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volume 108 issue 5 • October 8, 2014 • santa monica college
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"Locals only" The StarCrossed Epic Is Here PG. 6
A.s. Moves on Pg. 4
Vegan Oktoberfest Pg. 9
Gone Girl: the review Pg. 10
the concertmaster Pg. 11
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volume 108 issue 5 • October 8, 2014 • santa monica college
E D I T O R I A L S TA F F Alci Rengifo············ Editor-in-Chief c o rs a i r. e d i t o r i n c h i e f @ g m a i l . c o m Rachel Gianuario····Managing Editor ········· News Editor c o rs a i r. n e w s p a g e @ g m a i l . c o m Paulian Eriksson·····Health & Lifestyle c o rs a i r. l i f e s t y l e p a g e @ g m a i l . c o m Jonathan Ramos········ Opinion Editor c o rs a i r. o p i n i o n p a g e @ g m a i l . c o m James Powel··············· Sports Editor c o rs a i r. s p o r t s p a g e @ g m a i l . c o m Ronja Jansz ........ Multimedia Director c o rs a i r. m u l t i m e d i a d e p t @ g m a i l . c o m Mia Duncans ············· Photo Editor c o rs a i r p h o t o e d i t o r @ g m a i l . c o m Ju a n L o p e z . . . . . . . D i g i t a l E d i t o r c o rs a i r. w e b e d i t o r @ g m a i l . c o m Adriane Hale···············Copy Editor Collective Effort··········Design Editor c o rs a i r. d e s i g n t e a m @ g m a i l . c o m Jhosef Hern····················Illustrator c o rs a i r c a r t o o n @ g m a i l . c o m
c o r s a i r s ta f f Zafer Acar, Brandon Barsugli, Scott Bixler, Carlos Espinosa, Adrien Piteux, Luis Salvador, Raven Newaly, Brenda Cruz, Matthew Toss, Stacy Ellen, Jeffrey Chacon, Stella Ngigi, Carlos Espinosa, Alfredo Gutierrez, Zoila Campos, Jillisa Jenkins, Yasha Hawkins, Branisolv Jovanovio, Jose Gutierrez,, Julianne Oseberg, Nour Kabbani, Farhanah Ali, Devin Page, Jason Biney, Jose Lopez, Sherrie Dickinson, Patricia Stallone, Ava Gandy, Nicholas Cardona, Nick Carrion, Veronika Kacha, Hans Saudestroem, Adriane Hale, Tiffany Hernandez, Mary Leipziger, Claudius West, Deni Rodriguez, Richard Lewis, Brandon Wong,, Maddy Weber, Lorena Garcia.
Stella Ngigi Corsair Sean Colburn, leading with the green tall bike, makes his way across the 2nd Street bridge in downtown Los Angeles, which is apart of the main stretch of the 10-mile CicLAvia route, on Sunday.
Cover:“Locals Only!” debuted on the Santa Monica College Main Stage on Friday.It tells the story of Buzz (Harrison Melony, Left), a young surfer who falls in love with Ariel (Atumn Powers, Right) , a “Valley Girl” from a sheltered, privileged background.
FA C U LT Y A D V I S O R S S a u l Ru b i n & Gerard Burkhart AD INQUIRIES: co rsai r. admana g er@g m ai l . co m (3 1 0 ) 4 3 4 - 4 0 3 3
Letter From the Editor Alci rengifo Editor In Chief It has never been an easy job to form a group to tell the news and create together. In the past few weeks The Corsair has worked night and day to bring you coverage from Cuba to the Cayton Center. But as with any joint venture there are always pitfalls and perils. In the last few days we have experienced changes within our own staff as old friends leave, editors change posts and even our graphic design team suffered losses which we are now attempting to recuperate. But every setback will be turned into a step forward, every moment of doubt into a moment of drive. In these past few days The Corsair has been learning the key lessons of what collaborative work entails. Relationships in any context can be ever so complicated, delicate and important. In our fifth issue we bring you a series of articles where the theme of relationships in various forms appears. Our Photo Story, Stacey Ellen focuses on “Locals Only,” the expensive, colorful new stage production which opened last week at SMC’s Main Stage and has been heralded as the college’s first ever, interdepartment collaboration. It offers a juvenile fairy tale reminiscent of any 15-year-old’s daydreams in its tale of a clueless redhead from the valley who falls for a fatherless beach bum. If she has already decided to attend college those plans are put on the back burner as she must now decide whether to love the bum or stay with her jerk, valley jock boyfriend. Are such choices worth pondering? Decide for yourself as “Locals Only” will be playing at the campus theater until October 19. Though, I must warn the crusaders on campus who wrote to us last semester over our coverage of a pole dancing awards ceremony that they might want to pay attention to the “Bikini Song” dance number. Two other articles deal with relationships in a diverse, but linked way. In our Arts &
Entertainment section, Rachel Gianuario reviews the new David Fincher film “Gone Girl.” Adapted from the Gillian Flynn bestseller, the film tells a dark fable about a modern, unstable marriage that spirals into a disappeared wife and suspected husband. While it works as a Hitchcockian thriller, “Gone Girl” also taps into our national psyche as it portrays a world where relationships are defined by cold, abstract urges and moods, where the media shapes and forms our perceptions of others and where underneath glossy surfaces lie gothic truths. In another piece on marriage, Jeffrey forgot his name looks at the flip side of this equation, which is that while much of modern society is fast-paced, addicted to get dates quick apps, many individuals do still seek marriage and a more deep, meaningful connection or relationship with another. It is hopeful to see people defy the crass materialism of our time and still look out for each other and dare to love in an authentic way. In his book “Mutual Aid,” the Russian scientist and anarchist Peter Kropotkin concluded 100 years ago that the species who survive the best, including the smallest, are the ones who form families, communities and groups. This brings me back to the opening of this letter. I have found no greater partnerships and sense of solidarity than here at The Corsair. The ethos of collective, inspired work is alive and well in our Newsroom. We have endured some rocky moments these last few days, and I will not lie and deny that there have been moments of great stress. But because we respect each other as a team, and because we watch out for each other, argue together and brainstorm together, we are continuing to produce work we are proud of and hope you find enriching. Nothing sinks this ship.
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online exclusives: Locals Only, The review Code Black screens at SMC SMC’s first-ever multi-department collaborative theatrical production!
SANTA MONICA COLLEGE LOCALS ONLY! Book and Concept by Bill Borden Santa Monica College Directed by Perviz Sawoski theatrical production Music Direction by Gary Gray Choreography by Mark Tomasic Written by the Executive Producer of High School Musical, “Locals Only!” tells the story of Buzz, a poor young surfer who falls in love with Ariel, a “Valley Girl” from a sheltered, privileged background. Set in Venice, CA, this one-act musical—filled with colorful characters, and foot-stomping songs and dances— reveals the inevitable conflicts when different worlds collide. FALL 2014 Preview: October 2 @ 8pm October 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18 @ 8pm October 5, 11, 12, 18, 19 @ 2pm SMC Main Campus, Main Stage Check out “Show Us Your Beach” for Locals Only! insider details and to upload your own pix on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ Show-Us-Your-Beach/725771557442971 Twitter: #showusyourbeach Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ 123465237@N08
ADVANCE SALE $10 Preview | $20 General Admission $17 Sr. Citizen (60+) & SMC Student*
Plus $1.00 service charge per ticket. 3.5% credit card fee. *Must show student ID. NOTE: Additional $3.00 for tickets bought at the door.
TICKET INFORMATION (310) 434-4319 (Monday – Friday, before 5pm) Online Orders: www.smc.edu/mainstage Ticket Order Drop Box: By department office, Th Arts 117
Santa Monica College | 1900 Pico Boulevard | Santa Monica, CA 90405 | www.smc.edu SANTA MONICA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Dr. Susan Aminoff, Chair; Rob Rader, Vice Chair; Dr. Nancy Greenstein; Dr. Louise Jaffe; Dr. Margaret Quiñones-Perez; Barry A. Snell; Dr. Andrew Walzer; Daniel Kolko, Student Trustee; Dr. Chui L. Tsang, Superintendent/President
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volume 108 issue 5 • October 8, 2014 • santa monica college
a.s. moves forward after D.A. ruling Rachel Gianuario News Editor Student directors and advisors of the SMC Associate Students are continuing on with their daily routines following the D.A.’s recent ruling on last year’s A. S. Elections Committee violation of the Brown Act law. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office deemed actions taken by the E.C. in March violated multiple Brown Act Laws. These laws ensure the rights of citizens to be informed about legislative meetings, allowing for public participation and transparency of the decision-making processes. The District Attorney’s Office explained there would be no formal actions placed against the E.C., however it recommended that the board consider withdrawing all the actions made at a 3:30 P.M. meeting on March 27. District Attorney Jackie Lacey was contacted for comments concerning details on the ruling and whether there will be further investigations, but has not offered a response as of yet. For Matthew Nicholson, previous Director of Student Activities, formal action would mean rescinding his disqualification from last semester’s presidential elections that resulted from one of the meetings. If the school and the A.S. board do not correct the violations confirmed by the D.A., Nicholson intends to file a civil suit for slander and libel. In an e-mail to The Corsair, Nicholson contends that now that these accusations have become filed violations concerning the Elections Committee, the school’s or A.S. board’s refusal to fix these violations “will carry a significant amount of weight [at] any legal trial.” Though Campus Council, Robert Myers was asked about the actions of the A.S. board moving forward following the D.A.’s ruling, he has not yet responded. All questions directly asked to Associated Dean of Student Life, Sonali Bridges concerning this matter had to be directed to Myers, and therefore, also remain unanswered. Mr. Myers was scheduled to provide the D.A.’s response to the violations of the Brown Act at the Monday’s board meeting, however the discussion item was postponed to next week. Current A.S. president Ali Khan notes that
the A.S. body is fully aware that there are a lot of “eyes on A.S.” because of the D.A.’s ruling. He is confident, however, that the current A.S. board has been very well versed in Brown Act and proper parliamentarian procedures, which were crucial parts of the A.S. retreat held before the start of the school year. At Monday’s A.S. meeting, the board approved funding for the CCCSAA Leadership Retreat, which will be a conference that will provide more substantial training on the Brown Act than what was already provided by Myers at the retreat. “The lessons derived from last year impose themselves on what happens this year,” says Khan. He adds that Brown Act violations go on largely underreported at other community colleges, and though the E.C. was recently found guilty of violations, other schools have asked the A.S. board for Brown Act training. If the D.A. had moved forward with formal actions to retract Nicholson’s disqualification and recommended re-elections, Khan believes that he would suggest the A.S. legislative body bring the item to a vote. He mentions he has no idea how anyone would vote on this issue or what would happen if a new election did occur. Nicholson previously stated in the Corsair article “Pizzagate scandal heats up” published June 5, 2014, that he specifically wanted a re-run of the elections, whether or not he was included. Now, he says that if the board granted re-elections, nothing would change unless the “A.S. be completely voided and the advisors, specifically Dean Bridges and Benny Blades, be removed.” Though Nicholson stated in an email to The Corsair that he has no intention of getting involved with this current board, he feels that the request for Sergeant Kessler’s presence at the weekly meetings is a “ploy by the current A.S. board to, for lack of better phrasing to ‘get rid of [him]’ so they can continue their cheating.” According to Dean Bridges, members of the board felt a little unsafe in his presence at the weekly A.S. meetings, requesting that someone be present to insure security. Next week, Mr. Myers is scheduled to provide the D.A.’s response to the ruling made by her office, shedding light on whether further investigations will be made.
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Former Santa Monica College Associated Students Director of Activities Matthew Nicholson participates in a discussion over his impeachment proceedings after being disqualified from the A.S. elections during the weekly A.S. meeting on Monday, April 28, 2014.
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volume 108 issue 5 • October 8, 2014 • santa monica college
Juan Lopez Corsair Santa Monica College political science professor Eric Oifer addressing the Associated Students board in reference to his two-year-old G.R.I.T. program and its relation to the A.S. during the weekly A.S. board meeting on Monday.
A.S. meeting runs long and tackles a diverse agenda
Rachel Gianuario News Editor Monday’s lengthy meeting by the Associated Students approved funding for multiple causes on campus, including the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society’s trip to attend a leadership conference, as well as welcomed discussions about professor Eric Oifer’s Got
G.R.I.T. initiative. The board began with the routine approval of the minutes and moved straight into approving all Consent Action Items for projects costing less than $1,000. Following the approval for funding the PTK Honor Society’s leadership conference funds, lengthy debate and deliberation unfolded
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over two major action items. The first was the discussion of the CCCSAA Leadership Retreat, essentially an organization that brings together community college student government leaders to exchange information and ideas. Counselor and Student Advisor, Benny Blades pitched the retreat as a beneficial conference where the students could receive training on the Brown Act as well as other areas of importance. Numerous board members questioned the nearly $13,000 it would cost to go, feeling that the retreat’s high marked price was already a steep venture for a good cause and that this meeting wouldn’t be different from attending General Assembly SSCCC workshops. Recently elected Vice President Caitlin Corker however stressed that she is apart of the A.S. board to learn, and that everyone should take the advantage to learn more when the opportunity presents itself. A lengthy debate developed over the proposal of the yearly office budget, this included an item proposal on the agenda outlining the spending for foodstuffs and sanitary items like soap. Specifically, the item proposed $2,120 for the whole year’s expenses on snacks, drinks, coffee, tea, healthy chips, candy, and fruit. A major contention on this issue concerned the quality of food that Benny Blades would be purchasing. Directors of Sustainability, Andrea Gonzalez, and Instructional Support, Jeffrey Lewis, argued in favor of having healthier food options. Gonzalez stressed the importance of setting an example for students by making conscious healthy food choices. Lewis moved to amend the item to being certifiably organic food. Student Advisor Benny Blades warned that eating organically would increase the food costs dramatically and would more quickly train the food budget. Director of Community Relations, Yana Demeshko stressed the amendment of moving $300 from buying Cliff bars, expressing their unhealthy nature, into the candy and fruit section of the proposal. The action item was approved with the certifiable organic food only requirements and the transfer of fund from Cliff bars to candy and fruit.
Discussion items were then addressed, allotting sizeable chunks of time to the possibility of a Student’s Bill of Rights and the G.R.I.T. initiative. The initiative’s title is an acronym; growth, resilience, integrity and tenacity. Professor Eric Oifer explained that G.R.I.T. asks students tough questions that cause students to reflect inwardly about their education and life. A way to test these personal questions is through classroom activities. Oifer presented his two-year-old initiative aimed at encouraging student achievement to the board, expressing the need for G.R.I.T. to attach itself to student life. As Oifer explained it in his own words, aligning the initiative with the ICC is a way of implementing G.R.I.T. and empowering the ICC. As Oifer claimed, G.R.I.T. aims at improving students’ authentic engagement, critical thinking, global citizenship, literacy and deep thinking. Of the directors on board with supporting the initiative was Courtney King, who explained that some of G.R.I.T.’s proposals mirror key elements of her platform during last year’s elections. The board’s discussion on G.R.I.T. was left as a possible discussion item for next week. This week’s meeting was heavy with agenda items which resulted in a very long running time due to the cancellation of last week’s meeting. Associate Dean of Student Life, Sonali Bridges, stated at noon on Friday September 26, that there wouldn’t be a meeting that following Monday. According to President Ali Khan, the agenda’s authors were told they failed to submit the agenda as a hard copy and electronically within the 72-hour time limit before Monday’s meeting. As one of the agenda’s collaborators, Khan says that the group writing the agenda turned in a physical copy late Thursday night and then emailed a copy to Dean Bridges before the 3:00 P.M. cut-off time on Friday. The meeting, however, was still cancelled. Unable to appear at Monday’s meeting, Campus Counsel Robert Myers will be discussing the District Attorney’s response to violations of the Brown Act next week.
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Opinion 5
volume 108 issue 5 • October 8, 2014 • santa monica college
Making a statement by shutting off the water Nick Carrion Staff Writer Despite the worst recorded drought in California history to date, Santa Monica College Students continue to enjoy the aesthetic pleasures of extravagant water fountains. At either ends of the main quad stand bubbling, gushing mountains of water that spout from two large fountains, along with a calming pool by the art building. They have afforded students meeting places, hangout spots, pleasant lunch areas, and sources of beauty on campus for many years. But in this time of critically low water levels, it is perhaps time to reassess whether we should turn the fountains off so as to increase awareness and do our part to reduce water usage. Although the Santa Monica Council assembly meeting on August 12 declared that the city has moved to Stage 2 of its Water Shortage Response Plan (WSRP), the SMC fountains are still left churning away all day, every day. The WSRP outlines water use guidelines and restrictions for times of extreme drought, such as the times we find ourselves in today. Stage 2 means that the city’s total water supply is down 10-20 percent, and the city is implementing policies with the goal to reduce water consumption by 20 percent. Clearly, the need for water conservation is essential. It seems odd, then, to see a combined amount of 13,000 gallons of water being used for purely ornamental purposes. Many people, including Isabella Schiros, Vice President of SMC’s Eco-Action club, want the school to follow the lead of Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade. The Promenade turned their iconic dinosaur fountains off back in August, which was the first time they had been shut off since 1989, according to an article from Curbed LA. Similar to SMC’s fountains, the dinosaurs
use recycled water, so waste is not really an issue. The dryness was used to make a statement, raise awareness, and encourage others to conserve water. In a way, the city of Santa Monica wanted to create a reverse ice bucket challenge trend. Schiros wants Santa Monica College to rise to that challenge and turn off their fountains. “We thought it would be a big show of support from SMC and a huge visual statement,” she says. Tom Fleming, Account Executive of the Business Greening Program at the non-profit Sustainable Works, agrees. Located just across Pearl St. from SMC’s main campus, Sustainable Works often collaborates with SMC students to raise environmental awareness. Fleming says, “I think shutting off the fountains, for me personally, is a strong educational and awareness-raising action the school could take, right in line with the actions of the city.” However, as with all grand gestures, there are certain limits and impracticalities. Structural damages are at the top of this list, and understandably so. When a system is designed to have a continuous flow of water running through, shutting off that flow can lead to complications. The Third Street dinosaurs, for example, were turned back on a month after being turned off for fear of metal corrosion that would require expensive repairs. For SMC, there are also obstacles preventing the SMC fountains from being turned off. According to Schiro, the SMC facilities manager explained turning off the fountains could have negative consequences on student life and well-being. Schiro was told that, “Turning off the fountains would cause mosquito breeding issues.” Apparently they are less afraid of the drought than they are of the biblical plague of mosquitos that inevitably follows. Another issue with temporarily shutting
Adam Pineda Corsair A fountain beside the Drescher Hall of the Santa Monica College Main Campus uses thirty gallons of recycled water daily.
off the fountains is that it may not end up being temporary. Several new provisions of the WSRP could make refilling the fountains tricky, namely the one where a water customer’s “use allowance is a percentage of the previous year’s average water usage,” according to Section 9 of the plan. This means, basically, that for 2014, Santa Monica College is limited to 90 percent of the water usage it had access to in 2013. Re-filling around 13,000 gallons to these fountains for whatever the necessary reason may be, could put us slightly over budget, even if most of the water does get recycled. In the end, it seems likely that the Santa
Monica College fountains will continue to flow throughout the coming semesters. However, the message that Third Street Promenade attempted to convey by shutting down their iconic dinosaur fountains is one that needs to be taken very seriously. Our state is in a water crisis that shows no signs of letting up soon, and every individual should be doing their part to cut back on water wasting. So whether by turning off fountains or pools at home, or simply by cutting down on singing time in the shower, everyone needs to take action. The birds will just have to find someplace else to bathe besides your front lawn.
Th e ag e o f exti n cti o n fo r a lb u m sa les Devin Page Staff Writer Everybody does it. You know it’s illegal, but you do it anyway. You figure it won’t hurt anyone, and what does it matter? It doesn’t affect you. We are in an age where we illegally download or stream music for free, at no cost to us. The internet has made a plethora of outlets available at our fingertips. The internet has shaped the industries of music, film, and television and has made them more accessible to anyone with a computer or smartphone. In fact, I would dare to say that it has shaped our mindset in making us take for granted what we think is already owed to us. Earlier this month, U2 released their new album “Songs of Innocence” for free to anyone with an Itunes account - though it was said to be business. While it is still available as a CD or vinyl, essentially the whole world owns it already, like it or not. This begs the question, is music becoming a free entity? It is no secret that music listeners are not purchasing music like they used to. Trends such as streaming music through websites such as SoundCloud, illegally downloading songs, or simply borrowing an album from a friend who purchased it, are popular methods to obtain music for free. SMC students Shaze Williams, a theatre arts major, and Alix Morgane, business major, shared similar responses when asked
how they procure their music. Williams explained, “I just download songs for free by pasting the url from Youtube to an external website and convert it into an mp3.” While another student, Pasha Jafarieh, who plays the guitar and is a music major, said “If you have any respect for the artist, you will buy their music.” Pasha passionately expressed his integrity of wanting to keep music sacred. Jim Bergman, SMC music professor, said his kids don’t even really buy albums anymore. They just download their music from the internet. “Over the years people have been trained that it’s just this disposable anonymous product,” Bergman said about music albums. He went on to say, “Music has become free, like water. We assume that it’s always going to be there, until it’s not.” He drew a picture of the day when there’s no recorded music; when you don’t have an ipod. Is the day then fast approaching when the avarice of consumers for free music, indeed, free art itself, produces a society devoid of the creative fuel that fills our daily lives? Ryan Hale, business administration student at SMC, who also plays guitar in a band called Into the North, has a strong stance on this matter. “People feel entitled and think, ‘well why should I have to pay for this when I can easily get it for free on the internet?’” He stood firmly for the supporting of artists and said, “album sales are important because the first week of sales determine your ‘success.” Music Professor Matthew Altmire of SMC
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chimed in saying, “I prefer to go to the record store and pick up albums I like and I know many people who feel the same way. However, I know people who only download music online because it is faster and more streamlined, sometimes free.” Album sales aren’t what they used to be pre2000s. Frankly, the last album to sell over 10 million records was Adele’s 21, which was released January 19, 2011. That was a great album, but I’d have to think in three years that there have been other comparable albums. It would be foolish to say that everyone is putting out ‘crap’. According to Billboard.com, as of August 25, 2014, 3.97 million albums was the weekly average sold. It is common for weekly units sold to fall below 5 million. Pre-2002 it used to be a crime if weekly units sold fell below 10 million. This shouldn’t be shocking news, considering all of the file sharing apps and websites that exist. In fact, I would expect album sales to keep dropping in years to come. Consumers are transitioning from purchasing music to streaming it so it is natural to see album sales shrink, but in the last ten years and even five years there has been a massive decrease. On a slightly positive note, digital sales are still fairing better than physical CDs, according to Forbes reports. Physical CDs are bound to be non-existent any day now. That goes to show that everything is digital and the major influence the internet has. Everything is accessible. @t h e _ c o r s a i r •
If album sales mean anything at all to an artist’s career, then their future might be looking dismal. We are living in a post-CD, digital world where Disney’s “Frozen” soundtrack is the best-selling album of 2014. This is a world where Lorde’s album can barely sell a million copies, and ‘Beysus’ [Beyonce] a few million at the height of her career. This is the exact opposite of what we saw in the 90s and before, when Michael Jackson or Mariah Carey could put out a random album and still surpass platinum status in the first month. Just to put things into perspective, let’s forget about the fact that we are taking money out of the pockets of everyday artists. Singers and bands are just the face of the music industry. The work to write and produce music takes a team, songwriters, producers, engineers, technicians. Think about the money lost or potential jobs lost. In 2010, the RIAA reported over 71,000 jobs lost over the illegal downloading of music and/or streaming of music. That number probably looks more like 100,000 today. People aren’t buying albums anymore, so artists are going to have to find more creative ways to make money. The bulk of their money comes from live shows and touring, but with the internet there are still infinite possibilities. Like Professor Bergman said best, “You can’t change stop the change of what’s going to happen, you just have to figure out how to get what you want out of it.”
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6 PhotoStory
volume 108 issue 5 • October 8, 2014 • santa monica college
Carlos Espinosa Corsair Dancers perform during Wednesday’s dress rehearsal of the musical,“Locals Only”, which opened on Saturday and involves talented SMC students from a variety of departments on campus, as well as professionals.
“Locals Only”
Stacy Ellen Staff Writer
The surfing spectacle finally arrives
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A more than year long project came to fruition with the premiere of the SMC production “Locals Only” on Oct 3 at the Main Stage. There was a “buzz” around the theater as people got their tickets for the much anticipated preview, which James Martin, SMC Music Department Chair, introduced as, “Quite an experimental performance.” The musicians in the orchestra pit waited patiently for the audience to hush. Towards the back of the main stage were multimedia module screens displaying a scene of dusk over the choppy ocean with a very faint figure bobbing up and down, holding what looked like a fishing pole. “There are over 30 departments from SMC that collaborated on this production,” explained Martin. Adding that, “Not every school can do this.”
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PhotoStory 7
volume 108 issue 5 • October 8, 2014 • santa monica college
“Quite an experimental performance.” -James Martin, SMC Music Department Chair
Adriane Hale Corsair Buzz’s father, played by Doug Kipnut, talks to the audience about the history of bikinis.
Carlos Espinosa Corsair Cindy, played by Hayley Howe (left) and Ariel, played by Autumn Powers, take a snapchat selfie.
Carlos Espinosa Corsair Orchesta playing during rehearsal of “Locals Only”.
The birth of “Locals Only” stemmed from a conversation that SMC President, Dr. Chui Tsang had one day with “High School Musical” executive director, Bill Borden. It just goes to show, it’s all about who you know. Borden in turn wrote the book and concept for the “Locals Only” theatre production. “It’s an interested foray for him from the world of film into the world of theatre and also a new thing for us to collaborate with someone from the film world,” said Perviz Sawoski, SMC Theatre Department Chair and Director. More than 16 months of preproduction ultimately involved 11 distinct departments at SMC, according to Sawoski. The show is a multimedia project, due to the huge involvement with the film department. The digital design technology department created animation from art department murals. Credit for hair, make-up and costume concepts go to SMC’s multitalented cosmetology department. The business department contributed by creating marketing materials, and the computer science department created social media shells for spreading the word online. The photography and journalism departments combined efforts to create the informative lobby display at the Main Stage. And of course, the theatre, dance and music departments took care of the production, itself. The lead character’s father, Buzz Sr. opened the show with a matter of fact statement about who is accepted at their West Side beaches and who is not. “Ocean Park, Venice and Santa Monica are locals only, the valley
surfers are considered outsiders,” he says. The show then continued with musical number that incorporated contemporary music with undertones of 1950’s do-op songs. It is here that the audience first meets the show’s lead vocalist and main character, Buzz Jr. Buzz, played by SMC student Harrison Meloeny, is a beach bum born and raised in the Venice beach community, growing up with his mother and the ghost of his father. Meloeny, a second year theatre and
Carlos Espinsoa Corsair Oliver, played by Rafael Gabriel, sings a song with other venice skater characters
marketing student, was highly appreciative of the warm welcome he received from the SMC theater community. “Something that surprised me was how supportive the community is here. The whole environment is so positive,” Meloeny said. You would never know by Meloeny’s performance that he was hospitalized just two weeks before the opening night. “It had to do with dehydration and overworking myself,” Meloeny said. With over 20 musical acts in the 90 minute production, its no
Carlos Espinosa Corsair Buzz, played by Harrison Meloney sings during the musical “Locals Only”, a story about love and clashes between the Venice surfer culture and life in the Valley.
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wonder why the young actor was pushed to exhaustion. Come opening day, Meloeny sang with the professional gumption and talent of a long-seasoned performer. Behind him, the audience could vaguely notice the background dancers seamlessly changing the set into the next scene, turning the multimedia module screens above into three dimensional stage sets. “There is a lot of interactive multimedia in this show,” Sawoski said, which is evident through the rapid set changes back and forth from the three dimensional sets to multimedia screens. The screens hoisted above the stage showed a film of Venice local beach-goers created specifically for this production by the SMC film department. The screens at times also displayed graphics showing text messages to and from various characters. Namely from the character Ariel, the “Valley Girl”, played by Autumn Powers, who is Buzz’s love interest. Buzz’s female surf buddy “Jazmin” is played by Nellie Veitenheimer, a previous character on “The Glee Project,” exemplified her very soulful, tender voice in her solo. From scene to scene the production pokes fun at various stereotypical Southern California characters, such as the Venice boardwalk Rastafarians, roller-skaters and muscle heads, and the preppy country club suburban housewives from the valley and their spoiled children. The closing number “One with the wave” brings both the locals from the west side and the newcomers from the valley together through the “wave”.
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8 Opinion
volume 108 issue 5 • October 8, 2014 • santa monica college
immigration reform now, why it matters Deni Rodriguez Staff Writer Right now, the increasing number of migrants coming as far from Honduras are traveling highly dangerous journeys and heading north. Hondurans, who travel much farther than Mexican migrants, face far more fatal decisions as they hold high hopes to pick up work in the United States. They carry the heavy load of experiences that scar them for life, often picked up through their travel in cities like Veracruz, where one third of all kidnappings countrywide have occurred. They carry no more than a U.S. phone number of a family member and the clothes on their backs. Seen as easy merchandise, they are commercialized and sold for labor and sexual slavery. Father Alejandro Solalinde, a dedicated migrant supporter in Chiapas, tells VICE in an article titled Crossing Mexico’s Border, “Because we live in a world where the human being doesn’t matter, he has a price, and anyone of us can be kidnapped. And they can too, but the difference between them and us, is that no one will look for them, no one will complain.” Children as young as 7, take this journey alone. They run away in search for their mothers, hoping to reunite with them after countless birthdays and Christmas holidays. The gifts and money sent by their mothers in the U.S., who work up to 60 hours a week to keep them fed twice a day and send them to school, does little to restrain their yearn for the motherly love they see daily from other mothers still in their home countries. With the highly partisan divide among U.S. government leaders and citizens, the doubling of the number of illegal immigrants traveling to the U.S. has left Barack Obama cornered, pulled left and right in the ongoing debate on immigration reform. As detention centers overflow with unaccompanied Latin American children, the mothers run out of time as their kids run out of false hope. Despite their sacrifices, their children give in to the gangs, violence, and drugs that have been infecting the lives of most families in Latin America. While President Obama treads on the familiar path of broken promises known to U.S. politics, his aims to please the Tea Party are in vain. Republicans mock him more than ever and the Democratic Party warns him against action. As expected, he has postponed action once again, and Americans are forced to wait until after the elections. The large number of Latino and other minority groups, as well as conscientious leaders and advocates who have supported Obama, are angered by the betrayal of their President who has promised much and given little. Are the lives of these children and families even considered, as more than an immigration statistic that fuels the politics of debate? If morality and logic were often the center of all legal conclusions, immigrant children and adults would gain amnesty. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Whether or not Obama works to keep his promise of legalization of undocumented immigrants as he continues to stress, there is not much he can do without the approval of congress. And republican congress members are certainly doing everything possible to delay any progressive change. According to CNN, there are a few actions Obama can actually take through the means of executive action on illegal immigration. Among these, he may “tweak” procedures to prioritize who will be heard and prosecuted in deportation hearings, increase border patrol security, place some of the children in a program in which they will be able to attend school and work (not a path to
legalization), and provide-to some statesan alternative to detention through ankle bracelets and weekly check-ins. Although immigrant activists advocate for more green cards and even complete legalization through “a blanket” executive decision, such acts would violate the Constitution. And as for the righties, who would absolutely look forward to denying applications for political asylum and bus all the children back to their home countries, there are laws that deny them those wishes. And yet, as President Obama stated back in August on ABC news, Americans “don’t want me just standing around twiddling my thumbs,” and he expects to fix the broken immigration system through executive action if needed. Obama has been president since 2008. Congress has refused to pass anything that he dares sign as means for equal economic and social opportunity. After years of wait and delay it begs the question, is the fear-mongering economic impact illegal immigration can have on the U.S. actually reasonable? In 2006, records show that at least 5% of the workforce in agriculture, construction and other areas, were composed of illegal immigrants. It is predicted that if illegal immigrants were to be taken out of the social security system, the economy would collapse, given that they have contributed up to $12 billion dollars in 2007. As many experts have recognized, the U.S. economy is in fact heavily dependent on illegal immigrants. Unfortunately, racial profiling combined with criminal and even terrorism
accusations, are largely due to the lack of support for legalization. Immigrants are known to take jobs that pay below the minimum wage that most Americans don’t want. The overall quality of American living depends on the cheap labor provided by illegal immigrants. Those opposing affirmative action can only conclude their own racial stereotypes and mediocre judgment, which public universities are purposefully trying to change to allow diversity in education and society to prosper. Still, Republicans and anti-immigration activists argue that the economic and social tragedies of Latin America, is “not our problem”. The fact that the U.S. forced Latin American governments into free trade agreements and helped ignite gang related war that has forced Central American working families and farm workers to look for jobs elsewhere - makes it our problem. In the 1980s support for the illegal Contra war in Nicaragua and the military dictatorships that ruled El Salvador and Guatemala, provoked the social catastrophes that laid the groundwork for the current crisis. Scholars such as Noam Chomsky and Eduardo Galeano have recorded how U.S. interventionism in the 80s to “stop Communism” simply provoked an exodus. Central American economies continue to survive on the little money sent from the U.S. by disintegrated families and through “immigrants who return home with new skills, education, and less tolerance for corruption” as stated in Sonia Nazario’s “Enrique’s Journey,” a novel composed of
series of articles published in the Los Angeles Times. However, this is not enough. If American citizens do not want more immigration from Latin America, Americans should assume responsibility for our own government failure that intervened, and assist Central American governments to improve their economy that has become overly corrupted and above all, incapable to serve the basic necessities of their people. The case is not simply a matter of enforcing enough law on the U.S. border; it is about mending the problems that the U.S. continues to build. While the U.S. government runs on billions of dollars invested in oil companies, corporate fraud, wars, and invests in the famous 1% wealthy class members that hold much of U.S. money in their back pockets, American citizens pick on the poorest and most hard-working people to blame for our economic failures. The November elections are nearing, and the ignorance and capitalistic nature of the American population is delaying progressive change. Although President Obama has until 2016, he and congress have had the opportunity to change the course of American politics since 2008. While children, mothers, pregnant young women, and other detained Latin American immigrants await for their deportation hearings, New York Times has reported news of sexual harassment and bribery within the deportation center of Miami, which only leads to questioning - what other forms of injustice will immigrants have to face before the upcoming elections in November?
Jose Lopez Corsair Mexican singer, Lupillo Rivera(right), argues through his megaphone with an Anti-immigrant activist over the human rights of the undocumented children who are now being detained and bused on July 4, 2014 to a Border Patrol facility in the Southern California town of Murrieta, California. The children were caught attempting to cross the border in Texas and have now become a political hot topic on whether they should be sent back to their countries where it is said they face conditions of extreme violence or accept them as refugees.
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Health & lifestyle 9
volume 108 issue 5 • October 8, 2014 • santa monica college
deutschland delights at vegan oktoberfest paulina eriksson Health & Lifestyle Editor With rooster hats and matching traditional german clothes, Greg Dudsic walked armin-arm with his wife April McKay Dudsic, who just beat him in the traditional chicken dance competition. For some people, losing could really affect your mood, but not for Greg Dudsic. As long as his wife was happy, he was happy. On Saturday, October 4, beer loving vegans gathered in Santa Monica to experience and enjoy the Worlds first Vegan Oktoberfest. Music, beer, food and people dressed in lederhosen was all that was needed to create the feeling of a traditional Oktoberfest were people mingled, danced and bounded with like-minded people who shared the vegan lifestyle. “Oh my god, we are coming back next year,” Mrs. McKay Dudsic said. “We are big Oktoberfest fans and I’m the vegetarian and it’s amazing that he brought me.” “Yeah it was my idea,” her husband Mr. Dudsic added. Mr. Dudsic, who is not vegan nor vegetarian, still enjoyed the atmosphere they managed to create right by the beach in sunny California. This was not the first time that he had participated in an Oktoberfest and in his opinion, this vegan event was a lot better then the traditional Oktoberfest he went to in Germany. “This is an unique California Oktoberfest. It’s something different that no one else has, with the beach and everything and the sunset
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coming down,” he said. Mrs. McKay Dudsic was also really impressed with how this event turned out. “I thought it would be just one line for just one kind of beer and that would suck, and it was like all these awesome beers, like a beer festival,” McKay Dudsic said. She had had some concerns about the bands not being suitable for an Oktoberfest but she was pleasantly surprised and thought they did a really good job. SMC student Daryl Habarades heard about Vegan Oktoberfest from her boyfriend and decided to volunteer at the event. “I’m on second shift so after 3 pm I guard admission. I give people their badges, check general admission, vip and press. I like it but so hot,” she said. The idea about hosting a Vegan Oktoberfest is in her opinion genius, and with the overflowing capacity during the day, she can guarantee that there will be an event next year as well. “I love it, it’s really awesome. Free beers, vegan beers are great, I think the [food] trucks are amazing,” she said. One of her favorites vendors were Mother trucker where she decided to try a vegan hot dog. “Apparently if it’s a German festival you should get it, thats what they told me,” Habarades said. While many guests gathered around the stage to jump up and down to the classic song “YMCA,” Annie Uttaro sat down with some friends at a table on the other side of the festival area. “I thought it [the event] was really good.
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Jason Rainey Corsair One of many vegan food trucks at the first ever Vegan Oktoberfest to be held in Santa Monica California, on Saturday. The festival sold out with a portion of the proceeds going toward benefiting animal rights.
A lot of really good vendors, the music is awesome, space is awesome, I never realized it was going to be right on the water, super cool,” Uttaro said. Since this was the first event of its kind she did not know what to expect. Overall she believed they managed to capture the feeling of a traditional Oktoberfest and it turned out to be better than she imagined it would be. Something that surprised her was the amount of people who came to participate. According to volunteer Daryl Habarades, the overflow of people even caused the
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admission and front desk to close for a moment around 2 pm. That is something Uttaro thinks could be improved for the next event. “Obviously a lot of people were interested in coming so I don’t know if it’s a spatial issue or something that they can do for next year so more people can attend because I know a lot of people really wanted to be a part of it,” she said. “Then the only other thing is the beer ran out too so people are talking about that ran out early but as far as just like overall it was awesome,” Uttaro added.
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& Entertainment 10 Arts
volume 108 issue 5 • October 8, 2014 • santa monica college
Courtesy 20th Century Fox
"Gone Girl" a Tale of Love and Darkness Rachel Gianuario News Editor David Fincher’s newest hit is another in the lineup up of Fincher-eqsue dark, bonechilling mystery thrillers, with more twists and turns than “whitewater” river rapids. This weekend, “Gone Girl” led the box office with $38 million, with John R. Leonetti’s horror sequel about a demon possessed doll, “Annabelle”. The film is about the search for Amy Dunne, played by Rosamund Pike, the missing wife of Missourian, Nick Dunne, played by Ben Affleck. Starting as a search to reunite a husband and wife, the investigation develops; the local community, the media, and the police soon point fingers at Affleck as the culprit. It should come to no surprise, though, that Fincher pulled out all of his iconic stops; clean-cut cinematography and editing, dim lighting for an enigmatic edge, a slowly unraveling thriller plot, quick-witted rapidfire dialogue, a complex and extensive cast, and ethereal lullabies by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Though most of these elements are present in Fincher’s more recent films “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”, “The Social Network” and “Zodiac”, the plot of his latest smash has a number of contrasting and intricate themes presented in story. All of these are the brainchildren of the film’s scriptwriter and author of the bestselling book of the same name, Gillian Flynn. “Gone Girl” made for an attractive feature, with a compelling voyeuristic view into married life where both spousal viewpoints are presented. Flynn’s juicy script examines a number of provocative ideas, including the truth about relations between the sexes, manipulation of the masses via social media, and the use of intimacy as a tool. The exclusive, “perfect for each other” couple Nick and Amy start out like so many couples do, with lots of laughs, lots of sex and getting to know very little about each other. We see both Nick and Amy’s perspective of their marriage, and why it turned out the way it did. Amy manages to pin-point the reason why their relationship failed in her “Cool Girl” speech. A “cool girl” is the girl you pretend to be in the beginning your relationship. For Amy, this is the girl who likes drinking cheap beer while watching sports games with the guys,
the girl who’s always down for blow-jobs and audience to alter its view of him. This is anal sex, the girl who doesn’t care if you blow much like Brad Pitt and Edward Norton in off a date without telling her. She doesn’t “Fight Club”, and Daniel Craig in “The Girl mind, she’s a “cool girl”. With the Dragon Tattoo”. In “The Social This was the “cool girl” Amy had to be in Network”, the concept is conveyed through order to portray the sort of girl with whom the constantly chaotic changing environment Nick would want to “fall in love”. Nick does surrounding the central characters. the same thing in his own way. There is an obvious physical transition of This idea can stretch across varying character through the plot that is not lost relationships. A girl trying to catch the eye on us in “Gone Girl” as well, shifting our of some hipster douch in a Silverlake coffee perception of this character. shop for example, will claim to have a Cronenweth sets up the ideal mystery beloved cat named Gore Vidal and complain thriller lighting as per usual; soft, but dark that the Cohen Brothers and Arcade Fire and menacing in the constant presence of just aren’t doin’ it for shadows. His camera her anymore. All the pans are slow, distinct while, her favorite and reveal much by movie is actually moving little. It’s “Mean Girls”, and she’s Fincher’s direction absolutely onboard to and Cronenwerth’s tell American Apparel revealing shots that to screw off. bring these highly This is a rather visual queues to fascinating concept fruition in a way about how the sexes that is reminiscent of interact with each Michael Curtiz, whose other; no one is “Casablanca” remains honest about who they the standard for use of really are. They don’t light and symbolism. account for the fact For instance, it’s no that, at some point, accident that Affleck the facade will reveal is holding the game the relationship to be a “Mastermind” as he’s Courtesy 20th Century Foxwalking into a bar in the hollow lie. Affleck’s character eventually concedes to second scene of the film. the point that he is not the man that Amy Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have been married, because that man doesn’t exist. apart of the Fincher and Cronenwerth And its pretty clear that when Fincher really team since “The Social Network”, when the excels, as he did here, it’s directly because he dynamic duo took home a Best Original has a story-line with complex concepts such Score Academy Award. Since then, the two as these, as well as an excellent cast to boot. have been churning out soundtracks that are His cinematography team, headed by Jeff highly recognizable, and by now, a staple for Cronenweth, featured all of his main and Fincher films. supporting characters as pristine porcelain Their music for Fincher’s thrillers is dolls. Their skin, their hair, and their clothes generally a sympathetic piano lullaby paired are perfect almost to the point of looking with lingering ethereal background noise. obnoxiously staged. The lullaby presents a kind of sadness, Affleck’s character, after Amy’s sweetness and even simplicity, however the disappearance, constantly looks scruffy and looming sounds behind it convey an element lacking in sleep, expressing vulnerability and of unsettling dissonance. openness. The other characters remain in Reznor and Ross’s score in “Gone Girl” their porcelain perfection, only revealing to reveals much of the film’s nature, and us little by little what will allow us to know. requires the audience to continuously second This seems to be a common pattern in guess their first impressions. Cronenweth-Fincher features. The central Performances from the main and supporting male character will usually transform their cast were, without a doubt, the highlight of image multiple times, usually becoming all of their careers on film, even including more disheveled, constantly forcing the the somewhat surprising roles played by
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Tyler Perry and Neil Patrick Harris. Rosamund Pike has finally come into her own as an actress with her performance as the highly complicated, fascinating, and ever-perfect, Amy Dunne, the missing person in question. Looking at Ms. Pike’s previous performances, her stone-faced, beauty helped develop the characters she is best known for so far, such as Jane Bennet from the 2005 “Pride and Prejudice” and Queen Andromeda from “Wrath of the Titans” in 2012. Her stunning Grace Kelly-esque beauty and, much like Kelly, her carefully measured facial expressions have been a hallmark of her acting career. In “Gone Girl”, Pike uses every bit of this natural beauty and collectiveness to her advantage to create the character of Amy Dunne, a character that will surely stick with Pike for the rest of her livelihood. She manages to convey so much though she changes her facial expressions so minimally. Affleck too, gives a surprisingly good performance as the very believable doofus husband, who is attributed many stereotypical characteristics of the unsatisfied and unhappy spouse. Most of the supporting cast play upon the story’s dark humor outlined by Flynn, and embrace key roles in moving the plot forward. Ellen Abbott, an overt portrayal of CNN’s Nancy Grace, played by “Missi” Pyle, depicts the key part of the media in escalating the accusations and insinuations often present when domestic murder trials are brought to a head in society. Tyler Perry plays the gung-ho attorney and the last hope for Dunne to avoid lethal injection. Carrie Coon, previously a stage actor who crossed over to HBO’s “The Leftovers”, plays the witty voice of reason as Nick’s twin sister. Serving as the angel on Nick’s shoulder, their highly unique bond as twins creates meaningful banter and furthers character development. Perhaps the only weak supporting character is that of Neil Patrick Harris, whose creepy, forever-doting stalker role as Desi is honestly just too much. As was his excessive and totally inspired fate. In the end, we learn from him as well as everyone else in the story that we are all expendable pawns in Amy’s world. And that’s just the way she likes it. Who’s the “cool girl” now?
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Arts & Entertainment 11
volume 108 issue 5 • October 8, 2014 • santa monica college
Andrea Sanderson Debuts as Music department concertmaster Devin Page Staff Wrtier Andrea Sanderson is the newly appointed concertmaster for the Santa Monica College orchestra. She is also the wife of SMC film professor Salvador Carrasco. She joined the orchestra this fall and rose to the challenge of becoming the new concertmaster, as Martine Verhoeven stepped down to take a leave of absence. Sanderson began playing the violin at the age of five years old, and became passionate about music growing up in a household of five kids, who all played instruments. Sanderson was musically inclined since childhood, but she didn’t always know what her passion was.”With classical music, one finds that a lot of the time you start an instrument before you’re really aware of all the choices out there,” she explained. She was inspired by her mother, who wanted her children to have solid music backgrounds and education. At the age of fourteen, she became a student of Dorothy Delay at the Julliard School of New York. Her violin studies began at the Royal College of Music. However, she went on to receive her B.M. from Julliard. She later served as a teaching fellow, and she specialized in music theory. Before joining the orchestra, she worked as an adjunct at the Colburn School of the Performing Arts. She has also performed at famous venues such as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts, and the Royal Albert Hall. It was in New York that Sanderson met Carrasco and their relationship began.
After Julliard, she spent some time in Mexico with Carrasco working on his first feature film, “The Other Conquest. She joined the project as music supervisor and produced the soundtrack featuring the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and Plácido Domingo. After spending some time making films for years, it wasn’t until her kids were growing up, and when a teacher made a suggestion, that she took up playing the violin once again. “It’s very special playing a musical instrument because it’s something that you will have for the rest of your life,” said Sanderson. She really enjoyed teaching her kids music and watching them grow as proficient artists. All three of her kids play instruments. Her son Sebastian is a college freshman at Bard and plays the violin, her eldest Juan-Salvador goes to Northwestern and plays the cello, and her youngest daughter Cassandra goes to Crossroads School and plays the piano. Next concert, the orchestra is playing at Venice High School where Sanderson will get a chance to perform a double violin concerto with her son Sebastian. She described the process of being invited to join the SMC Orchestra as a beautiful one. Her son Sebastian auditioned last spring for a solo in the orchestra, and this is when Sanderson began to acquaint herself with James Martin. Martin had a vision with who he wanted to replace the Martine Verhoeven chair, and she fit the bill. Orchestra practices are on Tuesday evenings for three hours and Sanderson has adjusted quite well. “There’s never a dull moment,”
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Top: Adriane Hale, Right center Jason Rainey Corsair
she said as she described rehearsals as seemingly tedious but ultimately efficient and enjoyable. She also exclaimed that working with the SMC orchestra as being a totally different experience than any other orchestra she has worked with. She agreed with her husband, “There’s no sense of entitlement here like there is at other schools.” As first chair and concertmaster, she oversees the string players. “I think that especially with string players that when you’re playing the same music as everyone else and you feel somewhat hemmed in creatively,” she said. Sanderson has enjoyed working with other Jazz artists Keith Fiddmont (saxophonist) and Bill Cunliffe (pianist). She said her challenge has not been the classical side of her job, but working with different genres. For instance, the last concert was a Jazz recital. Leslie Drayton told her, “You have to relax a little and feel the swing rhythm a little more.” Sanderson said that being versatile is a necessity. Jazz has added to her classical repertoire. She also referenced being well versed in @t h e _ c o r s a i r •
Violinist Andrea Sanderson (top), has begun the fall semester at SMC as the new concertmaster of the SMC Orchestra. A Juilliard-trained violinist, Sanderson brings with her a lifetime of experience and craft.
terms of cross-over. Artists such as Yo Yo Ma have played fiddle music, or his Silkroad project where he played with musicians from different cultures. Joshua Bell did an opera aria cd where he played the violin. In her words, “One must be open-minded as a musician.” In other exciting news, Sanderson is looking forward to the orchestra’s run of The Nutcracker, which will be in mid to late December. They will be performing with the Westside Ballet at the Broad Stage. She is ready for the challenge, they will be doing two performances a day, but she is just excited to be on board.
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12 sports
volume 108 issue 5 • October 8, 2014 • santa monica college
Titans on the mat: inside cheer Alci rengifo Editor In Chief At nearly every football game, near the salivating crowds and fanatical cultists rooting for their favorite team, are the cheerleaders. So stereotyped and sexualized has the image of the cheerleader become, that it is easy to forget the artistry, aerobic skill and physical endurance that comes with the title. While the ads, movies and sports magazines have turned female cheerleaders in particular into display dolls for daydreams, cheerleading itself is a dedicated activity, one which would be officially recognized as a sport if there was any sense of fair play in this world. At the Santa Monica College Corsair Pavillion on Monday evenings, the SMC cheer team trains and prepares not only to entertain crowds at campus games, but to compete. With the fevered drive of Mongol warriors, the cheerleaders, both male and female, stretch, tumble, sweat, practice and attempt to perform routines into beacons of precision. “It’s difficult, we’re getting our routine ready for nationals,” said Tiffany Smith, in-between training runs. “Tumbling is gymnastics, aerial gymnastics and landing on the floor, back flips, cartwheels.” For those who claim cheerleading is not a sport, Smith said, “they have to come in and actually try it. They don’t know until they try it. I have plenty of friends who try it and say ‘that is the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do.’ It’s a difficult sport.” It is surprising to discover that cheerleading actually began as an all male affair. The very first cheerleader was a gentleman of the name Johnny Campbell, who in 1898, directed a crowd ,out of sheer devotion to his University of Minnesota football team, to chant an
Adriane Hale Corsair SMC cheer member Cameron Evans (center) and other members train during Monday night practice in SMC’s competitive cheer program which takes place in Corsair Pavilion.
organized cheer. Thus, cheerleading was born. Soon after the University of Minnesota organized a “yell leader” squad composed of six males. If the Romans cheered on the bloody combat of the Coliseum, then our (somewhat) more civilized age would then organize the cheering of our rugged national sport. This is an astounding fact when considering that statistics calculated 97% of all cheerleaders are female today. In the SMC gym, coach Jessie Moorehead drills her team with the intense passion of both an army commander and film director. She is forming these men and women into not just efficient cheerleaders, but into healthy, robust athletes. As the cheerleaders form rows and do sit ups, stretches and other warm ups, Moorehead explains that there are
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various levels of cheerleading, which accounts for some of the confusion over classifying it as a sport. For example, before her tenure at SMC, cheerleading was just that, cheering. Under her direction, Moorehead’s program is now competitive. “They did a few cute dances, and they were cute kids, and I prefer to run a competitive program,” explained Moorehead, “they might not be exactly where I need them but that’s why I’m working them so hard. I want them to be healthy, fun and educated,” she said. “Flexibility and strength training are fundamental to any sport success,” said Moorehead in explaining the need to prepare the body thoroughly for cheerleading. When it comes to the classification of cheerleading as a sport, Moorehead feels it isn’t a battle worth arguing about at the moment. “I can say that in any other country, it is considered a sport,” she adds. Observing the training of the SMC cheer team, it is hard not to consider this a sport. The participants must build strength both in the upper and lower body regions in order to perform such tasks as lifting a team member with one arm, twirling in the air and catching someone in free fall. “There is not a physical brink where they might reach, but there is an emotional one,” said Moorehead when contemplating the sheer focus and energy it takes to craft a functioning, tight team beginning as early as May. Not only are SMC cheerleaders expected to put on a great show during home games, but they must prepare to compete with rival schools and teams. “They’re job is to control other bodies to do maneuvers. It is common that you’ll find people from other sports who come in here thinking that it’s easy, not realizing that it’s not as easy as it seems doing what we do,” said Moorehead. When asked what men find more difficult to do as cheerleaders than women, Moorehead said “listen” before cracking a smiling and acknowledging that she was joking. Man or woman, cheerleading is a delicate art of coordination. Moorehead stated that some people are either coordinated or not, which is not to say an individual cannot improve, but it takes a lot of practice. Constructing a human pyramid is as perilous and intricate as building one of stone and brick. And while the crowds and fans will gather over the weekend to cheer on the Corsair football team as it attempts to pillage another opponent on the field, the eyes in the stands should pay close consideration to the fellow athletes performing on the sidelines, donned in color and ribbons, but no less skilled and tough as the specimens rushing across the yard line. @t h e _ c o r s a i r •
Corsair Football seeks to extend streak trev Angone Sports Editor The Corsairs are coming off a bye week and are hoping to rebound against Antelope Valley this Saturday after dropping their previous matchup at Southwestern College. The bye week could not have come at a better time, as the injuries started to pile up in the loss against Southwestern, and it didn’t appear as if they we’re going to let up. But with a week off, the Corsairs were allowed the time to focus on what they wanted to correct, as well as what they needed to do to get back on track to try and capture a fourth consecutive conference championship. “So what we worked over the bye week is our execution, our attention to detail, our technique, our alignment assignment,” said Head Coach Gifford Lindheim. “The bye week gave us a great opportunity to really kind of perfect some of the things that we’re doing. It was a good opportunity to go up against such a formidable team. Now going into conference, I think it’s really going to help us.” There are a lot of new faces starting on both sides of the ball this season, most notably at quarterback. Although sophomore transfer Jake Dashnaw threw for 334 yards, and four touchdowns, adding a rushing touchdown against College of the Desert, he only managed 182 passing yards and one touchdown against a significantly better Southwestern team. Though it was not all his fault. A quarterback is only as good as his receivers, and when the Corsairs visited Southwestern just 11 days ago, the receiving corps was not at their best as they dropped at least six passes. “As a unit, the receiving core is growing, and we have a new quarterback who is very good, we have a group of very good quarterbacks. But we’re all kind of growing together in this whole thing,” said Coach Lindheim. “Even in the Southwestern game, we had over 500 yards of offense, but there are still a lot of plays out there. Look out if we get this thing going and minimize the mistakes that we are making.” If there’s one thing this Corsairs football team doesn’t do, it is look past opponents, and Antelope Valley is no different. Despite being one of the smaller schools on SMC’s schedule, Antelope valley has gotten into the habit the past few seasons of being a perennial thorn in the Corsairs boot. After a surprisingly close game last year, SMC is spending all the necessary time preparing for a team that is apparently getting better as the season goes on. “We have a lot of respect for Antelope Valley. They’ve had a bunch of success in their program the last couple years, and we don’t take anybody lightly,” said Lindheim. “Antelope Valley has shown a lot of improvement over the first three weeks of the season, so we know it’s going to be a battle. But at the same time, we know that it’s all about us. We need to continue to play SMC football, with the emotion and energy required to get what we need out of the season.” SMC will defend their home field against Antelope Valley this Saturday at 1 pm. For full game coverage, visit TheCorsairOnline.com.
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