Vol 108 issue 10

CORSAIR

www.eCorsairOnline.com

/eCorsairNews CorsairNews @e_Corsair

Dynasty volume 108 issue 10 • November 12, 2014 • santa monica college

FIRST COPY OF THE CORSAIR IS FREE, EACH COPY AFTER IS 25C

A Homecoming Victory Secures Fourth Conference title Pg. 6

From U.S. Marine to SMC student Pg. 4

New age healing at Bundy campus Pg. 5

What glutten free mean anyway?

Pg. 9

“King Lear” premieres at The Broad Pg. 10

the corsair • thecorsaironline.com • 1900 pico blvd. santa monica, ca 90405 •(310) 434-4340

2 contents

volume 108 issue 10 •November 12, 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 Co-A&E 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 Paulina 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 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, Jose Barajas, Brandon Barsugli, Scott Bixler, Carlos Espinosa, Jazmine B. Heard, 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.

Scott Bixler Corsair

Sword fighting takes place during AcroYoga on Sunday at the original Muscle Beach, south of the Santa Monica Pier.

AcroYoga blends Thai massage, yoga, and acrobatics. AcroYoga LA specializes in making acrobatics accessible to everyone. They meet every Sunday starting at 1 p.m., and is open to any and everyone interested in participating.

The Santa Monica College Corsair football team celebrates their 37-21 victory over the the Santa Barbara City College Vaqueros in the homecoming game at Corsair Field on Saturday. The victory secured the Corsair’s fourth consecutive Pacific League championship.

FA C U LT Y A D V I S O R S Saul Rubin & Gerard Burkhart AD INQUIRIES: Sa r it Ka s h a n i a n corsai r. admana g er@g m ai l . co m (3 1 0 ) 4 3 4 - 4 0 3 3

James Powel Corsair

Letter From the Editor Alci rengifo Editor In Chief

In this week’s issue our news section reports on the establishment of a presidential task force Santa Monica College to evaluate how the campus handles sexual harassment issues.

This is a move mandated from Obama to address issues that is sadly very common, not only on campuses, but even in workplaces.

I have more than one friend who has experienced sexual harassment on campus and off. I have personally seen how one act can provoke a sense of dread, a sense of broken trust, and a sense of justified anger.

To dismiss an offensive touch, insulting phrase, is to dismiss what the debasement of the human is.

The major question is whether this task force will be able to produce anything effective in a timely manner. Will this force combat the deeper implications about our cultural, social state? Or is it just perfunctory?

How we interact with each other within our social spaces tells a lot about who we are as a culture and society. We live in a time of shifting perceptions of sexual interaction and relationships. Any form of change usually comes with parallel developments.

As the culture becomes more sexualized in commercialized, shallow ways, as fleeting encounters become the norm in a fast-paced society, the cultural objectification others comes with the risk of treating ourselves as objects.

While individuals have the right to live as they wish, respect entails that they can do so without having to experience the fear of simply living within a social space. In a strange time when the advancement of women is moving forward in parallel with their increasing devaluation as people, it is no surprise that sexual harassment on college campuses is a national problem.

The recent storms over the depiction of women in video games and films should make us consider the kind of goggles

Sudoku

by Brenda Cruz

Answers are posted at: www.thecorsaironline.com

through which we see people. Last semester a group of concerned faculty raised the issue of a cover story we ran covering an awards ceremony in March held by the Pole World News organization which seeks to make pole dancing into a recognized, Olympic sport. Because of the photos we ran we were accused of objectifying women. We ran a serious report on an event and its participants. While the concerns were more than understandable, it was an example of the kind of issues we continue to discuss in our society. Women choosing alternative lifestyles run the risk of being attacked or marginalized for choosing to express themselves in a sport not socially considered acceptable.

However, the roots of the ongoing problem are embedded in our social veins. In order for change to occur, radical social visions must be formed where respect, genuine, mutual respect among individuals becomes a part of our social consciousness. In a great essay titled “Anarchism,” the late American historian Howard Zinn described how genuine, complete freedom cannot be enforced by parties or committees. Rather, it must be a spontaneous, moral force that courses through every cell of the social fabric, and consequently implementing genuine respect among individuals. In one passage, Zinn writes when describing human relations through the anarchist lens, “People flow into easy arrangements, rather than being pushed or forced. It is like the form given by the artist, a form congenial, often pleasing, sometimes beautiful. It has the grace of a conscious, voluntary act.” It is this form that is deformed by the act of unwanted sexual aggression.

When we naturally treat each other as individuals and not just pounds of flesh, the necessity of even envisioning task forces will hopefully become a thing of the past.

for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com •

@t h e _ c o r s a i r •

/thecorsairnews •

/thecorsaironline

news 3

volume 108 issue 10• November 12, 2014 • santa monica college

Presidential task force to tackle sexual harassment President Tsang forms a task force in accordance with new legislation to evaluate how SMC addresses sexual harassment issues Rachel Gianuario managing editor

In compliance with legal requirements to participate in President Obama’s new sexual harassment policy for colleges, Santa Monica College President Chui L. Tsang created a task force to evaluate how SMC currently handles cases of sexual harassment.

According to Tsang, the task force will create a system to help victims of harassment and keep the school legally compliant with new federal policies. In addition, the task force will create campus procedures for handling sexual harassment complaints, and also educate younger students about the issue.

This move is in order to address President Obama’s college campus SaVE Act passed in March last year designed to change campus culture. Colleges are now required to compile statistics for incidents of sexual assaults, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking, and certain other crimes.

According to an SMC police department crime report for 2011 through 2013, the college campus has one reported rape on public property, and two accounts of sexual battery in 2011 and 2013.

The act additionally requires colleges to provide sexual assault awareness programs for students and employees. Several colleges, including Georgetown University and University California Berkeley, have made sexual assault awareness training programs mandatory for students. UC Berkelely even decided to block registration for students who did not complete the programs.

SMC’s presidential task force involves students, administrators and faculty

members including Associated Students Vice President Caitlin Corker, campus police, and SMC’s Title IX sexual harassment officer, Sandy Chung. These members were chosen

by Tsang based on recommendations, their position at SMC, work experience, and their ability to assist the college.

As apart of the process, students will be surveyed concerning awareness of sexual harassment on campus. The task force will also look at other colleges with sexual harassment programs in place, such as UCLA, and refit their programs to the needs of SMC. Parts of the SMC community are skeptical whether the task force will fully address the issue and stop sexual harassment on campus.

Students on campus have requested that a Gender and Sexuality Equity Center (GSEC) be created. According to the petition, the center “will challenge societal norms that have been used to oppress and marginalize.”

Additionally, it will “offer a safe an inclusive space where the campus and community can effectively support the academic mission of the university.”

An SMC student who is a part of this group, physics major Kamy Fereidouni, feels that the political environment of administration will not allow for change. “The administration will not get anything done. They will drag out the process until the hype goes away. The bureaucratic systems are against changing anything,” he said.

Corker has expressed her concerns of the timeline of the task force as well, noting that it often takes a long time to see change on campus “because there’s a lot of politics in the administration. There’s politics from top down.”

Adriane Hale Corsair

SMC President Chui L. Tsang at the memorial ceremony for Randal Lawson on September 17 at the Broad Stage. In accordance with legal mandates, Tsang created a task force to evaluate how SMC handles sexual harassment issues.

Tsang said in response to this group, "Nobody has the answers right now. I don’t know how anyone can say that taking time to do something right is wrong. Then what is right?”

According to Tsang, the deadline for the final reports from the task force will be in mid spring. With little time between now

and spring, Tsang commented that the task force has their work cut out for them.

Corker wants to see the task force have the survey at least completed by the end of her time as A.S. vice president. “I’m going in there hopeful,” said Corker. “I think that’s the only way you can go into something like this: hopeful that change will be made.”

WE START AS STUDENTS WE LEARN BEYOND THE CLASSROOM WE TRAIN IN OUR COMMUNITY

At CSU Channel Islands

& THEN WE TAKE ON THE WORLD

working side-by-side with professors, industry experts and professionals is an opportunity for every student. They bring theory into practice. They learn how problems can be solved. These are more than field trips or internships to put on resumes. These are the lessons on which to build careers.

RESEARCH: An environmental studies class stops to discuss island environment as part of the California State University Channel Islands (CI) Santa Rosa Island Research Station (SRIRS).

LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIENCE Learn more at go.csuci.edu/smc

for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com • CSU Channel Islands - Take on the World/Research Santa Monica College - Corsair Run dates: Nov 12, Nov 19, 2014

@t h e _ c o r s a i r •

10” x 7.5” BW email: orders@mymediamate.com Due: Nov 3, 2014

/thecorsairnews •

/thecorsaironline

4 news

volume 108 issue 10 •November 12, 2014 • santa monica college

Call of duty: an SMC vet tells his story Meet Francisco Muñoz, now an SMC student, but foremost a humble Marine dedicated to finding his path in life Jose Guitierrez staff writer

Dressed in comfortable clothes, Santa Monica College student Francisco Muñoz sits at a stone table outside SMC’s Liberal Arts building enjoying his bowl of cereal.

The sky is nothing special that day but every so often he takes the view in with a quick glance as he scoops spoonfuls of milk and cheerios. No one would ever suspect that this mild-mannered student is a Marine.

Muñoz was first introduced to the Marines at the age of seventeen when he was invited to a physical training session. In that environment, Muñoz noticed that the Marines had a certain passion about them, but he didn’t quite understand it. Curious, he asked them everything he could about what they brought to the table, but he still thought there was a “catch.” It would be a while before Muñoz realized that the “catch” was that he would have to be fully committed to the lifestyle the Marine Corps presented.

Signing paperwork is just the first step towards becoming a U.S. Marine. Next, he had to sign up for boot camp, what Muñoz describes as the most significant part of the journey. “[Boot camp] really breaks you down,” Muñoz said. “You’re completely isolated from everything. You learn a new language.

You learn a [world], something different.

It’s a different mindset and for thirteen weeks you have no communication with the outside world,” he added.

Over several months, Muñoz learned everything from shooting weapons to learning basic drills and education. He remembers it being a completely different lifestyle than the one he was used to living.

Even more visceral than the experience of boot camp, however, was the experience of leaving home. Muñoz admits wanting to leave home because of family issues but what he didn’t count on was how much he’d miss his friends.

For the most part, he believes his family hasn’t been too supportive of him, but mostly because they don’t understand his lifestyle.

“They’re proud of me, of course, but it’s just something so new to them and they don’t know anything about it,” Muñoz said. “So they don’t really know how to react to it.”

He feels that his family thinks him arrogant at times as well, but he reassures himself constantly of his own self-described humility.

As with the general conception of the U.S. Marine in mainstream media, people often assume he’s brash and physical. It’s a caricature of the Marine that Muñoz is not particularly fond of, as he feels it highlights the failure to understand Marines and soldiers in general.

Veterans Resource Center faculty leader Linda Sinclair discussed how different and shocking the cultural shift can be between civilian life and military life saying, “If i went from working full time to taking care of a child, it would be a heck of a big adjustment.”

She elaborates on the shift from learning the military culture to going back to civilian life for the student vets she’s worked with over the years. “They went from one culture to another,” said Sinclair. “It would be a big difference because they don’t know the culture.”

Sinclair points to some of her student vets’ experiences saying, “Some of our veterans still come back and get really awful questions posed to them by civilians like, ‘Did you kill any children? How many people did you kill?’ and those are not appropriate questions.” She added, “Very few people would ask those inappropriate questions, but

Mia Duncans Corsair

Francisco Munoz, current SMC student and Marine veteran stands in front of the memorial plaque on the Clock Tower on Friday. it only takes one or two.”

“People don’t understand what it means to wear that uniform,” says Muñoz. “To be out there, not knowing what’s going to come next. To have a sense of desire to go out there, and do what you have to do.”

Sinclair attested to the power of a background in military training, pointing out our own SMCPD sergeant Jere Romano’s actions during the shooting on campus last year. “[Romano] said his marine training just kicked in,” said Sinclair.

Back outside of the Marine life, Muñoz has dedicated himself to his involvement with the Student Veteran’s Association at SMC, where he has acted as treasurer.

Jennifer Garcia, president of the SVA, sums up Muñoz as being passionate, noting how he is highly dedicated to helping homeless veterans find homes and shelters. “Once he gets his mind on an idea, he looks into it and he doesn’t back off of it,” Garcia said.

Muñoz feels that striving in life is necessary.

for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com •

“The idea is, always challenging yourself.

Like, you have to pick things up or you don’t deserve it,” he said.

He often finds it hard, however, to juggle two worlds and his two very different personalities: his “normal” identity and his “Marine” identity.

“Let’s say if I was to have drill tonight,” Muñoz explained, “I’d have to go get a fresh shave, get my uniform ready, prepare for the mission that we’re going to have this weekend. And we’ll go and as soon as I wake up, I’ll know that I’m not that kid back in school anymore.”

Because of how rigorous it can get, he’s often found himself regretting the Marine life, but that feeling of uneasiness is normal, according to him.

“I don’t know anybody that could ever say that at some point in time they didn’t regret it,” Muñoz said. “It’s a love-hate thing. You love it because it represents something so much more and you’ve overcome so much @t h e _ c o r s a i r •

physically and mentally, and it’s just such a good feeling when you’re there among your own family that you’ve created.”

Despite any minor doubts, Muñoz is a Marine through and through. He has entrenched himself so much in the Marine way of life that he cannot picture himself outside of it anymore.

“I honestly can’t even remember who I was back then,” he says, trying to fathom a version of himself that never joined the Marines. “I’m hoping I would have made it to the city, but I probably would have been stuck in my small town and worked or something.”

This Veterans Day, Muñoz decided he would be studying, as he’s still set on being a successful student while embracing the Marine life.

“Integrating both [ways of life] is something I’m honored to be a part of. I can’t necessarily say I know where my life is taking me, but I hope that it’s a good joyful life.

/thecorsairnews •

/thecorsaironline

Health & Lifestyle 5

volume 108 issue 10• November 12, 2014 • santa monica college

Hackathon gathers cyber minds The first gathering of community college hackers was a swarm of coding, and a cyberspace exchange of ideas Alfredo Gutierrez staff writer

Yasha Hawkins Corsair

Soundbath specialist Guy Douglas with his set of chakra crystal bowls. Douglas introduced students to the relaxation techniques based on the sound of these instruments during the Integrative Health Symposium at the Bundy campus.

SMC nurses open door to new age healing at Bundy SMC nurses introduce visitors to holistic healing options during health symposium at the Bundy Campus Yasha Hawkins staff writer

Last Saturday, Santa Monica College’s Student Nursing Association invited students and alternative health advocates to experience “a holistic approach to health.”

For attendees, this meant allowing oneself to bathe in the sounds of gongs and Tibetan singing bowls, letting essential oils awaken the senses, or receiving a healing touch from a reiki practitioner while performing a gentler form of yoga.

The Integrative Health Symposium was part of an Integrative Health program that Professor Eve Adler received a grant to start at SMC. However, the symposium itself was the idea of SNA president Johaira Dilauro, who’d always wanted to put on an event like this and decided to go through with it when she became SNA president.

Holistic approaches focus on treating the mind and the body instead of just the symptoms of a condition, something that “makes sense” to Dilauro. “There’s not one person who doesn’t feel like they need to take a deep breath,” said Dilauro.

On why people are revisiting these methods, she said, “I feel like I don’t know that much technicality when it comes to these things but I can tell you that I feel it, and it’s raw, and it feels like my body’s been begging for it.”

Such was the spirit of many of those visiting the symposium as they were offered a window into practices aimed at healing which include views and techniques out of a New Age terrain of thought. While some of these practices may seem out of the

mainstream, they nonetheless demonstrated a search for inner peace and control of the body that dismiss the more commercialized aspects of modern culture.

The event started with sound therapy, or a soundbath, from specialist Guy Douglas.

With a set of chakra-based crystal bowls, a gong “tuned to the frequency of the sun,” and an instrument similar to a rainstick, Douglas managed to take a room full of nursing students from tense and stressed to relaxed and grounded after an experience some considered a journey.

He explained how important it is to cease mental chatter. “It actually cancels the chatter in our minds and brings us to almost a meditative state where healing can start,” said Douglas. “When we enter the space with these frequencies it's realigning all these frequencies, cleaning the energy within our being.”

Reiki, which is essentially healing touch, was also covered during the symposium.

Tania Ranjeva, who presented it at the event, considered it a calling. “I always felt I had a healing power and I’ve been drawn to alternative healing from an early age,” said Ranjeva.

She explains that Reiki is healing energy from the universe that heals through the hands of a practitioner, who basically functions as a vehicle for such energy.

It also aids in self-care, which is important for anyone but is especially important for nurses. “For nurses it's essential to do self-care because you care so much for other people that a lot of times people feel depleted,” said Ranjeva. Event attendees were able to sign up for a Reiki class for the beginning of next year, and anyone interested can contact Dilauro for details.

Aromatherapy, a more familiar form of alternative healing that goes back to the ancient oil trade, was presented by Shirley Martin, a doTERRA representative. Not trying to knock Western medicine, Martin emphasized the public’s lack of knowledge of

for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com •

what’s in a given prescription. “There are side effects to pills and we don’t know what’s in them,” said Martin. “There’s fillers that have side effects and you have to take something else to counteract that side effect.”

In between showing attendees the various uses of essential oils, Martin shared her own experiences with the oils and how they combated MRSA and acne, arguably a testimony about their effectiveness in providing “that balance, that constant zen you could say, of being well.”

After a lunch break where most people spent more time getting free essential oils than eating, attendees heard from Stefanie LaRue, a stage four metastatic breast cancer survivor whose story moved the room to tears.

Diagnosed at 30 years old after three hospitals declared her healthy, she was told she had six months to a year to live; That was nine years ago.

La Rue turned to many of the treatments discussed earlier in the day, but had to find out about them by herself. She now advocates for giving people options, including alternative treatments.

“I wanted options so I could make the best choices for myself,” said La Rue. “Desiring that for myself made me realize that others probably desired it, so that inspired me to become an advocate to help share all the educational information out there we need to learn about how to live a better quality of life.”

The Symposium ended with Urban Zen, a stress relieving treatment that includes Reiki, yoga, and aromatherapy. It was an example how practices from the far east have fully embedded themselves within Western, recreational culture.

After Casey Cota of Yogaworks led a shortened, “gentler” yoga class, and goody bags of free memberships to David Barton Gym and Yogaworks were handed out. Attendees went home with a taste of “constant zen” if nothing else. @t h e _ c o r s a i r •

Hackathons are long, rigorous events that test the limits of computer programmers' minds. These events call for creativity, passion and of course, knowledge of coding languages like Ruby and Java.

Filled with tech and engineering sponsors, prizes, workshops, and lectures, these are the places to be in the world of computer science.

Hack CC, the very first hackathon for community college students is no exception.

Taking place in Santa Monica's Cross Campus on Lincoln and 10th Street, the project was founded by Ahmed Sayed, Sidney Eubanks, Joshua Wallace, and Casey Spencer.

The 36-hour event challenged computer scientists to create software that ranged from detecting expired food, to programming video games.

There were tables upon tables of laptops, food, and fuel ranging from energy drinks to bread and cereals, and sleeping bags strewn all about. It was a devoted yet accessible atmosphere, almost like the proverbial programmer's room in his mother's basement.

A surprisingly perfect blend of hip-hop and ambient soundscapes flooded the hall, accompanied with murmurs of programming lingo and casual chatter.

Announcements of computer language workshops and company "tech-talks" were announced as the day progressed.

It may have seemed like a relaxed gettogether, but there were enthusiastic participants and devoted organizers throughout.

Attendant America Lopez said of Hack CC, "It's a perfect learning environment. There are developers walking around, asking if you need help or anything."

And it certainly was a learning environment.

Novice programmers were constantly working on refining their skills, referring to veterans and their own determination to solve any errors, while seasoned engineers designed remote-controlled cars and cameras from scratch.

"We wanted to make every community college student creative and to build their own projects," Ahmed Sayed said.

Despite the hackathon's atmosphere, the field of computer science is a very competitive one and requires perseverance. Dedicated students stayed at the conference, sleeping on couches or in corners of the room. The work is very difficult, as noted by attendees who had given up out of frustration.

Regardless of difficulty, Sayed aimed to, "Make students more valuable and ready for the market," something that was realized with the many outlets of help and knowledge available. The field of computer programming is rapidly growing, with just as much innovation as demand at hand.

/thecorsairnews •

/thecorsaironline

6 PhotoStory

volume 108 issue 10 • November 12, 2014 • santa monica college

Jose Lopez Corsair

Santa Monica College Corsair running back Melvin Davis attempts to pull away from the clutches of Santa Barbara City College lineback Jacob Pettit as he digs in for an attempted tackle on the Corsair Field on Saturday. The Santa Monica College Corsairs defeated the Santa Barbara City College Vaqueros 37-21.

A Dynasty is crowned The Corsairs secure a share of their fourth league title on homecoming Saturday James Powel

The Santa Monica College Corsair football team defeated the Santa Barbara City College Vaqueros 37-21 on Saturday, securing a share of their fourth American Pacific League title.

The title was threatened down the stretch, as the Vaqueros finally began to put together scoring drives and cut the lead to 10 points.

With 2:30 left separating the Corsairs from the final gun, punter Edward Stuart caught an unfortunatley timed case of the itis and shanked the punt, leaving the Vaqueros threatening on the SMC 14 yard line.

However, on the next play the Corsair’s

trademark defense sacked and stripped SBCC quarterback Brandon Edwards, fortunatley only of the ball.

As lineback DJ Beard picked the ball off of the turf and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown, two things were confirmed; one, the Vaquero’s would suffer their first defeat of the season and two, the run of the young ‘ball coach, Corsair head coach Gifford Lindheim, is an outright Pacific League dynasty.

However, their poor play earlier in the season will keep them out of state playoff

contention.

The Corsairs sit with a record of 6-3 and are ranked third in the American South division California Community College Regional State Coaches poll and 15 in southern California.

Their 38 points leave them 75 points behind fourth ranked Fullerton College.

However the modest crowd, which included SMC president Chui Tsang and other dignitaries, looked on as the Corsairs celebrated the coronation of their league dynasty.

sports editor

Josue Martinez Corsair

Santa Monica College Quarterback Christian Smith #8 scores the first touchdown against Santa Barbara City College during the Homecoming game at Santa Monica College on Saturday. for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com •

@t h e _ c o r s a i r •

/thecorsairnews •

/thecorsaironline

volume 108 issue 10 • November 12, 2014 • santa monica college

PhotoStory 7

Scott Bixler Corsair

The Santa Monica College Dance Department puts on a show during halftime at the SMC Corsairs vs. Santa Barbara Vaqueros Homecoming game on Saturday.

Coleen Bush Corsair

Santa Monica College President Dr. Chui L. Tsang(right), and his wife, Echo Tsang (left), cheer on the SMC Corsairs at their Homecoming game against the Santa Barbara College Vaquero’s on Saturday.

Jose Lopez Corsair

Santa Monica Corsair fans cheer with excitement in the stands on the Corsair Field during the homecoming game on Saturday at Santa Monica College. The SMC Corsairs defeated the Santa Barbara City College Vaqueros.

Mia Duncans Corsair

Santa Barbara Vaquero Elijah King (left) falls short of getting away from SMC Corsair’s Caleb Madden (right) who rushes in for the tackle during the first quarter of the SMC Homecoming game that took place at the Santa Monica College Corsair Field on Saturday. for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com •

@t h e _ c o r s a i r •

/thecorsairnews •

/thecorsaironline

8 Opinion

volume 108 issue 10 •November 12, 2014 • santa monica college

America: The elephant strikes back The future looks red as voters hand all of Congress over to a radical band of Republicans with fundamentalist visions for the world

Alci Rengifo Editor-in-Chief The American Republic has given the world a demonstration of how to conduct national harakiri. On November 4, the tradition of retaliating against the standing president by voting for the opposite party was recycled, this time in a large enough quantity that the entire Congress is now dominated by the Republican Party. In the Senate, the Republicans captured 52 seats as opposed to the Democrats’ 44, and in the House it was a 244-184 death match. The president is now surrounded by the red sea, with no means to part it.

Anyone with a healthy cynicism towards the rationality of voters (if not humans in general), received a good enough sense of validation scrolling down the list of winners.

The masses voted for the right-wing out of the same fears and frustrations that have pushed the peoples of Europe to vote for downright fascist parties in countries like France. The economy, and Obama’s lightweight approach to dealing with it, was Brutus’s dagger. Forbes reported 45 percent of voters said the economy was the most important issue facing the country. The report portrayed the majority of voters as pessimistic, with 78 percent worried about the government’s direction in the next year.

Only 1 percent agreed that the economy’s condition was ‘excellent.’

The 2008 “Yes We Can” acid trip has obviously worn off on the youth of America, as votes from this demographic massively declined, according to data presented by Reuters. Only a third of eligible voters

ISIS is a beast of our own making, a deformed nightmare that came about because we invaded Iraq and shattered it. But while Obama has gleefully waged drone warfare for years all across the region, and is now intervening in the Syrian Civil War and Iraqi crisis, the Republican hawks the took over Congress will demand an even greater, bloodier spectacle.

According to The Daily Beast political journal, Senator John McCain is ecstatic in announcing that the new Congress will push for shipping weapons to Ukraine’s new right-wing government, to both antagonize Russia while also moving against China’s growing influence in the South China Sea. McCain, now empowered with new allies moving into Foreign Relations committees, is also leading the charge to question attempts by the Obama White House to finally reach a deal with Iran over its nuclear development program.

It is a tragic irony that a pack of howling wolves have been voted in as the world commemorates 100 years since the start of Jhosef Hern Corsair World War I. That was a catastrophe caused by the irrational, frankly dumb bothered to cast a ballot. Sadly unlike & Wesson, 9 millimeter, and it goes with me global chess moves by the world’s major Europe, or Latin America, we don’t even virtually everywhere.” form viable alternative parties; we simply Ernst of course believes we need our guns powers.

The alternative however, is not to simply swing like a pendulum back and forth. to defend ourselves against the government, But while both parties have proven to be because everyone knows we’re so close to vote again for the Democrats in four years, incompetent, useless tools of the ruling becoming Syria. This is the usual dementia but to start forming serious alternatives in elites, the situation is now particularly dire. of someone who has never lived through an terms of popular parties. Sadly, it might The party now in charge features a gallery actual war and resides in a country where take a cataclysm. In Greece, the same two of curious, whacky, downright insane guns are instead used by the mentally parties, one liberal, one right-wing, ruled the country uninterrupted for over 30 years individuals. If the Democrats are corrupt, deranged. cynical blowhards, then Republicans are In Colorado, the wisdom of its population until the economy completely collapsed madmen determined to take us back to the showed when they elected an exorcist, in 2010. When Greeks awoke to find their Middle Ages, and solve major foreign issues Gordon Klingenschmitt, to their House Of country in economic despair, with even with trigger happy policies.

Representatives. Klingenschmitt has publicly suicide rates jumping as a result of economic My favorite claimed on his TV hardship, they finally began to vote for new parties such as Syriza which is both radical, personification of If the Democrats are corrupt, show, “Pray In Jesus yet tempered with policies outside of the this season’s political Name,” that gay men cynical blowhards, then witchcraft is Iowa’s use child abuse to mainstream. This was the same situation in Republicans are madmen notable winner of “recruit” new gays, Argentina and other parts of Latin America the state senate, Obamacare following the application of radical, rightdetermined to take us back that Joni Ernst. An all causes cancer, and wing policies in the 1990s which produced to the Middle Ages, and solve that American-looking President massive social and economic collapses in the major foreign issues with former pig castrater, Obama himself is early 2000s.

There is more to come as several news trigger happy policies.

Ernst is beloved by possessed by demons the most paranoid and requires an outlets, and even Tom Hayden whom we wing of modern Republicanism. exorcism. Yes, this is who people are electing interviewed two weeks ago, predict that the Republican Party is gearing up to launch Jeb Of course, the fact that Ernst used to into public office. castrate pigs for a living is no issue, honest Of course any society that gave fame and Bush, the brother of the infamous George work is honest work, it’s her policies that glory to the Kardashians and “Alex from W., for the 2016 presidential elections. And should raise eyebrows. target” should be considered certifiably if the Democrats launch Hillary Clinton Ernst happily opposes hiking the insane. Seeing as how we are the modern (not exactly a dove herself ), imagine the minimum wage, endorses privatizing social Ottoman Empire, what happens on the historicals repeats we are in store for.

For now, with the Republican Elephant now security (because mass privatizations are home court impacts the world. Consider doing wonders for Kentucky and far away the Middle East: Obama just announced marching into Congress, we should heed the Greece), and is convinced that Iraq did have the deployment of 1,500 additional ground words of “Lord Of The Rings” author J.R.R. those never to be found weapons of mass troops to Iraq, under the guise of advising Tolkien, who late in life became fond of destruction used to justify the disastrous the corrupt, pathetic Iraqi government anarchist philosophy. “The most improper 2003 invasion. Ernst also loves her gun, against the Islamic State and its determined, job of any man is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all stating that, “I have a beautiful little Smith messianic hordes. those who seek the opportunity,” he said.

for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com •

@t h e _ c o r s a i r •

/thecorsairnews •

/thecorsaironline

Opinion 9

volume 108 issue 10• November 12, 2014 • santa monica college

Gluten Free: understand it before you try it

Mia Duncans Corsair

A Gluten Free magazine sits askew in the checkout line of Whole Foods in Venice on Friday after having been glanced through buy a patron standing in line.

Devin page staff writer

Fasting, paleo, vegan, South Beach, and the Mediterranean diet are all faddish diets that have become a part of our culture because of the believed health benefits they possess.

Here today and gone tomorrow, these strict diets are often popularized as quickly as they fade away.

The gluten-free diet has become more

available and recognized by the public in recent years. While celiac disease is a real thing, it seems people have other motivations as to why they decide to go gluten-free.

Health aspects such as weight loss, energy gain, and healthy digestion come to mind when thinking about gluten-free, as well as the overall notion that it’s “better” for you.

If you ask a person who has celiac disease ‘What is gluten?’, you expect that they will know the answer. However, if you ask a

person who decides to partake on a glutenfree diet on a whim, you expect that they will have no clue what the confines of the diet are. They just believe that it will be better for them.

People with celiac disease are not able to properly digest gluten, and therefore it creates gastrointestinal issues. There are also people who claim to be gluten sensitive and that it causes them fatigue or some other ailment. Somewhere along the line, a lot of bandwagoning ensued, and within the last few years, a market arose.

We are in a culture of advertising and the belief that manufacturers know what is best for us. SMC Nutrition Professor Dona Richwine believes the best way to combat this is to keep yourself informed.

“We are seeing a lot of unsubstantiated information about how gluten is bad for us.

Gluten is just a protein. It’s not bad for us,” Richwine says.

The belief that gluten is unhealthy has shown up in a similar way that Genetically Modified Organism or meat has; however, this particular belief is unsupported by any scientific or medical evidence.

According to Richwine, when you eliminate gluten, you are removing a big part of a healthy diet. Gluten free options such as corn starch, potato starch, and garbanzo bean flour aren’t a healthy alternative; they are just used to mimic bread and don’t have the same nutritional value.

The problem seems to be that a lot of gluten-free alternatives tend to be packaged and processed, while many naturally glutenfree foods aren’t.

Richwine says, “We should be concentrating

on eating whole foods; packaged and processed (gluten-free or otherwise) are not healthy alternatives.”

A huge market has grown for the glutenfree diet. According to the Celiac Central website, nearly 15 to 25 percent of consumers report looking for gluten-free options. The market is expected to continue growing up to $6 billion in the United States by 2015.

Whether or not the alternatives are better for you, the market is there. There are lots of misinformed people, as there always is, that go with what is trending. Then you have celebrity endorsement only enforcing the misinformation spreading across media outlets.

As with any diet, there seems to be a larger discussion at hand about what’s in our food.

Labels and advertising tend to curb any skepticism, though. GMO, and similarly wheat are under attack, while organic and sustainable are music to a health junkie’s ears. It’s something to think about, however, that food manufacturers and advertisers are trained to pick up on these trends in order to sell products to the masses.

When something is marketed to us as bad or unhealthy, we feel panic. Alternatively when something is marketed to us as having all these health benefits, we run to Whole Foods. We cling to whatever we think will provide us with the healthiest life possible without taking a second thought.

Advertising is a tricky business, and labels are first and foremost designed to make us want to buy the product. Unless we can facilitate a more informed culture that is less gullible, we are just going to fall for the next trend to come around.

vf Help Wanted .

Business management office seeking administrative help with filing, mail, light business management and accounting. $12/hour. Bundy and Olympic. If interested, email resume to businessmgmtposition102014@outlook. com

Apartments for Rent .

10540‑10530 Wilshire Blvd LA, CA. Ammenitties: controlled access, valet parking, on‑site laundry, pool, jacuzzi, gym, elevator.

Close to UCLA and Westwood Village. one bedroom+one bathroom Manager’s phone: 310‑470‑4474 10905 OHIO AVE, Los Angeles, CA 90024 1+1, Single + Bathroom.

Amenities: Intercom Entry, On‑site Laundry and Parking, Pool, Close to UCLA. Manager: 310‑477‑6586 10933 ROCHESTER AVE. 2BED/2 BATH, 2 BEDROOM‑ 2 BATH‑ ROOM JUNIOR‑1BED/1BATH. Rooftop pool, sundeck, intercom entry, parking, on‑site laundry, wifi.

Close to UCLA and Westwood Village. 310‑473‑5061 1134 N. SYCAMORE AVE., Los Angeles, 90038. Intercom Entry, Elevator, On‑Site Parking, On‑Site Laundry, View of Hollywood Hills, Balcony,1BEDROOM+ BATHROOM. 323‑467‑8172

Apartments for Rent .

11640 KIOWA AVE, Los Angeles, CA 90049.

Balcony, Elevator, Dishwasher, Parking On‑Site, Laundry, Intercom Entry, Central A/C, Heated Pool, Close to UCLA. 2Bdrm+2Bath, 1Bdrm+1Bath. 310‑826‑4889 11666 GOSHEN AVE., Los Angeles, 90049.

Intercom‑Entry, On‑Site Laundry, On‑Site Parking, Elevator, A/C. Close to UCLA. 310‑312‑9871.

One Bedroom + Den + 1Bathroom.

Single +1.

Apartments for Rent .

Health and Beauty .

THE MISSION

WESTWOOD Grand Opening! LA’s finest most luxurious apt rental.

Every extra luxury. Custom cabinets, granite countertops, stone entry, pool, health club, spa. Low move‑ in. 1350 S. Midvale Ave. Los Angeles. Available 2+2, 1+1.

310‑864‑0319

11730 SUNSET BLVD.,1BDRM/1 BATH‑JR Exec‑1BATH Amenities: Rooftop Pool, Deck, Intercom‑Entry, Parking, Onsite‑Laundry, Close to Brentwood Village and UCLA. Manager: 310‑476‑3824 125 North Barrington Ave. Control access, dish washer, parking, on‑ site laundry, pool, elevator, central A/C. 2bed/2bath.

Manager 310‑476‑2181 2220 Beverly Glen Blvd. Roof‑top Jacuzzi. Control access, parking, on‑ site laundry, elevator. 1bed/1bath, Single/1bath.

Close to UCLA/ Century City. 310‑552‑8064 320 N. LA PEER DR., Beverly Hills, CA 90211 1BDRM/1BATH&2BDR‑ M/2BATH Amenities: Intercom‑ Entry, Elevator, Pool, Onsite‑Laundry, Parking Manager: 310‑246‑0290 443 S. Oakhurst Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Amenities: Elevator, control access, parking, on‑site laundry.

2+2, 1+1. Manager: 310‑435‑3693 8725 Clifton Way, Beverly Hills.

Amenities: Control access, elevator, parking, close to shops/restaurants. on‑site laundry.

One bedroom+‑ Den+two bathroom.

Manager: 310‑276‑1528

for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com •

Research Subjects .

Spending more time and money smoking pot than you would like?

The UCLA Outpatient Clinical Research Center is looking for marijuana dependent volunteers, age 18 to 50, who would like to stop or reduce their marijuana use, and are interested in receiving up to 12 weeks of no‑cost intervention including medication.

Compensation for your participation is provided. For more information call the UCLA Outpatient Clinical Research Center at (310) 267‑5020.

@t h e _ c o r s a i r •

/thecorsairnews •

/thecorsaironline

& Entertainment 10 Arts

volume 108 issue 10 •November 12, 2014 • santa monica college

Courtesy of Shakespeare’s Globe

Shakespeare’s Globe presents a traditional and muddled “King Lear”

The well-acted “King Lear” debuted at The Broad Stage last week, presenting an interpretation distracted by strange accessories Rachel Gianuario Managing Editor

T

he well-acted “King Lear” debuted at The Broad Stage last week, Shakespeare’s Globe is visiting The Broad Stage with a traditional depiction of Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” the tragic tale of the true meaning of love, the art of duplicity, and lessons about what it truly means to be wise.

For members of Shakespeare’s Globe, Shakespeare is a way of life, and studying the origins and details of every play is a daily routine. Which is why you would think that a troupe of directors, headed by Bill Buckhurst, heavily experienced in all things Shakespeare, would attempt to put a definable, interesting spin on the play.

This is however, not to say that the individual performances from the actors were not impressive. They were simply encompassed by a miscellaneous drawer of costumes, time periods, and set pieces.

Surprisingly, for all you people who grew up with “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” back in the mid-nineties, and still wake up with re-runs today, the part of Lear was played by Geoffrey, the butler, Joseph Marcell.

If Alfonso Riberio, who played Carlton Banks on the show, can get on “Dancing With The Stars” and pull out “The Carlton” dance move, then the already British Marcell can surely transition onto stage.

He plays a splendid Lear, though perhaps with a solid 80 percent of his lines being plainly shouted. His most touching and raw moments come forth through the scene of Cordelia’s death. Marcell’s wails and presentation of her lifeless body were a scorching expression of raw pain.

Other avid actors of Shakespeare’s Globe joined Marcell. Bethan Cullinane,

Gwendolen Chatfiel, and Alex Mugnaioni delivered particularly memorable performances.

Cullinane made her debut last year as the same character from this tour, Cordelia, Lear’s favorite daughter, and the Fool, Lear’s personal jester. She shines brightest as the Fool, toying with the script’s language and its delivery to the fullest extent.

Common for this play, Cullinane played Cordelia as well as the Fool. This is convenient in that they never appear on stage together, e c o n o m i c considering their small cast, and potent in that both are the only characters that never conceal the truth.

This production interpreted Cordelia as a war leader, a common depiction of her for the 20th century, apparent when she reemerges in the final scenes holding a sword for battle, wearing the king’s crown. The more interesting connection Cullinane has with Lear, however, comes forth most in the warm and humorous interpretation of the Fool.

Chatfield primarily played the part of Goneril, one of Lear’s daughters who utilizes her greed to try to acquire the most land from her father’s heritage. Chatfield plays a magnetic and entirely biting performance as Goneril, as she attempts to sneer and slither her way to the top of the food chain.

The part of Goneril is already a strong and visceral female lead, no doubt a foreshadow to Shakespeare’s next leading lady, Lady Macbeth, one of, if not his most, cunning and powerful female roles. Chatfield gives us this foreshadowed character and much more.

Alex Mugnaioni, playing the Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Burgundy, and Edgar, excelled in his various characters. In the story, the character Edgar is scared off into

It was as schizophrenic as Lear’s character is legendarily perceived to be

for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com •

hiding, and becomes a crazy beggar. As the beggar, he riddled and rhymed his way into coherently delivering the truth to Lear and to the audience. Clearly communicating Shakespearean literature is the mark of impressive stage acting.

Since this was a cast of only eight, multiple characters wore multiple hats, represented both by slight costume change and major accent change. They realistically incorporated the hierarchy of accents and status (Yorkshire accents versus Cockney), a large part of social ranking in British society.

If there was an interpretation, it was as schizophrenic as Lear’s character is legendarily perceived to be. Staying traditionally tied to the script, the performance attempted to create its own setting, costumes, and time period, all of which visibly contradicted each other continuously.

The base of the costumes looked moderately British 1910’s-1930’s, perhaps even slightly Austrian, but male characters carried swords to better interact with lines that specifically referenced them. Characters of noble birth wore long garments reminiscent of Elizabethan times, combined with hats and spectacles more commonly worn in the 20th century. Soldiers were dressed for the crusades, nobles were mainly dressed for the 1500’s, and the peasants and servants were dressed for the 1910’s. Pick one and run with it, don’t pick all of them.

There was no clear indication where this version of “King Lear” took place, with the exception of the context already set in the script, pre-Christian Britain. The stage performance only gave way to a fortress of wood and rope composed like the inside of the top deck of a fisherman’s boat.

All of this was combined with these odd and completely distracting Fleet Foxesesque singing interludes accompanied by accordions. If it meant to throw me off, job well done.

The onstage fighting, often a tricky part of a Shakespeare play to pull off, was so squeamishly cheesy. Fighting in @t h e _ c o r s a i r •

plays often feels inauthentic because of spacial limitations, somewhat applicable to the Globe’s performance, and a lack of viscousness. Both problems seriously reared their heads in the performance. What really made the fight scenes so painful was indeed every character’s moment of overacted and wholly lame death, whether by sword or personal leave. Gag me.

There is also something to be said about the actors’ presentation of Shakespearean language and delivery of the lines. The reality about Shakespearean plays is that it truly is a different language. The only way to fully understand all of the beauties of the manipulation of language is to read the plays beforehand. Otherwise, it’s easy to get lost.

If there was any visible interpretation of the story’s meaning and depiction, it came to the audience before and after the show. Ushers handed out tied up paper scrolls asking audience members to anonymously provide a piece of wisdom to their younger or future self, since so much of Lear is about perceived wisdom and letters.

Multiple people provided common universal advice like “be happy”, “admit defeat”, and “reject fear”. Some imparted wisdom specifically about not going into debt while others presented enigmatic, somewhat manic, but funny additions such as, “Ha! You fool!”

This interactive interpretation of the play’s meaning made far more of an impact than most of the actual play, bringing to life simple important themes and take away messages.

Shakespeare plays have been seen and read globally since they were ever written, the interpretation is entirely crucial, whether you’re in a stage company or attempting Shakespeare on film. Paying for a ticket to see a Shakespeare play better mean a new and unique way to tell the story. I don’t care where your troupe is touring.

Shakespeare Globe’s production of “King Lear” will be performed a the Broad Stage until Nov. 16.

/thecorsairnews •

/thecorsaironline

volume 108 issue 10• November 12, 2014 • santa monica college

Arts & Entertainment 11

Special screening brings “Hurt” to SMC

Scott Bixler Corsair

Prof. Salvador Carrasco (far right) and “Hurt” director Brandon Chang (second right) discuss the SMC short film “Hurt” accompanied by cast and producers.

Short film that deals with school violence screened along with a rough of UCLA’s first ever, full length feature project alci Rengifo Editor-in-Chief On Saturday night, as rowdy crowds of Homecoming dissipated, a large audience gathered at room 165 of the Humanities & Social Sciences building for the screening of SMC Film Department’s short film “Hurt,” followed by the presentation of a featurelength zombie thriller shot by UCLA film students.

Professor Salvador Carrasco, head of SMC’s film production program, introduced “Hurt”, the fifth film by SMC’s Film 33 class. Shot in 2013, “Hurt” tells the story of

a socially isolated, bullied high schooler who begins contemplating a school massacre.

Finished only a week before the tragic June 2013 shooting at SMC, the sensitivity of the material inspired the film crew to produce a work that is relevant, intense but tempered. “’Hurt’ is a film we’re particularly attached to,” said Carrasco. “It affected us all very profoundly. It was a surreal experience, we had been living this fictitious scenario and then it happened in our second home,” he added.

Carrasco went on to reveal how, in the aftermath of the shooting, there had been a range of reactions from the filmmakers.

Some felt a greater urgency to tell this story, others suggested the film simply be shelved.

Eventually, film makers decided it was in their best interest to put the project on hold. “We thought a reasonable mid-point, so to speak, was to wait a bit. That was

understandable,” he said.

Following Carrasco’s introduction, the film was screened and the audience was transported into the world of a dark heart.

Written and directed by SMC film student Brandon Chang, “Hurt” follows the daily life of a high schooler named Aaron (played by Matthew Grathwol) who feels trapped in a vortex of rejection and harassment. He looks longingly at the hallway blonde, already dating a jock neanderthal, and is taunted by campus alpha male meatheads. Aaron begins to contemplate ways in which he can vent his rage through the barrel of a gun.

With a style and tone that feels like Gus Van Sant’s “Elephant” crossed with Richard Brooks’s adaptation of “In Cold Blood,” “Hurt” is a baroque parable about today’s walking time bombs.

Shot with a fluid visual style and scored with an intense, low key electronic soundtrack, the short film offers no easy answers (because there are none), but instead presents a portrait of the kind of disturbed, scarred individuals who snap, and then target their surroundings. It’s a meditative film about our Darwinian times.

After the end credits rolled, complete with a dedication to the victims of last year’s shooting on campus, Carrasco invited Chang to come up in front of the audience to discuss the film. He was joined by producers Christopher Rojas, RJ Holloway and cast member Forrest Hoffman.

“I was inspired by the events happening all around the world. Every month we seem to hear about a new school shooting. I wanted to learn something about that topic,” said Chang when asked by an audience member about the inspiration for the script.

Sterling Shewbert, the principal of the East Los Angeles high school where “Hurt” was shot was also in the audience and stood up to voice appreciation for the project. “The topic is very near and dear to all of us. I was blown away by the welcome the cast and crew gave to our kids [students], they let them hang on their shoulders and see the process. The behaviors you see in the film are out there, but if we as educators and other students don’t jump on them immediately and quick they turn into what we see,” he said.

The next step will now involve submitting “Hurt” to film festivals, a terrain where SMC’s film program has achieved major recognition. Earlier this year the program’s first project made it to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France.

After the Q&A session was over a special added bonus was provided for the audience.

SMC alumni and now UCLA film student Dallas King presented an unfinished cut of “U.Z.L.A.,” a feature-length zombie film which serves as his thesis for graduating but is also the UCLA Masters’ program first ever, full feature project.

A cross between “Spring Breakers” and “World War Z,” King’s film is a B-movie romp where dorm sluts spread a herpes-style virus that unleashes a zombie apocalypse in the UCLA campus with only a small band of students left alone to survive.

“Those guys who go to Comic Con, who have no girlfriends, well some of them do, and play videogames without changing their clothes for three days, I’m making this film for them as a genre filmmaker,” explained King.

And with that the curtain fell on another evening of film culture at SMC.

“Interstellar” is an eloquent blockbuster experience Nolan’s latest combines a sense of grandeur and human drama with a story that utilizes Einstein’s theory of relativity alci Rengifo Editor-in-Chief Like him or not, Christopher Nolan is firmly established as an “event director,” as one of those filmmakers who is known by reputation as much as by his film titles. The success of his “Dark Knight” trilogy has granted him the power to direct whatever the man wants, and for his latest outing, the sci-fi fable “Interstellar,” Nolan has decided to reach for the stars in an almost symphonic style rare in current blockbusters.

The film takes place in a not so distant future where a great food and ecological crisis has scarred the earth. Populations are now smaller and farmers are a prized resource.

Matthew McConaughey plays Cooper, a widower farmer raising two children who tries to impart into them a scientific education and laments humanity’s loss of the sense to explore.

He’s recruited by NASA to pilot a mission into the farthest reaches of space to help mankind find a new home. He’s joined by two scientists played by Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables, The Dark Knight Rises) and David Gyasi (Cloud Atlas, Red Tails). They will face not only the risk of a journey never undertaken before, but the very realities of the science of the cosmos.

“Interstellar” is a grand film that bridges the meditative tone and sense of awe of “2001: A Space Odyssey” with the kind of scientific, intellectual suspense of Robert

Zemeckis’s “Contact.”

Some shots in combination with the organ-driven, symphony of a score by Hans Zimmer, are obviously borrowed from either Stanley Kubrick or other cinema philosopher, Terrence Malick.

This is a film that’s more about tone and atmosphere, grand gestures and immense vistas. This is Nolan’s first film with Swiss cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, known for his use of color and shadow in films such as “Let The Right One In” and “Her.” Here Hoytema uses the widescreen canvas for shots of epic breadth, composing with magic hour light and the vastness of space moments of grandeur.

Nolan is renowned for his insistence on organic visual effects, and here he gives us a startling combination of miniatures and CGI to create an immersive sense of time and place. The space station in which the crew travels towards a black hole that could lead to new worlds is a swirling, intricate carrousel reminiscent of “2001” with references to the ship in Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Solaris.”

Nolan’s cosmic imagery is both elegant and real, with few if any false notes. On a big screen the effect is immersive. If his mind-bender “Inception” was a series of fast, psychological cuts, here he takes his time to let scenes in space breath and swallow the screen. The plot seems to be settling for giving the audience a sense of how movies can simply take us somewhere else, and imagine visuals for the viewer to drink in.

Interestingly enough, Nolan, who is

for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com •

Courtesy of Warner Brothers

accused by some film critics of being cold and detached (his Batman movies were entertaining, but not exactly moving), finds his most human story in a film about space travel and scientific equations. His script, written with brother Jonathan Nolan, makes a worthy attempt of providing characters who do feel like actual people undergoing an adventure of unimaginable proportions.

The film plays with Einstein’s “twins paradox” theory, when characters realize that while hours have passed in their current reality, decades might have already passed back home.

This is not to say the script is flawless. At times it can become a bit gimmicky, as when the expected themes of love and heroism come in. When the film’s villain is revealed, @t h e _ c o r s a i r •

it feels like a forced, required touch. Instead of going for an even grander third act, we’re treated to a typical duel in space plot line before the film tries to regain its metaphysical spirit.

McConaughey and Hathaway deliver very uniquely authentic performances for a sci-fi film, but because “Interstellar” takes itself seriously, so do they when telling this story.

But ignore any minor plot holes, “Interstellar” is definitely worth viewing because of Nolan’s attempt to bring a David Lean-style space opus to the screen at a time when conventional, shallow popcorn junk rules the box office. If “Interstellar” tries too hard to inject a heart into the cold, vastness of space, we are better off for it. The effort alone makes it worth the ticket price.

/thecorsairnews •

/thecorsaironline

12 Sports

volume 108 issue 10 • November 12, 2014 • santa monica college

Corsairs’ last test on road Trev Angone Sports Editor The 15th ranked Corsairs have already secured at least a share of the 2014 American Pacific Conference Championship, but it just doesn’t have the same ring to it as grabbing the crown all to themselves.

With Glendale, and Santa Barbara only one loss back in the win column, it will take a win at Pierce College this Saturday in the Corsairs regular season finale to guarantee SMC the outright conference championship.

Last week’s victory could be a hard one to forget about in just a week’s time.

With Gatorade showers, and dog-pile celebrations, to go along with a team wide serenade of their unofficial theme song “We Ready” by Archie Eversole, who would want to forget such a satisfying victory?

But the Corsairs did not become four-time conference champions by resting on their laurels, and they don’t intend to start this Saturday.

“For us, it’s about going back to our process.

We watched film on Monday and tried to see where we can get better,” said head coach Gifford Lindheim. “Hopefully, we’ll have a great Wed and Thurs practice. And then on Saturday, we’ve got to execute the game plan and play with passion.”

Although Pierce College is only 2-4 in conference play, this is a rivalry game, and if there’s one type of game that’s always unpredictable, it’s a rivalry game.

Pierce College is similar to the Corsairs offensively, in that they have used two different quarterbacks throughout the season, and a stable of running backs.

Pierce has been able to average a respectable 28.9 points per game, but unfortunately for them, the Corsairs are averaging the fourth highest point total in the state at 45.3.

As far as the defenses are concerned, Pierce has had a hard time containing opposing offenses, allowing almost 40 points per game.

Even though the Corsairs are allowing just a shade over 30, which isn’t mind blowing by comparison, the SMC defense has always had a way of answering the call when needed.

“Pierce has some very talented pieces. We think this is going to be a battle. Hopefully, we’ll be able to make the plays we need to when it counts,” said Lindheim.

To say that immortality is riding on Saturday’s game would be a little dramatic.

The Corsairs are already the first four-time consecutive conference champs in SMC history, but not having to share that fourth championship would make it that much sweeter.

Despite securing his fourth conference championship in as many seasons as head coach, for Lindheim, there’s always something on the horizon. In this case it would be their conference win steak, and their impending bowl game.

That’s why if anyone thinks coach Lindheim is ready to talk about his accomplishments before the final tick of that last game, they wouldn’t know the Corsairs head coach very well at all.

“We need to win because it’s our next game, and the most important play is the next one,” said Lindheim. “In terms of what this all means in the grand scheme of accomplishments, maybe after the season ends, we’ll be able to sit back and reflect.

Right now, we’re still in the thick of the fight. We’re trying to win the conference championship outright and win a bowl game. Those are this teams goals.”

The Corsairs will attempt to finish the regular season off in style as they travel to Pierce College on Saturday for a 6 p.m. start.

ONLINE

ON

YOUR SCHEDULE.

your convenience

:: 6 start dates per year;

ON YOUR BUDGET.

You’ve come far. Now go even farther.

Join CSUDH’s thriving international student community.

—Adina, Pre-Health student

ON

TRACK FOR SUCCESS.

:: A personal Success Coach

works closely with you from orientation to graduation

:: Financial aid available

:: No text

Santa Monica College Corsair runningback Melvin Davis runs with the ball during the Corsair’s 37-21 victory over the Santa Barbara Vaqueros on Saturday.

“The value and convenience is a big factor in why I chose Mount St. Mary’s Online.

I’ve had a great experience in all my classes.”

:: Log in and learn at 8-week terms

Jose Lopez Corsair

:: One-on-one enrollment

book fees

and financial aid advising

Online classes and accredited two-year degree programs with easy transfer options.

ON

TARGET FOR TODAY’S WORKPLACE :: Nations only college to

report your mastery of the six Core Capabilities employers care about most on your transcript

ON THE RADAR

Mount St. Mary’s College is:

:: The No. 1 “Value-Added College” in the U.S. (Money Magazine, 2014)

:: A top-23 regional university (U.S. News & World Report, 2015)

“It’s not a crazy price that’s way out of reach for me. It’s something I can pay—it’s really workable.”

—Makayla, Liberal Arts student

www.msmconline.la.edu :: 310.728.2099 for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com MSMC_Santa Monica College.indd 1 9/12/14 10:52 AM •

CSUDH welcomes students from around the world.

Be part of our growing community of international students who come to our campus for an excellent education in the heart of Los Angeles.

With a dedicated International Student Services office, convenient on-campus housing and a small, inviting campus, CSUDH will help you reach your goals. And make the most of your LA learning experience.

Apply now at CSUMentor.edu.

CSUDH.EDU/International

@CSUDH

LearnInLA

facebook.com/csudh twitter.com/dominguezhills

@t h e _ c o r s a i r •

/thecorsairnews •

/thecorsaironline