Vol 108 issue 13

CORSAIR

volume 108 issue 13 • december 3, 2014 • santa monica college

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solidarity on Campus

Students march for Ferguson Pg. 3

A hard rain falls on Santa Monica Pg. 4

Do you use Rate My Professor?

Pg. 6

Editor picks the year’s 10 best films Pg. 7

Swim coach talks about next season Pg. 8

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2 contents

volume 108 issue 13 •December 3, 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 James Powel / Julianne Oseberg ·Designers 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, Brenda Cruz, Jeffrey Chacon, Stella Ngigi, Carlos Espinosa, Alfredo Gutierrez, Zoila Campos, Jillisa Jenkins, Yasha Hawkins, Branisolv Jovanovic, 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, Tzu Chieh Lin, Lorena Garcia.

Carlos Espinosa Corsair

The Movember community has raised over $550 million to date and funded over 800 programs in 21 countries.This work is saving and improving the lives of menaffected by prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mentalhealth problems. Los Angeles Gala Parté on Sunday, at the Santa Monica Pier.

Tekoah Flory, newly appointed AS Director of Student Advocacy, leads a march with Santa Monica College students in the rain while striking the Black Power salute during their proclaimed “Solidarity with Feguson” demonstration on Tuesday.

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

Jose Lopez Corsair

Letter From the Editor Alci rengifo Editor In Chief

And so we begin a winter of discontent. On Tuesday, students and activists gathered in the quad area amid the rain to protest the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The subsequent wave of protests that have included various cities across the U.S. following the acquittal of the police officer who shot Brown has now made an appearance in our campus. In our News section this week we offer a full report with interviews and photos on the event.

It might seem strange that Santa Monica College would be the site of a Ferguson solidarity march, only because this area has a reputation of being somewhat affluent and devoid of the kind of social grievances affecting communities such as, for example, South Los Angeles. Yet the gathering of students and groups such as members of the Associated Students and Black Collegians was a reminder that human compassion and anger can become strong enough to reach every corner of the country.

Yet amid the strength of the spirit of solidarity, we should be sober-minded and realize that it will take more than slogans and chants to change and transform the social conditions that cause tragedies like Ferguson. The protest fell short of making a stronger impact, however, when protest organizer decided to divide the group into separate circles, one for African Americans and one for “allies”, identified as non-African Americans and other people of color. While both circles engaged in lively discussions about race, social inequality and problems in the American social justice system, the idea of separating people in accordance to race rendered the meaning of the event worthless.

It was explained that the issues of Ferguson are “black issues”, pointing towards the trending slogan #BlackLivesMatter. Why isn’t the slogan #AllLivesMatter? If we are truly going to overcome racial and social

divisions in this country, indeed in the world, we must start thinking in less tribal, less nationalist ways. We must dismiss the ethnic boundaries between ourselves and begin imagining a society where solidarity overcomes class and skin color. The issue at hand goes beyond even the issue of the police. Police officers also form part of the working class, in their own way they are also trapped within the same system that employs them to patrol and guard ghettos. It is a union of citizens and security forces that is shaped by the socioeconomic realities that then force them into a clash.

The Israeli filmmaker Udi Aloni, in his powerful book “What Does A Jew Want?,” proposes that the only real solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict is the eventual formation of a binational state where both Arab and Jew live side by side in a diverse, yet united society. The thought is radical, but it may be the only salvation for a region increasingly in flames. The questions raised

by Ferguson also daunt the masses of Egypt, Bahrain, Mexico and elsewhere.

The anger over the shooting of Michael Brown, and all injustices, should be universal, it should tap into the moral gene of all.

The most revolutionary act an individual can carry out is to see someone else and appreciate that individual for who they are, including every part of their character in this acceptance.

In the early 20th century, the PolishJewish revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg was once asked why she did not soley devote her energies to the cause of Europe’s discriminated Jews. A born internationalist and radical thinker, Luxemburg replied to her friend, “I feel at home in the world wherever there are birds, clouds and human tears.” In this spirit we can wipe away the tears of Ferguson, and imagine an equal democracy for all.

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news 3

volume 108 issue 13• December 3, 2014 • santa monica college

Carlos Espinosa Corsair

Left: Tekoah Flory, Associated Students Director of Student Advocacy, leading the non-violent protest about Ferguson case with students supporters in the rain before noon on Tuesday

Mary Leipziger Corsair

Below: SMC student, John Kent closes his eyes in a moment of silence during the Ferguson campus that took place in the Cayton Center (due to the rain) on Tuesday.

SMC rallies for justice for Michael Brown Rachel Gianuario Managing Editor A group of Santa Monica College students lead a protest on campus yesterday afternoon demanding justice in the case of Michael Brown and bringing attention to the injustices felt by African Americans everywhere. The shooting of Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri has galvanized protests nationwide after Wilson was acquitted by a grand jury last Monday.

Lead by the new associated students director of student advocacy, Tekoah (Tk) Flory, the students started their demonstration outside in the rain, chanting “hands up, don’t shoot”, offering words of empowerment for, as Flory phrased it, the “black and brown” community on campus.

Letters in marker on the students’ signs smeared in bright streaks of blue, red, pink and purple from the afternoon’s downpour, but their chants were clearly heard as they marched from outside of the campus theater into the Cayton center.

With their fists in the air, the group began their discussion with the now famous 4.5 minutes of silence, representing the 4 and a half hours that Michael Brown was left laying in the street after he was shot by Wilson.

An SMC student and activist, MinhTriet Dao then informed the public of the Ferguson solidarity movement’s purpose, including their urge to our current leaders to ensure the safety and justice of its citizens. He explained that blacks have been overwhelmingly targeted by laws and police because of their “blackness.” “We have not yet found peace because we do not yet know justice,” he said, adding that, “We are living an American horror story.”

Flory then stated the protest’s demands, which included the immediate arrest of Wilson, the dismissal of Ferguson county prosecutor, Robert McCullough, and the demilitarization of police forces among others. He also announced the demand that the US Attorney General, Eric Holder, release the names of every officer “involved with killing black people within the last five years,” Flory stated.

Police monitored the protest from afar in the quad and outside of the Cayton Center after their march. There was a possibility that the protest would expand as it continued, to which Sergeant Jere Romano responded,

“That’s fine. It’s the associated students’ space…and they control it.”

His only concern was to make sure a fight did not break out between people with differing views.”Our whole mission is to try to keep the peace. As long as it’s conducive to learning,” he said. Inside, Flory separated the group into two sections, those who “identify themselves as black, and the other group of allies and other people of color.”

According to him, the groups were segregated because “we have to identify this as a black issue, and so we need to hold space for folks directly affected and also have communication around from other people of color and allies can get involved and be apart of the struggle,” said Flory.

In these separated groups, Flory instructed that the demonstrators express how each of them were feeling at that moment. The comments that people heard, however, were instructed by Flory to stay private; “What happens here stays here, what is learned here leaves here. Protect the person who you heard it from.”

Mothers spoke out, including program leader and head counselor for the Black Collegians Club, Sherri Bradford shared the reaction of her sons when they heard the verdict. “When I looked at my eight-yearold son, I saw the emotions on his face. It was fear and pure disbelief,” said Bradford.

One SMC student, Rodrigo, who declined to state his last name, pointed at the officers outside of the center and said, “They’re mocking people that are inside, saying ‘well, they’re comfortable now’.” He added, “We might not be violent, but at some point we might have to encounter the possibly that we will have to get violent with these people [the police]. And if we do, we do,” he said.

Previous Director of Outreach, Cassandra Ramirez explained in response to this student’s comment that the SMC police “are our allies as well.” She added, “We want to treat them with the exact same respect we are treating each other, and keep that conversation open.”

There were comments of disbelief that this social problem is still present in our generation. Craig Walter, a co-chair on a Facilities Planning Subcommittee, explained that the issues of Ferguson are reminiscent of civil rights marches from the 1960’s. “This something that is historical whether or not they recognize that, you have to recognize that,” said Walter.

for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com •

Mary Leipziger Corsair

Santa Monica Associated Student directors, (from left to right) Maya Kaitel, ICC President, Hasun Khan, Director of Budget Management, and A.S. President Ali Khan stand listening to Tekoah Flory speak at the SMC Ferguson protest on Tuesday. @t h e _ c o r s a i r •

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4 PhotoStory

volume 108 issue 13 • December 3, 2014 • santa monica college

Students make their way to and from class through the main quad at SMC in the rain on Tuesday.

Riders in the storm Grey skies and pouring rain announced the arrival of the winter season in Santa Monica as campus life adjusted to wet walkways and drenched clothes Alfredo Guitierrez & Jose Gutierrez Staff Writers After months of heavy drought, this weekend brought rain to California. All over metropolitan Los Angeles and the surrounding counties, the rain and strong winds continued from 8 a.m. until late in the evening. Flash flood and mudslide warnings were issued throughout the hillside cities, including the Hollywood Hills and the L.A. County Mountains.

Buildings and cars all over Santa Monica took a longawaited showers, sidewalks became deep canals, and cars plowed through mini ponds. SMC students hurriedly moved from building to building in order to stay out of the rain and get to their next classes dry.

First-year student Steven Smith, considers the rain a nuisance in comparison to times when he played in the rain as a child. “I loved the rain, but now that I’m older and I drive, I kinda hate it,” he said. Though California doesn’t

usually have a lot of annual rain, “when it does, it comes down hard,” said Smith.

There were, however also winter weather enthusiasts under the downpour. History student Kevin Arispe noted, “Yeah it’s great. The cold weather and the rain. An hour ago a car passed through a puddle and splashed water all over my friends.” In his opinion, one of the many benefits of the rain, aside from the much needed environmental relief, is its ability to make sports exponentially more enjoyable.

“Soccer is one of the better sports to play in the rain,” said Arispe.

After many months, California got its rain in season record amounts. Students got to freak out about their hair, and run to dry places in order to save their unprotected phones and laptops. The minimal winter season in Southern California has certainly begun. Let the puddle splashing begin.

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SMC Sophomore Halle Stickley uses her transp Monica on a rainy Tuesday.

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PhotoStory 5

volume 108 issue 13 • December 3, 2014 • santa monica college

Ominous clouds engage the sky over the Venice Pier on Sunday..

The rain made its way to the west on Sunday and is expected to last through Wednesday.

Mia Duncans Corsair

Mia Duncans Corsair

Carlos Espinosa Corsair

Strolling down the Santa Monica Pier on Tuesday as the much needed rain hits southern California.

Four to five inches of rain was expected in the Santa Monica area during this current storm.

An SMC student walks up the stairs in the rain in the HSS buiding on campus Tuesday.

Adam Pineda Corsair

parent umbrella as she strolls down 18th st in Santa

Tzu Chieh Lin Corsair

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& Lifestyle 6 Health

volume 108 issue 13 •December 3, 2014 • santa monica college

Do you use Rate My Professor?

Name: Jakob Cermeno

Paulina Eriksson Health & Lifestyle Editor

Name: Yassi Badri I have used it and I think it's a good thing to have. I think a lot of people do use it but some people might use it the wrong way where they just want to choose the easy classes to take. It's a helpful tool to be able to see from a student perspective how a professor teaches.

Obviously it's coming from a student standpoint and a lot of times they are blind to their own shortcomings so they can sometimes blame it on the teacher, but other time it can be a good thing because it allows them to speak freely about the teacher.

Name: Danica Sundholm

Major: Film & Television

With the ongoing enrollment, it is time for students to plan ahead and start thinking about how they can make their schedule for winter and spring 2015 to set them up for good semester. You probably want to make sure you end up making the right choices but in the jungle of classes and different teachers it's not always easy to make a decision.

Whether you use it to find the easiest class, the best professors or you just want a heads up of what to expect, Ratemyprofessor.com is there to assist you during the process. It provides you with comments about any professor for a specific class and you can also find ratings for anything from easiness, average grades, and professor hotness.

It is hard to judge if the ratings information is really accurate or just a bad review from a student who didn't actually put in the effort. SMC students explain their experiences with the website and whether they take the teacher ratings into consideration when planning out their new schedules.

I have used the website, and I've heard from a lot of people that they've used it too. I have not really based my decision of a class on the ratings, I kind of just used it to find out if the teacher I got is going to be good or not. So far, from the teachers I have looked up, the ratings and comments have been pretty accurate.

Name: Oscar Gudino Major: Nursing I think the website is a good way to know what to expect from your professor before you're actually going into the classroom and, so far, from what I've read on there, it's been pretty much like the ratings and comments ratemyprofessor.com said. So I like it.

Name: William Knight

Major: Education

Major: Film

"My geography professor asked the class 'why are you taking this class,' and a bunch of kids answered 'because you were rated high on ratemyprofessor.com,' So I know people use it to pick out their classes. I've never used it, but I'm going to for next semester. I think the website is good because if you have a bad teacher you would want everybody to know. My English teacher; I love her and I think that she is so great so I would totally rate her really good."

I have actually never used it but a girl told me that I should go on there before I pick out my classes next time. I also think it's good that you can see how much and what kind of homework the teacher gives the students so you know what to expect in the class.

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volume 108 issue 13• December 3, 2014 • santa monica college

Arts & Entertainment

7

The year’s 10 best films SMC to screen the

Alci rengifo Editor In Chief 2014 was a year dominated by big a great void in the world of film criticism. budget behemoths that again showed off "Life Itself," a beautiful biography of Ebert Hollywood's knack for investing vast sums and a record of his struggles with cancer, was of money into CGI spectacles. Some of exactly what the maestro might have wanted: it was lots of fun like "Guardians Of The Not a tribute, but an actual film. Director Galaxy" or "X-Men: Days Of Future Past," Steve James abandons gossip and Hollywood but among the big box office hits, there flash to tell the story of a great writer. "Life were also notable works of pure vision and Itself" chronicles the life a born wordsmith. storytelling. Here are 10 that stood out.

You grow to enjoy the company of the people featured here including his late rival, 1. Snowpiercer Gene Siskel and Ebert's wife Chaz. This was a biography that also celebrated the beauty The English-language debut of Korean of words and the immortal power of movies. master Joon-ho Bong, director of the cult hit "Mother," "Snowpiercer" is a grand 6. Frank filmmaking gesture in the tradition of classic, dystopian science fiction like "Metropolis," One of the year's most unique, memorable "1984" and "Children of Men." It was the comedies. There was no other movie in year's best combination of an action-driven 2014 quite like "Frank," in fact there wasn't narrative with an intelligent, imaginative a single character quite like Frank himself. concept. Gritty yet visually elegant, Bong's Michael Fassbender plays the title role as the film is also a searing political commentary. In lead singer/composer of an asylum-bound a post-ecological apocalypse world, covered band of loons, his identity is defined by a in ice, survivors find themselves on a train giant, fake head he wears. Their psychiatric divided into compartments in accordance to salvation is to compose a mish mash of wild, social class. A lower class occupant, Curtis cryptic songs with a free flowing, maniacal (Chris Evans) soon finds himself at the head sound. Like the characters, "Frank" is a fun of a rebellion making its way, inch by bloody yet charming experience with characters inch, up the train's cars towards the sections who are crazy, but you grow to love them of the lavish elite. It showed audiences new precisely because of their insanity. The songs sights, but with a visceral conjuring of not on the soundtrack were some of the year's just the future, but of the world as it is today. most heartfelt and honest, especially "I Love You All."

2. Gone Girl

"Gone Girl" was the moment when director David Fincher came close to ranking with masters of suspense like Alfred Hitchcock.

In this adaptation of the runaway bestseller, Fincher delivered a tale of love and darkness fit for our recession-smacked age. With its story of a disappeared wife and her accused husband, "Gone Girl" is a thriller driven by atmosphere, tension and focused performances.

3. Birdman What a wicked, imaginative and witty film.

"Birdman" marked an energetic, refreshing return to the screen for both actor Michael Keaton and director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Inarritu, known for his dreary dramas, here ventures into dark comedy with the joy of a filmmaker who loves his camera, crew and story. The film is a combination of psychological drama with backstage Broadway romp. Keaton is edgy yet warm as an actor attempting a comeback on the theater stage after years of playing a superhero named Birdman. It's a hilarious, yet touching and evocative film about who we are as we grow.

4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 The best film so far in the "Hunger Games" series, "Mockingay- Part 1" was the moment when the series grew up and dived into darker, more politically upfront territory.

The revolution has now begun in Penam and Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is no longer a celebrity but a foot soldier in a bloody struggle against the Capitol. A hopeful sign that blockbusters can still consist of wellcrafted cinema, this was an exciting epic with moments of eloquence and human depth. Like "Snowpiercer," but at a more mainstream level, "Mockingay- Part 1" was a powerful statement about a world undergoing bursts of unrest.

5. Life Itself When Roger Ebert died last year he left

7. The Lego Movie One of the year's most visually dazzling movies. "The Lego Movie" was a sneak attack of visual delights in the tradition of smart animated films like "Antz."Creating a lego world full of life, sound and energy, it was also a sly commentary on our consumerist culture (characters happily buy $40 coffee).

But this film is worth watching simply for its visual imagination and hilarious gags. It's genuinely funny, but also visually unforgettable.

8. Noah

works of Sam Fuller

Devin Page Staff Writer Santa Monica College film buffs brace yourselves and get ready because a major series of film screenings are coming your way.

The screenings will feature director Samuel Fuller from Friday, December 5 through 7 in the HSS building, room 165. Known in cinema for defying the norm and intentionally making “B” movies, Fuller typically directors films that included subtle but powerful messages, perceived by most viewers as ambiguous.

Professors Josh Kanin, Alan Buckley, Steven Kaufman, and previously Salvador Carrasco, all decided to come on board to co-host the feature of the film series on Fuller. They will be joining SMC’s Communication and Media Department in association with the Social Sciences Department, as well as the late filmmaker’s daughter, Samantha Fuller.

The first film of the four in the series, “The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera” will be screened on December 5 at 2:30.

The film is about the British Film Institute and features rare footage of Fuller and an interview with Tim Robbins. The film will also include commentary from Martin Scorcese, Jim Jarmusch, and Quentin Tarantino.

“Pickup on South Street” is a spy thriller focusing on the Cold War and Red Scare hysteria when a pickpocket steals a wallet and unveils top secret government information.

It will be screened on December 5 at 6 p.m.

“White Dog”, shelved until 2008 ironically, due to debates concerning possible racist undertones, the opposite of Fuller’s intentions. It was only released twenty-six years later after The Criterion “cleaned up” the content. It is a disturbing story about a trainer who attempts to retrain a dog to kill and only kill African Americans. Fuller often presented racist and sexist themes in his films as a call to action. The film will be screened

on December 6 at 6 p.m.

The “Big Red One”, to be screened on December 7 at 6 p.m., honors America’s veterans in memory of Pearl Harbor by recollecting Fuller’s own experiences in the U.S. Army infantry.

Controversial, and often times noncommercial, Fuller directed these films because he believed in the messages behind them.

Not only a director, Fuller is a screenwriter, director, social activist, and soldier in World War II. He dealt with a lot of race relations, political and socioeconomic issues of his time. “His work was controversial but remains relevant to today’s issues (think Ferguson, Missouri),” said Buckley. Before becoming a director, he was a news reporter and soldier, which Buckley believes reflects in his work. “I hope students will learn how theatrical films can inform them about these issues and that they will reflect on the problems of race, poverty, injustice, and war in their own times.”

Kanin finds Fuller’s social conscience noteworthy and honorable in the way he exposes corruption and injustice. “His moves and their subjects are prescient in their own way and they are just as relevant today as when they were released.” The works spanned through time, probing new discussion topics to different audiences.

Fuller has been regarded by some in the film community as a maverick of sorts.

Kaufman believes he is a philosopher; “One who focuses on the flickering image, and not the classroom, to enable others to think more critically,” he said.

You can see in his movies that he speaks through his passions and writes about important issues not only relevant to him but to the rest of the world. Kaufman sees Fuller as both an artist and philosopher who sought to reveal the complexities of the universe, recognizing the presence of evil and the value of goodness.

After the mass success of "Black Swan," director Darren Aronofsky went large scale with "Noah," his ecological interpretation of the Biblical tale. In his hands it was turned into a powerful fable for our times. Like the writings of thinkers like Walter Benjamin, Aronofsky uses religious iconography to instead make a secular comment on themes such as war, the environment and the cruelty of an industrialized era. Yes, there's a big storm, but in the subtext, there's poetry.

9. Interstellar Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" marked the moment this highly popular director decided to go for grandeur instead of brain teasers, symphonic sounds instead of just cold, electronic drones. Done with Batman, Nolan here goes into space to tell a story of mankind seeking a new home while facing the threats of space travel and the torture of relativity. Visually the film is an opus of eloquent special effects, Nolan wants us to gaze on amazing vistas the way Kubrick did in "2001: A Space Odyssey." Despite its flaws, the film stood out among its less bold peers.

10. Magic In The Moonlight Woody Allen makes them like clockwork and yet there's something to be said about a comedy like "Magic In The Moonlight," which tells a classic romantic yarn with the kind of wit and sly rib-nudging you won't get in garbage like "The Best Of Me."

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8 Sports

volume 108 issue 13 • December 3, 2014 • santa monica college

Meet the coach: Steven Contarsy How many years have you been coaching at SMC? This is the middle of my 16th year here at SMC. I’m in the middle of my 47th year of coaching swimming and sports.

How would you describe your time here at SMC? I really feel [that] I’m fortunate to be here at Santa Monica College. I’ve had a tremendous experience here getting to know the SMC community. It was actually quite serendipity how I found out about the job in the first place and that I’d be sitting here and saying that I’m basically two and a half years away from completing my fiftieth year of coaching is really a surreal experience.

What do you look for in an athlete?

Brenda Cruz Corsair

Santa Monica swim team coach Steven Contarsy coaches the team during an afternoon practice in the campus pool. Contarsy has spent 16 years training and competing with SMC’s best swimming talent.

Coach Steven Contarsy leads the Santa Monica College swim team. In this interview he sits down with The Corsair to discuss his career, highlights and what to expect come spring semester as new competitions and opportunities for glory arise.

Brenda Cruz Staff Writer

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Our workouts go approximately 2 hours.

The total distance will vary somewhere between 5,000 and 8000 yards in that time frame, practice is always pretty much

Our international swimmers have a wide range, but most of them come here because they were 1) they contacted me directly 2) they are here for the program they understand the program, they understand the challenges of the program, they understand the expectations of the program and 3) coming from their country most of our international athletes are usually national caliber athletes in their respective country.

How do you bring community attention to the program?

I can say we’ve been successful throughout my career here at SMC. We’ve finished as high as fourth at the state championships and on average we’re usually a top ten team at the state.

I guarantee you on campus there is another 60, or 70, or maybe 100 men and women on the campus who all have high level or collegiate level high school level swimming and water polo experience and won’t come out for the team.

Part of that is that they want to say they are focusing on academics. It has been proven time and again that the those who have to do both, are usually successful.

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What is a typical day at practice?

What effect do your international swimmers have on the SMC swim team?

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Well here at the collegiate level I’m looking for fundamentals, technique, speed is obviously a priority because we are trying to build a championship swim team.

Does a swimmer in our case have fundamentals in terms of being able to perform the strokes. In water polo, have a basic understanding of the game of water polo basic fundamentals of egg beating, passing, shooting, movement, court awareness.

structured the same way. Start off with a nice moderate warm-up about 1,500 yards. We’ll have a main set usually the main set is any distance between 50 yards and 500 yards and it’ll be somewhere in the 3,000 to 3,500 yard range.

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