painful position of a man about to end his life due to depression from a tragic loss. Yet finding a stray dog on the street leads him to its owner, who manages to pull him away from his isolation and loneliness. Ani Moradian, a student attendee, emphasized how important raising awareness of mental health was. “Everyone goes through these things - anxiety, stress in school. It’s good that they bring out these issues,” she said. SMC’s Center for Wellness & Wellbeing helps students accommodate with issues ranging from academic stress to depression. It serves as a safe and reliable place for those reaching out for mental health support. Engineering student Marco Krause appreciated Alvarez’s advice, learning that it’s “not trying to be like your old self, but try to be like your new self. I’ve grown to realize that the best way to achieve that happiness is to love yourself, how you are right now.

SUPERHEROES FOR PUBLIC POLICY

LUIS VALLADARES

Summer weather, with the right amount of spring breeze, made the perfect backdrop for the Latinx Festival, held on Thursday, May 11. Fresh food and other cultural attractions brought dozens of curious students to the quad. Many speakers, as well as the festival's official title, used the term "Latinx"-- a more gender-neutral term for the Latin American community (as opposed to Latino/Latina.) Spearheaded by the Adelante Club, a Latin American student group at Santa Monica College, the festival was funded by the Associated Students. After the free food was handed out, all attention turned to Ricardo Monterrubio, the president of Adelante, who announced their goal, “to bring about cultural awareness, unity for the Latino community and celebrate SMC’s diversity,” at Thursday's festival. Guest speaker Professor Rebecca Rono from the Sociology Department gave a heartfelt speech about cul-

Clyde Bates Jr. Ms. K Bradford hosts the Superheroes to the Rescue! Sanctuary State event where students gather and discuss immigration policies at the Clock Tower Quad at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, Calif. on Thurs. May 11, 2017.

On May 11, members of SMC’s Public Policy Institute took students on a brief journey of self-discovery by the Clock Tower Quad. One of the final acts in their weeklong series of Symposium events, dozens of students were engaged in an impromptu social experiment designed to open their minds to public policy in California and show them how they too can be “Guardians of the Galaxy.” As the crowd gathered around 11 a.m., a mysterious voice instructed them to “review their Passportal documents,” so they could enter the “United Space of California.” Clearly, an intergalactic allegory for our own state of California, this fictitious space was even referred to as a “Sanctuary Galaxy.” With that, a team of space traveling “superheroes” emerged from behind the clock tower and introduced themselves. Clad in shiny space-age costumes, the heroes invited everyone to “cross the border” and form two circles, so that each student could face another. Participants were then given note cards with various questions written on each — including, but not limited to “What would you assume just by looking at me?” and “How do you want your allies to stand up for you?” One attendee, Daniel Guzman was pleasantly surprised with this circular “time travel” exercise. “There really, really was no other reason for me to come out here except for the extra credit opportunity I was given by my professor,” he said. Though Guzman came to the “United @THE_CORSAIR •

Space of California” to fulfill an extra credit opportunity, he was moved by connections he made with fellow students. “There was one question in particular, now that I actually showed up, that had kind of an impact on me. It was really cool when they told us to ask the person across from us ‘what would you assume about somebody by looking at them?’And that was kind of a big deal when it came to the person who asked me,” Guzman told us. Like every Symposium event last week, Thursday’s activities intended to tackle the rising issue of “post-truth” and the national debate over immigrant-friendly “sanctuary cities.” K Bradford, who hosted the event as “Cosmo,” told us “this time we were using imaginative, poetic thinking to think about these issues." Within her past three semesters at the Public Policy Institute, Bradford worked with several different communities and “started a program that is centered around public art and social justice where [she] take the problems of our times, and we work with the materials of those problems, and we turn them into solutions by creating a collaborative public art piece.” With a larger-than-expected turnout, the “Guardians of the Galaxy” event signaled a successful conclusion to the Public Policy Institute’s week of political advocacy. Rather than another film screening or public lecture, the institute went out with a bang, treating SMC with a large-scale piece of performance art.

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PHOTOSTORY

VOLUME 113 ISSUE 06 •MAY 17, 2017 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

Athletes from all over Southern California pose for the cameras while showing off the medals they received in the Men’s 400m Hurdle during the So Cal track and field finals in the Cerritos College field in Norwalk, Cali

May 13, 2017. Our Santa Monica College Corsair sophomore athlete Devyn Deckard (#3, Blue) receives his 3rd place medal for the Men’s 400m Hurdle during the So Cal track and field c

Matthew Martin

"gutsy performan He did what his co asked him to do - Larry Silva

Santa Monica College Corsair sophomore athlete Devyn Deckard checks his mark before the Men’s 4 x 400m Relay during the So Cal track and field finals in the Cerritos College field in Norwalk, Calif., on Saturday, May 13, 2017. Deckard would go on to start the relay for the Corsairs Men’s 400m Relay team which would end up coming in 4th place during Saturdays So Cal Track and Field championship with a time of 3:17.91.

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PHOTOSTORY

VOLUME 113 ISSUE 06 • MAY 17, 2017 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

" B IT TE R S W E E T " PE R FO R M A N C E AT S O C A L R E G I O N A L C H A M PI O N S H I P S edward lee STAFF WRITER

Matthew Martin

if., on Saturday,

championships.

he Santa Monica College Track & Field Team finished the SoCal Regional on May 13 beating many expectations, but were hurt by the loss of Jordan Herrera to injury and the suboptimal condition of Michaela Cosentino, who was recovering from a stomach flu. Jordan Herrera, for the 100 meters, ran the best time in the state for 2017 in the preliminaries two weekends ago, with a time of 10.45. Unfortunately, he pulled his hamstring at the finish line. Herrera says he was "happy and sad at the same time because I PRed [set personal record] with the fastest time in the state and also sad because I hurt myself for the state [competition]." Without their best 100 meters runner, the Corsairs' 4x100 meters relay team placed fifth in the finals. Track & Field Head Coach Larry Silva explains that "we're dealing with a lot of emotions with the rest of the athletes. They've been clearly the number one or number two team in the state in the 4x100 for most of the season. They go back and forth with Mt. SAC and Sequoias up north and then all of a sudden you get a major injury like that, it can affect you adversely." He summarizes the

overall performanes as "bittersweet." Michaela Cosentino also underperformed, due to a stomach flu. Having just started eating properly this Thursday, Cosentino received ninth on the women's high jump. According to Silva, Cosentino ranked top three coming into this event. But the team's performance also had much to cheer about. Silva cited Stirling McCulloch getting second in the men's high jump as an "outstanding performance." He also complimented Shane Brouwer's great improvement in the 1500 meters and "gutsy performance. He did what his coach asked him to do, and he pulled the best race he's been able to pull out the whole season on the most important day for him. Can't ask for more." Originally a swimmer, Brouwer managed to qualify for the finals his first year and place eighth, with 4:01.40. Brouwer joked that his success is thanks to his friend promising to "wear a banana costume as long as I go under 4:05." Devyn Deckard also performed excellently, reaching third in the 400 meters hurdles. Deckard notably overcame a technical misstep when he took 23 steps instead of 22, forcing him to jump the hurdles with his right leg instead of his practiced left leg.

Deckard says he "erased that mistake from memory and just focused on the rest of the race." Chimechi Oparanozi placed fifth in the men's shot put, but believed he didn’t "perform well at all", with improper technique. Ranked 15th nationwide in high school before a two-year break, he says he is "kinda rusty but... everything is going well so I hope next year I come back and win the whole thing." Other notable performances were

finalists Sharieff Reed, who placed seventh in the men's 100 meters, and Amanda Yager, who received seventh in the 400 meters hurdles. The men's 4x400 meters relay also received fourth in the finals. Finally, the athletes who qualified for the State Championships are Chimechi Oparanozi for shot put, Stirling McCulloch for high jump, Jordan Herrera for 100 meters, Devyn Deckard for 400 meters intermediate hurdles, and Sharieff Reed for 200 meters.

nce. oach o..." Matthew Martin

Daniel Bowyer

Santa Monica College Corsair sophomore athlete Michaela Cosentino competes in the Women’s High Jump

Santa Monica College freshmen athlete Jordan Herrera wins 1st place, but pulls his hamstring crossing the

event during the So Cal track and field finals in the Cerritos College field in Norwalk, Calif., on Saturday, May

finish line while competing in the Men’s 100m Dash during the So Cal track and field semi-finals at the Cerritos

13, 2017. Cosentino would come in 9th place for the Women’s High Jump event.

College field in Norwalk, Calif., on Saturday, May 6, 2017.

Matthew Martin Santa Monica College Corsair freshmen athlete Shane Brouwer (Blue, 10) competes in the Mens’s 1500m Run during the So Cal track and field finals in the Cerritos College field in Norwalk, Calif., on Saturday, May 13, 2017. Athletes from colleges all over Southern California competed in the Men’s 1500m Run event and our Santa Monica College Corsair Shane Brouwer would come in 8th place with a run time of 4:01.40.

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CULTURE

VOLUME 113 ISSUE 06 •MAY 17, 2017 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

EMOTIONAL RESPONSES, SMC'S ACTION, AND

HUMAN RESILIENCE

Adrianna Buenviaje STAFF WRITER

"When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice." President Donald Trump delivered this line in his inaugural speech on January 20, 2017, while addressing a crowd that Press Secretary Sean Spicer labeled the largest inauguration crowd in history. Within the following 100 days after telling the American people he aimed to “seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world,” President Trump signed executive orders that would expand deportations across the nation, begin the construction of a physical wall between the United States and Mexico, and temporarily ban entry from seven MiddleEastern countries. The orders sparked nationwide anxiety toward the protection and well-being of undocumented immigrants. This shift in political climate elicited an immediate emotional reaction on Santa Monica College’s campus. Luis Andrade, an SMC Communication Studies professor, conducted a study with undocumented students at SMC on their immediate emotional response to Trump’s election. Qualitatively measured through interviews, the study’s purpose was twofold. “The first purpose was to understand the emotional reactions of undocumented students, immediately after Trump won,” Andrade explains. “The second purpose was to understand whether the school, the instructors, the administrators here are providing enough support and validation.”

ZIN CHIANG EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Marisa Vasquez Santa Monica College students embrace one another during an on-campus Election Grief Counseling Awareness meeting designed to help students learn about and comprehend the election and its outcome at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, Calf. on November 10, 2016.

Andrade found that several students felt immense emotional grief, including feelings of anxiety and depression. “A lot of them reported feeling very scared, very shocked,” says Andrade. When asked about his immediate reaction towards Trump’s election, a person who talked with The Corsair on condition of anonymity due to his undocumented status, spoke earnestly about his immediate fear. “I don’t know what would happen if I was to be deported,” he confided. “I’m used to living here. I’ve lived all of my life here, I would feel strange over there.”

With the uncertainty comes a constant state of alarm whenever he’s in public. Everyday, routine things elicit a level of alertness that is unknown to US citizens. “If I go to the bus and I go home, I’m always watching my back…I’m always scared.” In an act of reassurance to the SMC student body, the college hosted a Day of Grieving for those students affected by Trump’s new presidency. Along with setting aside time for the emotional shock, SMC President Kathryn Jeffery released a statement, on January 30, 2017, just days

after President Trump issued an executive order for a travel ban. “We support the ability of all students attending our college to attend without fear or intimidation,” the memo states. In regard to SMC’s initiatives in accommodating its undocumented population, according to Andrade’s study, some students believed SMC maintained an active presence in supporting undocumented students, while others felt that SMC wasn’t necessarily an institutional safe space. However, the study displayed the growing relationships between undocumented students and the school's faculty and counselors. Because of this, Andrade explains, “It really sets up an urgency to have these types of resources here during these political times.” Maria Lopez, SMC’s Associated Students’ Director of Student Services, is an active presence and voice calling for the establishment of undocumented-immigrant support on campus. She discussed SMC’s current progress in curating a safe space for this community. “You have IDEAS, a club on campus, that supports undocumented students,” Lopez claimed. “You have faculty that supports undocumented students and you have a financial aid specialist who supports undocumented students—that’s amazing, but it’s not an institutional support…there’s nothing permanent.” Although Lopez is involved in projects supporting the undocumented population at SMC, such as advocating for the DREAMer Scholarship and a VIP Welcome Day booth specifically for DREAMers, she believes the support has not yet reached an institutional level.

A PHOTOGRAPHER'S JOURNEY OUT OF ADDICTION

The first 32 years of Daniel Bowyer's life were chaotic, impulsive, and reactionary. It is a familiar and tragic story. A baby born to drug addicts and adopted by a nurturing schoolteacher, only to be deprived of a male role model when his adoptive father failed to grasp fatherhood. As a teen and as an adult, Bowyer has been in and out of recovery as a meth addict and arrested on drug charges. He has succeeded nominally at several different careers before being ousted. He even came close to marrying a girl he thought was the love of his life. Bowyer attributes his addiction and previous desire to end his life to repeated disappointment in those around him. Throughout these trials and mistakes, his mother stood by him. In his words, she was an overextended enabler who couldn't just watch her son kill himself. "I believe she shouldn't have helped me. I wanted to die. I was just too chicken shit to kill myself." said Bowyer. Despite their contentious relationship, Dian Bowyer's love for her tortured son would become the catalyst for a turning point in Daniel's life. Their journey to the South Pole eventually lead to the fateful day when a scheduling error put Daniel in the wrong news photography class and turned his obsessive tendencies into what former L.A. Times photojournalist, now campus newspaper advisor, Gerard Burkhart, calls "a force of nature." "In 2011, my mom took me to Antarctica and I fell in love with photography," said Bowyer. He was standing on the side

Photo by Daniel Bowyer

of the cruise ship, struggling to take a picture of a seal resting on a floating iceberg with his phone. Beside him, professional photographers wielded their long lenses with apparent ease. A self-proclaimed gearhead, Daniel wanted professional equipment too. A year later, Daniel bought his first DSLR camera -- a used Canon T3i, by skipping meals and borrowing money from his mother. He went on to photograph everything that crossed his path. Dian, however, questioned Daniel's motivations. As a failed theater actress whose own mother would accept nothing but stardom, she believed that the arts

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were best suited as hobbies and wanted Daniel to be a lawyer. Although Bowyer refuses to be confined to a single style of work, Burkhart, who's now his mentor said, "He seems to have a natural talent for sports photography." The well-respected professor recounted the day they met, in 2014, when he accidentally kickstarted Bowyer's academic career as a student journalist. "...I had changed the meeting time to one of my introductory photography classes that Daniel was supposed to be in. When he showed up, it was the college paper class and he just jumped in and volunteered for an assignment anyway." Burkhart recognized Bowyer's determination and kept him at the school paper, anyway. Bowyer attended both the introductory class and the advanced news photography class simultaneously, and according to Burkhart "was gun-hoe from the start." At 35, Bowyer is snubbing out a cigarette as he finishes a short break and strolls past the famously enormous fig tree by the south entrance of Santa Monica College. He walks back to the Corsair newsroom where he is co-photo editor of SMC's student newspaper. What most of his classmates and colleagues don't know is that Bowyer is a renaissance man who barely sleeps. Over the course of two hours, at close to midnight, and just hours before he was scheduled to pack equipment and head out to the Santa Monica Pier to secure a coveted spot at the finish line of the L.A. Marathon, he spoke about growing up as an adopted child -- whose @THE_CORSAIR •

biological mother was a drug addict. Simultaneously, he was proofreading an article he'd written about the male perspective on feminism. Asked why he went back to school at age 32 when he also worked as an audio engineer in a recording studio, Bowyer said it was because he needed school to stay sober. Daniel's struggle with his addiction seemed to motivate his career and bring him self-realization. "I had a nervous breakdown in front of my mom begging her [to let me] go back to college, to let me figure out my life," he said. To Bowyer, it was a desperate attempt to stay out of trouble. To everyone else, it was his resilience and work ethic that put him where he is now. "I did not know he was an addict when I first met him. His drive to produce content to the best of his ability, pushes not only me but everyone who works with him, to work as hard as he does," says 22-year-old Marisa Vasquez, a co-editor with Bowyer at The Corsair. "To have the ability to maintain stability in the midst of addiction is remarkable." On Bowyer's juggling of academic pursuits and personal challenges, Burkhart says, "I'm a type 2 diabetic, and if I'm not careful, it nips away at my health. Sometimes, I just really want that cheesecake, and I think 'If Daniel can stay sober, I can be disciplined about my eating.'" [See ADDICTION, P8]

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OPINION

VOLUME 113 ISSUE 06 • MAY 17, 2017 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

THE GENTRIFICATION OF DISNEYLAND Marisa Vasquez PHOTO EDITOR

The turnstiles click, the train chugs, the children laugh, and the happy music plays. You've now entered the euphoric world of franchised milk and honey known as Disneyland. The land that Walt Disney envisioned to be his legacy awaits everyone who enters through their timeless gates. On opening day, July 17, 1955, Disney welcomed the daydreamers and adventure seekers while describing Disneyland as “your land.” Today, “your land” costs $109 dollars to get in. The culprit? Price hikes. Gone are the days when admission to the park was a single dollar back in 1955. Walt Disney’s Parks and Resorts department have continuously and decisively pushed the single-day rate price up significantly since opening day. Today, an adult singleday ticket costs roughly $109 on a “regular day.” According to the Walt Disney Company’s Director of Public Relations and External Communication, Suzi Brown, the increase in price is geared to help “better manage demand” of their parks and resorts. Though these changes in pricing are aimed to benefit the Walt Disney Company, the repercussions of such actions can be disappointing. With the Disneyland Resort continuously changing, and its prices consistently rising, the evidence of gentrification is strong. In the past couple of years, the Walt Disney Company has been going through some drastic changes. In 2009, they bought Marvel, adding a plethora of superheroes to their portfolio. Three years after, in 2012, they added another layer of cinematic goodness to their towering cake of filmmaking history with the purchase of Star Wars. These two additions to the multimillion-dollar company allowed Disney to expand creatively within their movies and films. With this, inevitably, came a plan to represent their investments within the Disneyland Resort. On May 27, 2017, California Adventure will debut the Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! This is the first Marvel ride to grace its presence on the Disneyland Resort. The novel attraction is strategically scheduled to open parallel to that of its cinematic coun-

terpart, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which came out on May 5. For many avid Disney fans, the new ride signified a bittersweet end to a timeless favorite: The Tower of Terror. It took Disney’s Imagineers close to a year to flip the iconic Hollywood Tower into Taneleer Tivan’s (“the Collector's”) galactic fortress. Despite its impressive turnaround time, Dapper Day fans, and old souls alike mourned the loss of a ride that allowed them to go back in time and interact with what was known as ...“The Twilight Zone.”

Illustration by Andrew Khanian

Just across the way, of course, is the ever-so-famous Disneyland itself. The land of frolicking princesses and loving-personified critters will soon be housing a rebel base and landing pad for none other than the Millennium Falcon. This new 14-acre addition is the largest singlethemed expansion Disneyland has attempted since the opening of "Toontown" in 1993. Though Star Wars Land is the park’s most anticipated addition and is expected to open in 2019, there were a few minor iconic attractions

that were demolished to make way for the future of Disneyland. According to Los Angeles Magazine, the Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue, and the Big Thunder Ranch Petting Zoo are two of the most significant losses that fell victim to Star Wars Land’s new territory. Fortunately, with the success of Pandora’s recent opening at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, and the positive feedback that spread across social media, Star Wars Land has an expectation to live up to, and hopefully, follow through with. Disney Imagineers promise an immersive experience that captures the essence of the Star Wars universe in a single location. Pandora’s grand opening proved that the Imagineers have mastered this skill down to a science that they can apply here in California for our audiences to experience. The new technology that is necessary to create such an experience will greatly impact the cost of admission in the years to come. The incoming attractions have greatly changed the culture within the Disneyland Resort itself. Not solely due to the inevitable transition between old versus new, but because of the entry price into the parks. “The Happiest Place on Earth” is breaking its own record with every ticket price increase. According to Disney Parks and Resorts, increases are motivated by crowd control. Because of the new attractions and the resort's continuing popularity, they are struggling to funnel crowds in and out of the park effectively and efficiently while adhering to their world-class entertainment status. Unfortunately, this leaves low-income families in the dust due to their lack of resources to fund a Disney holiday, while middle and high-income families have easier access to the California parks and resorts. It is my opinion that unless Disney’s profit trajectory shows any indication of faltering, the Disneyland Resort will become less and less accessible to those who cannot afford it. In the words of Walt Disney himself, “Disneyland will never be complete, it will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in this world.

SPEECH AND DEBATE MATTHEW LINSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

My name is Matthew Linsky and I have something important to say: joining the Santa Monica College Speech and Debate Team has been the best academic decision I ever made. Without it, I sincerely doubt I would have been granted entry to Columbia University. Through practice and competition, I sharpened my critical thinking and oratory skills, made lifelong friends who span across the state and country and have expanded my ability to understand our differences, of which there are many. Speaking of personal differences, there are plenty of them throughout the SMC debate team. At face value, many of these differences seem irreconcilable and conducive to conflict. Take, for example, Benjamin Kolodny. While I doubt that the typical SMC student knows him by name, I’m certain that most of us know who he is: he’s the bearded gentlemen who walks bandy throughout town wearing liberal-triggering apparel such as t-shirts that read “Socialism Sucks” and “Enjoy Capitalism.” He hasn’t yet worn his “Make America Great Again” hat on campus, and I hope he never will, not because of my disagreements with his personal politics but because I fear, for his sake, the backlash he’d receive from a collection of people who are far

more willing to judge him for his apparel than they would be to listen to why he believes what he does. I must admit, when I first met Benjamin, I was all too willing to judge. Had we not been paired up as debate partners, I wouldn’t have made my most startling discovery: that our seemingly irreconcilable political differences are rooted in extremely similar senses of morality. This revelation manifested itself during the final round of the regional championships whereby Benjamin and myself were pitted against more seasoned competitors from UCLA and Point Loma. The resolution we were set to debate did not jibe with my own personal beliefs. The best available argument I could think of was rooted in modern libertarian philosophy, a mode of political thought which I tended to reject with expedience and force. But, however great my distaste for libertarianism may have been, my desire to win superseded, not just for myself, but for my school, my teammates, and for Benjamin, my debate partner. These desires not only gave way to victory, but to a further understanding of a legitimate worldview which I previously rejected out of spite. But for this, I sincerely doubt that I would have had the opportunity to achieve the level of personal growth, which I did.

Marisa Vasquez The Santa Monica Debate Team displays their various awards they have won this semester including team awards for third place at PSCFA Spring Championships and silver at Phi Rho Pi (National Championships) at the Letters and Science Building in the Santa Monica College campus in Santa Monica Calif. on May 11, 2017.

All of this begs the question: why does Benjamin Kolodny, the vice president of the conservative club, Turning Point, and staunch Libertarian activist believe in what he does? Benjamin said, ”My philosophy boils down to this: don't hit people and don't take their stuff. If it's wrong for me to take other people’s money or stop them from making life choices that don't violate other people’s rights, then it's wrong for the government to do so as well.” Though I disagree with Benjamin’s overall political philosophy, I do agree with its core

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components. Hitting people is bad, corruption is bad, and stealing is bad. On these core principles, we can agree wholeheartedly, which allows us to turn our conversations to more pressing matters, such as how our different political philosophies can be integrated with each other towards bettering society as a whole. Now, I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn when I say that we are in the midst of a growing political chasm, not only in this country but on our campus as well. And as the divide spreads, the likelihood of each of us falling

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into the bottomless cavern of bipartisan conflict grows with each fissure. And the quakes are compounding. But in the face of these groundshaking disturbances, I must appeal to you all: in a world where alternative fact propagates as if it were pollen in the spring, the ability to decipher truth is paramount - equally so is the proclivity for applying such truths with responsibility and care. The aptitudes for both truth and reason are not exclusive to race, gender, ethnicity, age, sex, or even political affiliation. In this regard, we are all equal. However, the same can be said about our attitudes for both falsehood and blinded passion. These phenomena manifested in modernity in a variety of ways, and with the level of communicative options being what they are, by and large, we are all able to seek out those opinions which are most similar to our own. This brand of confirmation bias, dubbed “the echo chamber effect” by psychology professor Nicholas DiFonzo in 2011, perpetuates and undergirds successful actions of those on the far right, such as wackadoo-conspiracy-theoristdisguised-as-legitimate-pundit Alex Jones, and also the far left, whereby a movement taking root in Berkeley, CA has so willingly integrated fascist political philosophy in their attempts to become the Word Police.

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VOLUME 113 ISSUE 06 •MAY 17, 2017 • SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

[RESILIENCE, from P6]

“There have always been problems in the DREAMer population even before this election,” she says. For example, Lopez, an undocumented student herself, emphasizes the complexity of being undocumented. While having to meet multiple deadlines for a variety of logistical paperwork, undocumented students don’t always receive or know about the specific help for their unique needs. Counselors may not always be well-versed in the technicalities of being undocumented. However, considering the recent political climate, Lopez explains, “Now more than ever, we feel that SMC needs to say we support DREAMers.” One of SMC’s first steps in the direction of institutional support for undocumented students was the Ally Training Program held on Friday, May 5. The objective of the program was to inform a select handful of faculty members on campus about the undocumented population and the unique struggles those students face. With that knowledge, the idea is that those faculty members will go on to train other SMC faculty members and professors as well. Dr. Marisol Moreno is a full-time professor at SMC who works with DREAMers in upper education levels, and she believes in the necessity of having an ally program at SMC. “You’re going to be okay here, is what we’re trying to communicate with the ally program,” she says. “We’re an institution, and our job is to promote student success, whether I be a student support services member or a faculty member.” Currently, SMC’s Financial Aid team features Belen Vaccaro, a Student Services Financial Aid Specialist who is responsible for FAFSA applicants and DREAM Applications. Vaccaro oversees a program called DREAMers, where hired DREAMer students are able to work as a makeshift resource center for other DREAMers. Because the program is currently funded by an equity grant, there is no guarantee that the workshop will be continued in the fall semester. Vaccaro’s intention is to lead the workshop to an institutional permanence. “My goal right now is to collect that data and show the college that this is doable and

[ADDICTION, from P6]

it’s working.” Vaccaro recognizes the growing demand for a specialized resource center for undocumented students. While a DREAMer Center is in mind for the future, Vaccaro believes, “Waiting until that happens would be doing a disservice to our students, so we’re doing what we can with the resources that we have with the mentality to inform how we would plan a Dream Center.” One of the most important things to Vaccaro, as an SMC faculty member, is to “let our DREAMers know that we are supportive of them.” Despite the obstacles DREAMers must consider during their education, the term best suited to describe them is quite powerful—resilient. Through protests, through the ignition of a revolutionary spirit, students have found the courage to stand up. In the face of an administration that deported its first protected DREAMer, the undocumented community maintains the support to keep fighting. Moreno, also a faculty advisor for the I.D.E.A.S Club, can attest to the spirit of optimism within the community. “They’re not broken people,” she stated thoughtfully. “This is what I love about them and about human resiliency. You see it in them.” In observing the coping methods of undocumented students in his study, Andrade also found resilience, and power through activism. “That concept of resilience,” he says, “It’s very good, in a lot of ways it will become motivation for them to not give up on school.” When the anonymous student was asked what advice he had for other undocumented students, he thought carefully before answering, “Don’t give up. If you give up, then you won’t have anything to strive for. You won’t have dreams.” While looking down at his hands he painted the picture. “We’re all out here to have a career, have families, and travel the world. It doesn’t matter if you’re at a community college for four or five years, as long as you’re coming for more knowledge, that will help you.”

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When told about her son's success as an award-winning student photographer and the internship offer at an NFL team as the assistant staff photographer, Dian's reaction was "Is it a paying job?" To Daniel, the relationship with his mother often revolved around money and her distrust in him due to his struggle with addiction. "I succeeded in photography because I don't listen to my mom anymore." In Burkhart's opinion, Bowyer and Vasquez not only kept the school paper functioning when it went through a crisis, they've also rejuvenated the organization. "They went above and beyond what we expected from them," said Burkhart. "Somebody said extraordinary circumstances make ordinary people do extraordinary things," he continued. "Daniel took the long way around, but he started out as an extraordinary human being, as he is." When asked where they thought Daniel would be in 10 years, Marisa thinks he would likely "be a photographer at the L.A. Times." Gerard Burkhart laughed and said, "Anywhere he wants to be."

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