CORSAIR
volume 108 issue 14 • december 10, 2014 • santa monica college
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touring the world through dance
global motion brings the rhythms of the world to the broad stage PG. 6
Holiday run kicks off the season Pg. 3
Operatastic brings the classics to The Broad Pg. 9
SMC students share the joy of reading Pg.10
Sports misuse of Native American history Pg. 12
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2 contents
volume 108 issue 14 •December 10, 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 ···················Designer 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.
Brandon Barsugli Corsair
Santa Monica College forward Derrien King jumps for a lay up against the Barstow College Vikings in the Corsairs 101-74 victory over the Vikings in the first game of the Santa Monica College tournament, Saturday. The Corsairs won both of their tournament games, defeating Rio Hondo 71-51 on Sunday. The blue and white are 4-4 overall. Santa Monica College dance students Emmitt Rivers (left) and Maritza Olmos (right) performed a traditional Mexican dance at the biannual Global Motion World Dance event on Saturday night at SMC’s Broad Stage.
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
Adam Pineda Corsair
Letter From the Editor Alci rengifo Editor In Chief
It is fitting that in the Chinese calendar, 2014 was the Year of the Horse. The year charged by with swift speed and is leaving much unsettled ground in its wake. For our last issue of the semester we look at events heralding the coming holidays, reflect on what transpired over the year and look ahead to the next one. At The Corsair it was an eventful time of change as new editors took the helm. Many of us, including myself, will be back in the winter online and in the spring in print, with a brand new batch of writers as well as staff members who have transcended to editorial positions. Every week our staff worked long hours, sometimes into the early morning, preparing content, double checking information and selecting photographs. We also welcome those who want to get involved, be it through writing, graphic design, photography, video editing etc. Now the year is closing with great tensions and social conflict across the United States as the issue of police brutality and race relations resurface, igniting protests and wide discussion. In many ways 2014 will define much of how the rest of this decade develops. In the Opinion section I attempt to draw a broader picture of how the year’s events both globally and nationally will frame a world speeding either towards catastrophe or a greater, albeit forced, understanding of ourselves. In the United States at least, we are being forced to confront the ghosts of history but also the socioeconomic realities of a post-recession nation. The issues raised by Ferguson, as well as the resulting national protests, go beyond race. They are issues about poverty, social identity and the relationship between the citizen and the state. It is as if every headline reflected the words of the German-Jewish writer and critic Walter Benjamin, who invented the “Angel
of History” figure while observing a painting by Paul Klee depicting a strange, winged creature. The angel is a witness to a world in constant modes of destruction, but there is still the glimmer of hope that with every tragedy, mankind can also learn and advance. Benjamin wrote, “But a storm is blowing from Paradise; it has got caught in his wings with such violence that the angel can no longer close them. The storm irresistibly propels him into the future to which his back is turned, while the pile of debris before him grows skyward. This storm is what we call progress.” It will be up to us as a society to either learn and grow from the events of the last few months, or regress into greater tribalism and isolation from ourselves. And while the world changed, our campus continued to progress with its own political intrigues and curious incidents which we tried to cover and bring to you with full accuracy. In this issue for example, our News section takes a look at the recent, somewhat bafoonish game of telephone that resulted in the cancellation of December club activities on campus. Now that we enter a season of giving for those who observe the holidays, I would like to say that we will continue to give to our readers the best content and reporting we can provide. The opportunity for us to use the power of words, images and print to tell stories and chronicle the times is a great gift and responsibility. In other countries, simply wielding this gift can be dangerous. Next semester we will continue to do our job and hopefully inspire you, the reader, to pick up The Corsair and voice your opinion as well. We welcome your feedback and hope to receive more insights from you, the reader, on campus life. We will see you in the spring. Happy holidays and best of luck on finals from The Corsair staff!
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Sudoku
by Brenda Cruz
Answers are posted at: www.thecorsaironline.com
Correction: In the artcile titled "Clubs told to cease activities in December," published November 26, the Corsair incorrectly named SMC President Chui L. Tsang as the creator of a mandate that required all clubs to cease activities after December 1. This is incorrect. The president did not make this mandate. This is merely a recommendation from the Student Life office to keep students focussed on studying for finals and not be distracted by major activities on-campus. In the article titled “ SMC rallies for justice for Michael Brown,” published December 3, The Corsair incorrectly stated that Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson was, “acquitted by a grand jury.” This is incorrect. The grand jury did not indict officer Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, he was therefore not acquitted. @t h e _ c o r s a i r •
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news 3
volume 108 issue 14• December 10, 2014 • santa monica college
Lost in translation: the club mandate that never was Rachel Gianuario Managing Editor
Josue Martinez Corsair
Firefighters put out the fire that engulfed the Da Vinci apartment complex, which was still under construction in the 900 block of Fremont Avenue in downtown Los Angeles on Monday morning. Police are investigating the cause of the blaze.
37th Annual Westside Holiday Run Devin Page Staff Writer Dressed in holiday-themed costumes, the Westside communities gathered for the 37th annual Santa Monica-Venice Christmas run this Saturday. Various families and groups participated in the various events held early that morning, including a 5K and 10K run, as well as and holiday costume contest. Kids and adults alike ran from Ocean Front Walk to Abbot Kinney Blvd. and back in festive costumes like reindeers, elves, Santa Claus, and the Who’s of Whoville, to name a few. Christmas music classics such as Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” played in the background, as contestants ran, danced (sometimes simultaneously) and prepared
for their races. Participants ran for various reasons, such as health, fun, or tradition. Serious athletes, such as the second place winner of the 10K run, Yari Fontebasso, used the short run as a way to train for upcoming Los Angeles marathons. “It’s a nice race to get some miles on your legs,” said Fontebasso. Other serious runners like Lizet Garcia, used the run as a training session for triathlons, though she was encouraged by her running partner, Marc Stcherbina to simply have fun. “I’m Santa Claus,” said Stcherbina,”And she’s the mistress elf,” he gestured to Garcia. “Don’t tell Mrs. Claus,” he joked. Other participants, including Andrea Dickherber and her running team, were there to enjoy the costume contest as they
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sported Dr. Seuss’s Whoville characters. “I don’t really care about my time since I’m slow,” Dickherber said. The winners of the costume contest included runners dressed as a Hanukkah menorah, Elfis (an Elvis elf ), and an ugly Christmas sweater. Vanessa Harrer and her team dressed as snow angels and snowmen, despite the sunny morning. “It’s not really winter weather, but this is a good way to bring in the holiday spirit,” Harrer said. “Everyone one [is] in Santa hats and the Christmas spirit is all around, so I don’t really feel like we’re missing out since we don’t have snow,” Harrer said. The holiday run ended with a sense of Christmas cheer and charity brought to the shores of the bay city. @t h e _ c o r s a i r •
This semester, Santa Monica College clubs and Associated Students were under the impression they have been mandated by President Chui L. Tsang to cease all activities after December 1. Multiple clubs on campus voiced their frustration with this decision, including the Strategic Gaming Club (SGC), GAX club, and the Student Veterans Association (SVA). President of the Chess Club Douglas Perez said that for him, the decision meant not being able to participate in chess competitions with other schools. SVA club president Jennifer Garcia felt the cut-off was “quite inconvenient”, especially since her club didn’t receive notice of the decision. However, Vice President of Student Affairs, Mike Tuitasi explained, “Dr. Tsang did not mandate [any] activities for the month of December,” and added, “we haven’t turned down activities.” In an email sent by Inter-Club Council Chair Maya Kaitel last week, she stated, “I was incorrect in my phrasing to call the December 1st cutoff a mandate. It would more appropriately be a recommendation that the Student Life Office has made the decision to uphold.” This decision, Tuitasi said is more like a recommendation meant to encourage students to focus on their finals during crucial times in the semester. “We’ve had numerous discussions in the area of Student Affairs about student success. ...We are very conscientious of study-time during finals week and are mindful of activities that may be noisy or disruptive,” said Tuitasi. Associate Dean of Student Life Sonali Bridges said that when this decision was announced to A.S. directors, she did not receive opposition. “When I originally spoke with directors about this, no one came to me with complaints,” she said. How ICC members, student club leaders and A.S. directors perceived this recommendation as a presidential mandate is still unclear to advisors. “I have no idea how the message got distorted,” said Bridges. “The only thing that we changed from last year is the calendar,” she said. All deadlines for activities and final proposals were cut short by two weeks. Clubs were notified of this change in an A.S. finance meeting in the beginning of the semester, according to Student Advisor Benny Blaydes. Some clubs suffered from the lack of time, however. SGC President Jaden Ledkins commented that the new deadline “has made the semester feel extremely time crunched.” Many clubs expressed this feeling, including the SMC Opera club, which had to cut club activities, and move their final events. Olga Belikova, president of the Global Medical Training club, expressed similar frustrations. “We were never informed of this cutoff and have had to deal with the last week organizing and cramming information for students,” she said. For her, this was disappointing since her specific club chapter usually does workshops and had to cancel everything. “Going forward,” said Blaydes, “we need to be more clear about what the clubs can do off campus and on campus around finals time.”
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4 Opinion
volume 108 issue 14 •December 10, 2014 • santa monica college
2014: A year of fury and warning from the east
Rachel Gianuario Corsair
Alci rengifo Editor In Chief The global conflicts of 2014 will reverberate for years to come. It is a year of politics, war and race stirring together and, in some cases, erupting in a furious crescendo. From shattered borders of the Middle East and in the streets of the 'land of the free', these dark clouds gathering on the horizon are a sign of what is to come. The East was the region that defined the year, and it will determine much of how the decade will develop. From the wars engulfing the Arab world to the growing unrest in China, 2014 was the year the East set the course for global politics and new nightmares to come. Already the year began with rumors of war as Ukraine experienced a turbulent revolution that resulted in a new, pro-West regime taking power and Russia responding by annexing the territory of Crimea. Once again, Russia became the ultimate bad guy from the East in American eyes with popular perception casting Russian Czar, ahem, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as a villain out of a James Bond film. However the White House seemed to resemble more and more the characters out of Stanley Kubrick's classic dark comedy about near nuclear apocalypse, "Dr. Strangelove." Weak sanctions were imposed on Moscow and world cop NATO went so far as to state they're in for war if Russia pulls any assault on any members of the bloc. While President Obama has proven to be trigger
shy with Putin, he has set the stage for war by committing the U.S. to intervene in any conflict between NATO members or clients and Russia. In March the White House assured NATO members that the U.S. would abide by Article Five of the NATO charter, which essentially commits the U.S. to war if Russia violates any of the alliance members' territories. All it will take is one wrong move, one dumb act by one side or the other. It is fitting that 2014 marked the 100th anniversary of World War I since once again, major world powers are making moves on the global chessboard that could easily lead to a major conflagration. The summer became a horrifying, bloody opera as the Middle East saw horrifying conflict on two fronts: Syria and Gaza. In Syria and Iraq the border between both nations was erased by the sudden, violent rise of the Islamic State or ISIS, a ferocious, messianic rebel army of fundamentalist Jihadis determined to establish an extremist order in the Levant. The Syrian revolution against the regime of Bashar al-Assad has now deformed into a terrifying, sectarian war with regional implications. Already Turkey is feeling the enclosing fires as floods of Syrian refugees stream into its borders as ISIS wages battle to take over the neighboring Kurdish territories. The great irony is that the rise of ISIS exposed the futility of U.S. hostility towards Iran. Iran, the region's major Shia power, will not allow an extremist Sunni group to dominate Iraq and Syria (two nations with
governments allied with Tehran). Instead of finally recognizing Iran's independence and allying with them in the fight against ISIS. The U.S. is still demanding Iran make deep concessions in its nuclear development program, despite the lack of evidence it is making any kind of nuclear weapon. An impressively backwards move. Instead, Obama decided to push a vague foreign policy which involves bombing raids across Syria and Iraq, and sending troops back into the Middle East. Predictably, the bombings have only fired ISIS to execute more U.S. captives and, surprisingly, helped them recruit followers from even Europe, who are angry about the renewed U.S. presence in Iraq. If the Obama White House insists on pretending it can control the Middle East like a traditional, imperialist power, it will be met by the realities of a region still in postrevolutionary turmoil that is not seeking the democratic advice from the west. There's also the case of Israel. From mid-July to early August, the rightwing regime of Benjamin Netanyahu unleashed an incinerating war against the besieged Gaza strip. It was a classic eye for an eye conflict involving Hamas rockets versus Israel's air power, and a ground invasion that leveled entire city blocks with flashes of guerrilla war. 3,000 Palestinian deaths later, it is obvious more than ever that the IsraelPalestine conflict, always seen as hopeless, is now at the edge of a more disturbing, explosive abyss.
Since the shaky ceasefire established in August, the extreme right-wing parties led by fanatics like Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman, have been instigating a more religious-tinged tone to the conflict. With more liberal-minded parties bolting, the Israeli government has now dissolved and elections will be held in March to form a new coalition. If the new Israeli government elected next year keeps Netanyahu in power with a coalition formed by purely radical, rightwing parties, then any hopes for peace will become even dimmer. Before the current dissolution of the government a new law was already being proposed declaring Israel a "Jewish State" with the word "equality" to be erased from its charter as reported by Israeli writers like Uri Avnery. Driven by nationalist daydreams, an even more right-wing Israeli government could evolve into a Prussia of the Middle East. Israel has a number of apparent choices: End the occupation of the West Bank and the siege of Gaza, allow the Palestinians to form a state, or march towards a regional war, or other catastrophe. While the Palestinians feature armed, radical parties such as Hamas, the continued extension of the conflict only fuels the resentment and violence that allows such parties to function. Amid all this, the White House, left in official lame duck status by the Republican midterm sweep of Congress, has stepped back from any peace proposals until after the next Israeli elections. Even in that distant but rising Middle Kingdom, China, a small but determined prairie fire broke out in Hong Kong this fall when student protesters initiated an occupy movement demanding democratic freedoms for the territory. The Chinese state predictably responded with the use of police forces, unleashing tactics and attacks against the encampments which remain there to this day. China poses an interesting question for the future: Can a state survive as a thriving capitalist power with an authoritarian, one party government? As the protests continue, the contradictions of what is considered to be the world's rising super power become more apparent. Despite the luxuries capitalism offers, true democracy remains a demand of the masses. To say the entire year was dreary of course ignores positive developments that did indeed take place. But the course charted by the larger events described above should be our focus, because they will shape 2015 and beyond. When the great Chinese uprisings of the late 19th century erupted, Karl Marx warned European observers that the real question was how the upheaval would affect Europe. This kind of sober observation is just as crucial today, as the tremors of the East will no doubt have a great impact here at home.
Juan Lopez & Rachel Gianuario Corsair
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Opinion 5
volume 108 issue 14• December 10, 2014 • santa monica college
How can anything change after Ferguson? Jasmine B. Heard Staff Writer As the college students and young adults who are supposed to be leading the way to our future, we can't possibly even begin to reform laws when we are all so busy battling each others' likes on Instagram and trying to afford the rising cost of a decent education. I know I am not the only one who feels like there is something halting our potential movements. We are distracted. It is so simple to access anything by the click of a button, that marching together as a community, even a state, would seem like an alien idea. It would be too difficult and almost impossible with everyone pulling out their phones to capture themselves “saving the day”. The age of hope is diminished by the lack of continuous psychical unity. Students do not want to waste money spent on classes by skipping out and heading to a revolutionary meeting. Our futures are heavily directed by the college system and the consequential job market we aim to get into after graduation. They say school comes first, therefore all of the controversial meetings are usually held in limited boxes of time between classes where we can speak our minds. For example, the Michael Brown peaceful protest ended up inside the AS building this past week. If we can’t handle a few raindrops how can we, the youth, expect to convert peoples' thinking? And we can talk about how wrong it was for every officer to shoot a young person down, but that is merely chitchat. Police brutality isn’t going to change until we do.
Action is what we need. We need a movement that is not bounded by classroom schedules and work, or Black Friday and bills. But of course we cannot, in 2014, abandon all of our necessities for living, this is not the 60's. We are tolerating deaths so that we can continue on with our every day monotony, prepping ourselves for the next year and the next. We speak of the same repetitive issues, and that’s why they keep happening. Once an epidemic becomes so common that the total population becomes accustomed to it, like homelessness and teen pregnancy, it becomes the new norm. But this ‘norm’ is not new at all; it’s been in America for centuries. Perhaps history is the biggest obstacle to finding a proper, enduring solution. After the word “freedom” is tossed around they wonder what else we could possibly want. Equality? Yes, but justice? That’s for the people in positions of power to determine. How many more Trayvon Martins and Michael Browns will we watch become buried with injustice? From the chokehold of New York’s Eric Garner to LAPD’s double teamed Ezell Ford. Both are obvious attempts to abolish a group of people. It only took one Rosa Parks to start a bus boycott and ultimately end the Jim Crow laws by forcing bus drivers out of business. Maybe if the beatings get worse, the killings aren’t all predominately of color, and not all the oppressors are white, the attention of lawmakers who stand far above the poverty line can then be grasped.
I pose these questions to all of you who labor in the 'land of the free’, who work part-time with no health care, who can hardly afford homes, and who take care of family that is far away. Change has to stem from somewhere that will pressure the authority to give in. Talks and walks aren’t cutting it; they hear us but they’re not listening. They see us but, they don’t care. We have to make them care. And if that means sacrificing our personal lives and social ideals for 'adulthood' then so be it. College students used to be powerful and innovative, we had voices with ideas, and we expected nothing less than bright futures. Those all apply to us now, but they lie dormant under our skulls and in our veins, and as soon as the rage is built up it is vanished along with the rest of unresolved
Rachel Gianuario Corsair
challenges. I can choose how I want to live, and that is not being afraid of the people who are to serve us by blatantly handing out death certificates.
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6 PhotoStory
volume 108 issue 14 • December 10, 2014 • santa monica college
SMC Dance Student Maisha Morris (center), embodies a spirit as a part of a West African Dance. The elaborate dress symbolizes a spirit large enough to overcome all bad spirits, spreading peace and security throughout the world. The “Global Motion World Dance” event took place at SMC’s Broad Stage on Saturday December 6, 2014.
Dancing Across The Wo Devin Page & Jose Guitierrez Staff Writers
Kardale Holland (right) performs the tango piece “Santa Maria” with her dance partner Oscar Urquilla (left) at the Global Motion World Dance event at SMC’s Broad Stage, on Saturday night.
There was absolutely no time to talk. Dancers were running in and out of rooms, changing into different outfits constantly, essentially becoming new characters every few minutes. Backstage at Global Motion Dance Company’s “Dance in American Culture” performance, spirits were high and performers were hustling to get ready. At the Broad Stage on Saturday, Global Motion Dance Company performed yet another spectacular dance show featuring current and former Santa Monica College students. But Global Motion isn’t just a dance performance. For a lot of people, including dancer Lance Lao, it means so much more than doing pirouettes and turns that you would usually see in modern or contemporary dance. “Global Motion stands for unity and communication
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volume 108 issue 14 • December 10, 2014 • santa monica college
PhotoStory 7
SMC Student Dancer Janessa Serate (left) received make-up services from SMC Cosmetology student “Hajji”. Serate performed in five out of eight performances at the “Global Motion World Dance” event which took place at SMC’s Broad Stage on Saturday December 6, 2014.
SMC Ballet Student Marsha Krasnoff ties the ribbons of her pointe shoes before her breathtaking performance of “Pas de Deux” or “Step of Two”, as a part of the biannual “Global Motion Wolrd Dance” event at SMC’s Braod Stage. The event took place on December 6, 2014.
orld with people,” said Lao. “We combine a lot of different dances, dancers from different cultural backgrounds.” Performing in front of a large audience can be challenging, but sometimes the biggest obstacle can be yourself. This fact is especially true for Topher Smith, whose most difficult hurdle to get over was “getting out of my head and really being in the moment for the dance,” he said. Once they’re off the stage, though, dancers hurry into to the make-up room where SMC cosmetology students rush to prepare them for their next piece. For dancer Cruz Guzman, the hectic nature of being backstage feels natural. “I love how everything is so fast-paced. I always have to be active; I can’t just be sitting down,” said Guzman. (Motion Pg. 8)
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SMC Dance instructor Angela Jordan waits backstage before students perform her choreographed piece, “West African Samba”last number of the “Global Motion World Dance” performance which took place at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica on Saturday.
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8
Arts & Entertainment
volume 108 issue 14 •December 10, 2014 • santa monica college
Two thumbs down: The top 10 worst films of 2014 began and ended in 2002. Oh Sam Raimi, the geeks of the Marvel world are calling to your aid. Please leave the world of television, and save the poor insect you created.
4. The Best of Me
Courtesy of IFC Films
Ellar Coltrane stars as Mason Evans Jr. in Richard Linkalter’s “Boyhood,” the years worst film according to Rachel Gianuario. Rachel Gianuario Managing Editor
1. Boyhood At the top of the list is Richard Linklater's critically acclaimed 3 hour catastrophic waste of time about a sedated real-life Holden Caulfield. Writers are praising it as an intimate narrative about the inquiry of the human condition. Linklater produced a film about a boy, who says nothing, does nothing, goes nowhere. And yes, he went on a foreign film trip by making the film be about the monotony of life and the milestones of growing up. For the most part, this consisted of a series of horrendously uncomfortable coming of age moments that no one ever wanted to reexperience again. And as their "hero" grew older, every year the project had to meet back up to film the next scene, and more than anything, it lost sight of what it was trying to say. It's truly a shame that Linklater swayed so far from his simple, elegant, and brief sagas beginning with "Before Sunrise" that have more meaning in the first 5 minutes than "Boyhood" has in the entire trailer. Don't worry, the academy wouldn't dare let their new golden boy walk out of the Dolby Theatre without at least one golden trophy in hand, most likely for screenplay. Vomit.
2. The Rover If you recall, far back into the depths of the mid-1990s, Leonardo DiCaprio embarked on a very very difficult journey as a mentally retarded boy in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape". And I have to say, that performance was without a doubt the best of his career. It looks as though the beloved sparkly vampire, Robert Pattinson, is attempting a similar feat in "The Rover". For reasons only Robert Downey Jr. can articulate, it didn't work in his favor. In this post-apocalyptic Australia created by director David Michôd, the twitching Pattinson teams up with Guy Pearce, a man who will stop at nothing to retrieve his stolen car. And that's pretty much it. If you walk out of the theater and feel as though you are being laughed at by pick-pocketers, you're not going to be alone.
3. The Amazing Spiderman-2 If there was even a shred of dignity or structure left over from the first "Amazing Spiderman", it was entirely demolished by this pathetic piece of film that Marvel is embarrassed to be associated with even by contract. Oh how the mighty king of all that is hipster, the director of "500 Days of Summer", Marc Webb, has plummeted into the earth. This is a desperate attempts from Sony, to keep the money for the Marvel comic in its ever panicky pocket, resulting in this slue of horrendous remakes of what should have
Welcome to another episode of Nicholas Sparks jerking off hazardous waste to the likeness of "The Notebook" upon the innocent females of this already so superficial world. This time, a Rachel McAdams clone meets a boy below her status, they have fling in an old truck, and then they separate for pretty weak reasons. And so on and so forth. The fact that no one has assassinated this vindictive ghoul is evidence of our own "Patty Hearst" syndrome. And James Marsden, even in action-oriented "X-Men" films, you will never be anything more than a gooey rom-com hunk following in the footsteps of Richard Gere. May God have mercy on your soul.
make sense as it goes along. Coming from a director who is definitely known to hit and miss hard, the plot of "Winter's Tale" will shock you by how much it doesn't make sense.
7. Jersey Boys
Clint Eastwood has this uncanny ability to direct movies that I can truly only bring myself to watch once every decade. For the most part, his films are plagued with soul-crushing plots, tinted in gray settings, teaching you that life will truly never turn out in your favor. The slow melodious piano themes that accompany every film pound out notes so slowly that you're sure you will die once the song ends. And, though "Jersey Boys" is based on probably one of the most upbeat musical groups of the 1960's, the scene with the most attention to detail is one in a cemetery. Is this total hopelessness for happiness in life something that has developed in old age? Or have you always been this way?
5. A Million Ways to Die in the West
8. Transcendence
Seth, "Ted" was actually pretty funny, you really should have stopped there and just made this movie an episode on "Family Guy.” I fell in love when you performed "We Saw Your Boobs" on live television at the 2013 Oscars; it was crude, entirely uncalled for, but so unbelievably hilarious when it looked like Naomi Watts was going to knife you onstage. That's what you should be doing; practical jokes, not full fledged movies. "A Million Ways to Die" really made me feel like I was dying a million ways. Please, stick to your short form cartoons, they're much more beloved and remembered.
Film after film, Depp has managed to play unpopular characters tank at the boxoffice, and this Frankenstein, I-Robot inspired hero (?) in "Transcendence" isn't an exception. Wally Pfister directed this ineptly plotted sci-fi thriller, touching on growing fears of artificial intelligence taking over humanity, an unfortunate follow-up to his cinematography efforts in "Inception". For a directorial debut, it was a failure, one that couldn't be salvaged by the mismatched list of celebrities on the bill, including Depp, Morgan Freeman, Paul Bettany, and Kate Mara.
6. The Winter's Tale I have a theory that Colin Farrell's hairstyle determines the fate of the his film. Which is unfortunate because his hair in Akiva Goldsman's "Winter's Tale" is equivalent to the entirely creepy and greasy Jake Gyllenhal from "Nightcrawler". In other words, it truly was a disaster. The plot is simple; a man raised by a supernatural demon gangster with an angel horse sidekick attempts to love a woman who is dying of consumption, later walks the earth for a century and ends up with someone else. Don't worry, it doesn't
9. The Other Woman In all respects, this movie is a complete remake of the 2006 pseudo girl power movie, "John Tucker Must Die", minus the clumsy young Brittany Snow and add a handful of privileged, middle-aged (ish) women. The plot is almost exactly the same, three women figure out that they're sleeping with the same man and try to turn the tables on him. Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, and Kate Upton delivered truly tragic acting performances.
10. If I Stay She should have died.
SMC students become global lords of the dance (Motion continued from Pg. 7) The dance students weren’t the only ones working hard backstage. Jill Asavi, Cosmetology Professor said, “We bring our students to practice and they get their hours. It’s beautiful, they love it, they learn how to work behind the scenes. It’s very challenging.” Each dancer required makeup two to three times during the performance, so the hair and makeup team definitely had their work cut out for them. Transforming into different parts of themselves, dancers incorporated their past into their movements. For dancer Oscar Urquilla, finding a way to infuse his background as a military veteran was vital to learning choreography. Previously deployed to Somalia and Syria, Urquilla taught himself to incorporate strength training into lifting other dancers. “It’s a good thing that I was in the military, they make you do a lot of buddy carries where you have to carry your buddies, which helps with the lifts here,” said Urquilla. The performance included dances from different cultures, varying from Latin American-influenced salsa dancing, to the traditional Korean style, Taepyeongmu, which is a dance of peace.
SMC “Global Motion” Director Raquel Ramirez (left), assists SMC Dancer Maritza Olmos (right) with the wrapping of her belt to complete an authentic Mexican costume at the “Global Motion World Dance” event on Saturday
This year’s theme was “Peace and Security,” which was translated through the upbeat portrayal of traditional cultural dances. Urquilla explained that the salsa piece he danced in, for example, “Is all about living the life that you want; a good, happy life,” he said. The piece was aptly titled Vivir Mi Vida, or, live your life. The theme presented itself most clearly in the closing piece entitled “Lamba” about West Africa, choreographed by
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Angela Jordan. The piece started off with a traditional portrayal of West African dance, until it was interrupted by four soldiers who attacked the women and their newborns. The spirit of peace, played by Maisha Morris, appeared on stage as her dress consumed all of the chaos unfolding around her. She converted the soldiers and turned everything into a sense of community where they all joined in song and dance. It was hard for dancers to stay in character @t h e _ c o r s a i r •
for this piece, particularly for Andrew Chsi who performed as one of the soldiers. “It’s so hard because we’re so far removed from that. We’re not terrorists kidnapping, murdering, killing,” said Chsi. “They have a completely different life and worldview than we do. We grew up in a safe place, so it’s hard.” The performances touched various controversial and provocative subjects. For dancer Emmitt Rivers, the West African piece is emotionally draining, as it brings light to what’s happening in Nigeria. “The girls are being taken from their homes, killed, raped, things like that,” said Rivers. In the end, Global Motion aimed to bring people together through dancing and self expression, both cross culturally and simply within the theater. For dancer Isabella Pruna, this was a moving production. “A lot of the pieces are emotional experiences so you can get lost in the dancing,” she said. “It’s a little escape for us and everyone.” The show concluded with the cast bowing out to Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk”, which audience members dance in the aisles. Those behind the scenes, including choreographers and dance professors, also showed off their moves, dancing to the beat of their own drum. The curtains closed with everyone hand in hand.
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volume 108 issue 14• December 10, 2014 • santa monica college
Arts & Entertainment
9
The music of the night: Operatastic shines
Kira Vandenbrande Corsair
Singer Jean Ly prepares backstage for Santa Monica College’s oprea program showcase, Operatastic, at the Broad Stage on Saturday. The show was a collection of pieces from several classic composers. solo performance of "L'Elisir d'Amore" by Donizetti. "I've done a lot of research and translated the words from Italian, it's easier to get into the music once I know what the words mean," he explained. The first piano notes resounded over the speakers. In the wings of the stage, Alci rengifo silhouettes waited to appear before the Editor In Chief audience. The stage design was truly operatic as colors, images, and outlines immersed a On Friday night, stage manager Cinderella wide canvas, adding a cinematic texture to Cortas walked between two dressing rooms the performances. in the cavernous underground of The Broad One of the first notable performances was an Stage. "Five minutes!" she shouted with exuberant version of "Papageno/Papageno" drill sergeant precision. Cortas, in a black from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Die dress proper for a fashionable dinner, was Zauberflote," performed by David Sanders alerting male and female cast members that and Yjiao Tian. The two played, in elegant it was almost time to initiate "Operatastic," dress, the roles of Papageno, the birdman, a showcase of SMC's best vocal talent and Papagena, his beloved. The genius of interpreting the words of Mozart and Mozart's composition is the way the words Wagner, among others. are sung exactly how someone would expect Thirteen pieces ranging from the joyful two birds to sing opera. The vocal work was to the utterly tragic no doubt exhausting were performed and, however, the pair backstage the mood pulled it off with a was a combination “I just let the music take joyful power that had of discipline and the audience wildly jolly camaraderie. In over. It’s full of drama and applauding. the dressing rooms, The Sanders students from sex and desire and life and and Tian glided SMC's Cosmetology backstage, wide smiles death,” department fixed all around, hugging performers' hair and celebrating as Elizabeth Haefner and makeup. their peers cheered Sudden, wandering them on over the notes from an aria impressive delivery. would sound in "This is just amazing" the air as performers practiced their pieces exclaimed Tian, barely capable of hiding her while getting dressed or applying eye liner. glee. Artistic Director and SMC instructor Next came a great moment of romantic Janelle DeStefano walked around, carefully tragedy during a selection from "Les observing every detail as the curtain's Pecheurs de Perles." SMC students Nan Cui opening moved closer. and Orson Van Gay played the star-crossed Katherine Davis, an SMC theater arts lovers Leila and Nadir. Cui was fashioned in student, was ebullient as she watched a long, red veil to play the role of a priestess of comrades prepared to join her onstage Brahma hiding her lover Nadir from temple for the opening number, a rousing crowd authorities. From the wings, DeStefano and performance of Act II from "Les Contes others in the cast watched Cui from the d'Hoffman" by Jacques Offenbach. "I hope wings as she gazed at the audience with eyes that we get excited so we get the audience expressing a tempest. excited with our energy," she said. Ben Plache, not a student but local artist As Cortas countinued issuing her clarion who enjoys performing with the SMC opera call for showtime's imminent beginning, program, did vocal exercises near the stage student performer Jafet Bucaram discussed as he prepared to bring Germanic essence the preparation that went into his upcoming to a scene from Richard Wagner's dark, epic
The best of SMC’s vocal talent gathered for a night of classic melodies and epic drama on the Broad Stage
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"Lohengrin." "Opera simply reflects life, set from a different period and different stories," said Plache. "It really appeals to all of us. Opera is about stepping into an alternate reality and seeing life from another perspective," he added. The performance of "Lohengrin" was pure
Nordic mythology made real as vocalist Elizabeth Haefner, like a red-haired Valkyrie, sang from set pieces evoking stones as Plache emerged as the Grail Knight Lohengrin. They embraced in a climactic finale that was pure drama. After the performance, as a classmate sang a tenor note down the hall, Haefner said, "I just let the music take over." She added that it's a labor of love to perform opera, especially since"it's full of drama and sex and desire and life and death." Even SMC cosmetology student Molina Castillo, helping backstage with hair and makeup, could not help being taken in by the atmosphere. "I love it. I love how they have to change parts and we have to work with their outfits and make it all come together," she said. The grand finale was a selection from Act 1 of the classic Italian opera "Cavalleria Rusticana," with a large cast in late 18th Century Italian costumes performing moments of comedy, tragedy and celebration. Thunderous applause filled the Broad as the audience signaled its approval. The cast then proceeded to the Broad lobbey, where they were met by friends and family enthsuastically showering praise on their magnificent set of performances. For the cast members it was an evening of high drama but also personal accomplishment. Having conquered the stage, director DeStefano, flowers in hand given to her by her students, smiled and said, "We prepared all semester," adding "I hope the audience discovered the beauty of the music and the drama that's in it." For DeStefano, there was no hesitation in her voice when asked if she viewed life itself as an opera; "Yeah, wouldn't you?"
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& Lifestyle 10 Health
volume 108 issue 14 •December 10, 2014 • santa monica college
Philosophy class reads to local children at Fairview library Devin Page Staff Writer “The Giving Tree,” “The Rainbow Fish,” and “Captain Underpants” all sparked their attention. Never before have you seen kids so elated over books. Sparkling eyes and a smile, the children’s faces lit up as they scanned each page of their favorite books. Santa Monica College students and SMC Philosophy Professor Steven Kaufman have established a Reading Mentors Program in conjunction with the Santa Monica Library Fairview Branch. The program was developed for kids ages 4-12 as an outlet for them to read and discuss literature with student mentors. The intention is to delve deep into the books, discussing the philosophy and morals behind the stories, which is the exact objective in Kaufman’s Philosophy 24 class, Philosophy in Children’s Literature. The library already had similar group discussions for select age groups, but nothing in the fashion of a wide age range of kids coming together for the same goal. Kaufman assigns service learning projects in his Philosophy class, but his inspiration for this program actually came from his 2-year-old son, Vincent, who also joins the group some Saturday mornings. Having a kid changed his life and stemmed his motivation to look deeper into children’s literature. Developed in October, the program has held four sessions to date and 10 students have grouped up to mentor a total of 22 kids. The students are divided up into age appropriate groups according to grade and are provided 1-2 student mentors. Every Saturday, the students and the children meet from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. The Santa Monica Library already has a built-in established community, so they
didn’t have to reach out to neighboring schools. “Parents take their kids here after soccer practice, or in the morning to get some books,” said Kaufman. “This way they can do some engaged, shared reading.” In Kaufman’s Philosophy 24 class, students volunteered to participate in the program and what started off as a small group is already building. In fact, the children’s attendance has more than doubled since the program had its first session. Stacy Nunez, English major, works with kindergarten students. Although they are still learning how to read, she says the underlying messages in the books are still able to sink into their subconscious. The values and themes the kids learn through the readings are designed to help them in their everyday life. “We’re reading The Rainbow Fish and you could either see it as sharing and a sense of community, or having to give up something of yourself.” The students are studying children’s literature, and while the ideas may seem quite simple, they have to discuss the different themes with the kids. Although the writing in the books is often sugarcoated for children, the kids have been very blunt about what they have read, said Eliot Oppenheimer, Communications major. “They tend to see right through it, but sometimes it slips by.” Eliot’s group is reading Puff, The Magic Dragon and it’s about how you shouldn’t let your fears stand in your way. “Puff is actually this boy’s own imagination and coaxing him out of his own shadow and how an imaginary friend can actually be beneficial.” In his service learning requirement, Kaufman is not only having his students volunteer, but he is challenging them to think more critically. The students are supposed to get out of their comfort zone and think
Mary Leipziger Corsair
Vanessa Lopez (right) reads with Byron Rackow (left), a student in Prof. Steven Kaufman’s “Philosophy in Children’s Literature” course at the Fairview Branch of the Santa Monica Library on Saturday. about more than just themselves. It is a give and take relationship, he described. “It’s not just passive, it’s actively engaged. Students will start off by reading a page, then the kids will read a page, then they discuss.” Not all students were initially thrilled about the service learning requirement, like Michelle Ravensky, English Literature major, however she and others found that in the long-term they actually enjoyed it. “You build a relationship with these kids and it’s hard to break it, especially since I work with kids as a swim instructor. I already have that established relationship,” said Ravensky. Erica Cuyugan, Library manager, loves the energy when you walk in. “I love seeing a room full of kids in different age groups all
talking excitedly about books.” This program isn’t something she’s seen while working for eight years in the library system. While they won’t receive credit, Kaufman said that some of his students are already thinking about coming back to the library to volunteer in the winter and in the spring semesters. “It’s about creating the generation of our future in teaching these kids to become better people and better leaders,” Kaufman exclaimed. “If you give them the opportunities, then they will thrive.” If you’d like to find out how you can volunteer for this program, you can contact Professor Kaufman or the Santa Monica Library-Fairview Branch.
The world through the lens of instragram Jose gutierrez Staff Writer Endless parties, never-ending smiles, young couples in love, and generally the proverbial “best hits” of life all in a few photos. This is generally what you tend to see on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, but the biggest offender of those tendencies today is the popular online application Instagram. The app has garnered over 200 million active users since its inception in 2010, and it seems to be more popular than ever. Software engineers Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger developed Instagram first as an HTML5 project named "Burbn" until it was redesigned with a focus on mobile photography. Thus the name "Instagram", a combination of the words "instant camera" and "telegram". In 2011, the app introduced hashtags to increase interaction among users. There is a question, however, of whether profiles on Instagram are an accurate representation of a person's life, or if they simply perpetuate a culture of showing off. Third-year SMC student Alan Vasquez, who’s been using Instagram for over two years, believes that most people try too hard to create a fictionalized version of themselves on the internet to impress others. “Every time I see a selfie on Instagram, I can tell they’ve made a strong effort to make themselves more appealing to their friends and strangers,” he said. Vasquez added, “Like a girl who presses her breasts together or a guy sucking in his gut. Right after they get the right one, they put more effort into editing filters to make it look more convincing than the effort they’d take into opening a book."
The effort people take to look "perfect" may not begin and end with them, either. According to Psychology Professor Tina Feiger, Instagram could serve as a mirror in which people evaluate themselves, and not in a good way. “Being on [social networking sites] for a great deal of time sets up more opportunities for social comparison,” said Feiger. She mentioned, for example, how people feel alienated when they compare their pictures to others'. "If everyone looks like they are having a wonderful time and one is having a 'blue' day, then you may get the mistaken impression that you are the only one who isn't happy. This may lead you down a negative emotional trajectory,” said Feiger. Some people may actually get angry at those "perfect"-looking Instagram photos, according to second year SMC student Jesus Escobar. Instagram’s “heart” feature allows people to like others’ photos, and that lets people see how many followers have “hearted” their photos, which may lead to them posting photos in order to show off to get as many “hearts” as possible. This behavior, according to Professor Arezou Ghane, is due to cycle of self-indulgement among users. “People respond to these perfect online portrayals by putting forth their own perfect portrayals, propelling a kind of ‘envy spiral,’ wherein everyone is trying to keep up with the unrealistic norms of social media,” she said. Professor Feiger believes that most people should ignore the negative feelings networking sites like Instagram may conjure up. Instagram, a portent of the future, of life trapped within the lens of the devices that frame our modern lives.
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Health & Lifestyle 11
volume 108 issue 14• December 10, 2014 • santa monica college
At the podium: facing the fear of public speaking For those who fear speaking before an audience, there are instructors who specialize in methods to overcome what according to many is their greatest fear. Yasha Hawkins Staff Writer Say you have to present a project to a class, a project that you've spent weeks on and gave your all. Your notes are prepared, you know every aspect of what you're about to talk about, and yet your palms are sweaty, or you can feel a tingle down your spine, or your hands are shaking. The feeling only makes you stumble on your words more than you think you should because it reiterates the thought that you are going to fail. You stumble through anyway, because all these eyes are on you for the next few minutes, anticipating every word you say. Maybe your experience isn't so intense, or maybe you honestly don't prepare enough, but public speaking is commonly avoided because of the anxiety it causes. It is almost impossible to navigate through life without the ability to communicate effectively, which is why public speaking is highly valuable. “So much of our success in everything we do comes down to how well we communicate with others,” said Professor Nate Brown, who teaches multiple communication studies courses at Santa Monica College. He explained that whether the situation is interpersonal, like during a job interview or date, formal, like during an appeal in court,
or involves a large group, public speaking is the speech is not going to be any good.” a necessary skill. Brown, however, recognizes that simple Professor Amanda Whidden, another SMC anxiety does have a powerful affect. “There communication studies professor, attributes is evidence that some people have bodies students’ fear to the increasing self awareness that are better at regulating nervous that comes with growing up. “As we start to symptoms than other people," he said. He become so aware of ourselves that others are explained that breathing, heart rate, and looking at us or judging us or evaluating, we digestive processes can all be affected by start to develop that apprehension or anxiety nervousness. The body can even release of a about that behavior," said Whidden. She type of adrenaline that can make a person added that speaking publicly puts a person feel bad. "These physiological symptoms are in a vulnerable position, especially when the likely part of our fight or flight response," subject matter is personal. "We’re fearful of said Brown. "Which is good for when we are being chased by a bear, but not so good people and their judgement,” she said. While Brown agrees that most students are when we have to stand in front of a group normally apprehensive, that apprehension and communicate ideas.” According to both Brown and Whidden, can only do so much and doesn’t stop them from giving a good speech. He explained when a person's confidence in or fear of that the simple fear can't stop a person public speaking is an issue, practice is the from adequate preparation by choosing a best way to improve. For Brown,“The more we speak in public... good topic, doing research, organizing main points, creating helpful visual aids, diligently the more we learn that we can be good at it practicing and so on. "Everyone can do with just a little preparation. The more we excellent work on those steps regardless of realize we can be good at it, the less we are afraid of being judged their level of speech badly," he said. anxiety," said Brown. “As we start to become Whidden suggested He added enrolling in speech that, for many so aware of ourselves classes on campus. students, success is “The number one directly related to that others are looking thing that people preparation. "When a student hasn't at us or judging us...We’re can do to overcome that fear is to gain done good work, hasn't chosen a fearful of people and their experience in public speaking. She also good topic, hasn't mentioned that most organized the speech judgement” students are required logically, hasn't done to take at least one good research, hasn't Professor Amanda public speaking practiced properly, class if they intend then he or she should Whidden to transfer or fulfill be nervous because
IGETC requirements. In addition to meeting basic requirements, Whidden suggested taking classes because it is safe for those who fear judgement but want to improve. “You don’t have to go out and assume that everybody in there is going to be an expert or a professional public speaker...Everybody is learning together and it’s a really easy and fun and safe way to gain public speaking experience.” She also advised students to choose a professor whom they feel safe with, particularly one that cultivates a judgementfree space. Understanding how professors handle students who are extremely apprehensive is also a good way to ensure that students feel comfortable taking take speech classes. “I help them choose topics that will be easier. I remind them that their fear can't stop them from preparing an excellent speech,” said Brown. He also added that often times he will help the student treat a speech more like a conversation by asking students simple questions when he or she is in front of the class. "That helps those students learn that they have the information and are able to communicate it,” Brown explained. "Confidence in ourselves is the number one thing we need to get over our fear of public speaking,” said Brown. Whidden encourages students to think positively as a way to curb the adrenaline rush that triggers the negative feelings. "You can change the way that you see public speaking, but additionally you can start to change your body chemistry to not respond physically like that,” she said.
Apply by March 13, 2015
Santa Monica College’s Global Council and the Communication & Media Studies Department proudly announce…
l a u n n POSIUM A M h t Y x S SMC’s Si P I H S N E Z May 8, 2015 GLOBAL CITI SUBMIT CLASSWORK AND INDEPENDENT PROJECTS FOR
CASH AWARDS!
SUBMIT YOUR... Poetry. Music. Science projects. Film. Research. Speeches. Art. Performances. Papers. or… For more information visit www.smc.edu/GlobalCitizenship
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12 Sports
volume 108 issue 14 • December 10, 2014 • santa monica college
Native American representations must change James Powel Sports Editor It is difficult to believe a debate as passionate and historical as the one over the use of Native American mascots has a singular starting point. Yet, this argument has one flashpoint. After the fall of 1914, the Miracle Boston Braves, originally named by owner James Gaffeny for the foot soldiers of the Tammany Hall political machine he was a member of, came back from last place on the Fourth of July to win the twelfth World Series. One year after the Miracle Braves pulled off the seemingly impossible, the Cleveland Naps, without its namesake star and future Hall of Fame member Napoleon “Nap” Lajoie, were on the brink of failure. Their solution was to create a new name. A call went out to fans and sportswriters as the Naps returned with a rip off of the 1914 World’s Series Champions. And thus, the Cleveland Indians were born. Then, in 1932 the infamous George Preston Marshall established a football team in Boston. The football club, who was so far behind baseball in popularity that they played in nearly empty baseball stadiums, took the name of their landlord at Braves Field and named themselves the Boston Braves. When they left Braves Field for the confines of Fenway Park, Preston kept the Native American imagery and made the best of his new landlord, the Boston Red Sox, creating the name the team would keep when they moved south to Washington D.C. The two franchises that hide behind the facade of respect for a marginalized group of people are the biggest hypocrites in the sports world.
Anyone who puts forth that Native American mascots, in their current form, are a purely honorific representation is wrong. In order for something to be honorific, the person being honored must, you know, feel honored. In the 2004 study, “American Indian Social Representations: Do They Honor or Constrain American Indian Identities,” researchers found that the American Indian social representation (i.e., Pocahontas, Chief Wahoo, or Negative Stereotypes) depressed how American Indian participants felt about themselves, their community, and what they want to become or are able to become. As a society, we must draw a line. Those of us who have the power to create and promote the symbols that depict Native Americans in sports must use that power with great, moral restraint. There are present day symbols that are clearly over that line, including the Washington football team and the “Chief Wahoo” symbol of the Cleveland Indians. Both water down Native Americans to a long ago disproven stereotype, and cause real injury to the peoples they depict. However, one of the two main branches of the old Boston Braves team has the ability to actually honor Native Americans. For years the origin story of the Cleveland Indian’s name, which was honestly believed by the team, its fans and the media who followed them, was that the Indians were named in honor of the first acknowledged Native American to play in organized professional baseball, Louis Sockalexis. Sockalexis, of Maine Penbosocot decent, was by all accounts, a physical specimen equal to the athletes of today. According to “Baseball’s First Indian,” the biography written by Ed Rice, Sockalexis
caught a fly ball at the wall, turned and fired a 414 foot bullet to home plate. Eat your heart out Yasiel Puig. From there his game was shrouded in myth. However talented he was, the press hounded him. At every turn sportswriters gleefully published the quotes that had him scalping opponents and drinking fire-water. Fans mocked him with war whoops and chants. In 1897 a syndicated writer wrote, “Sockalexis was no better and no worse than his people. He made a spectacle of himself. The white man laughed at him and then kicked him aside. Sockalexis was only one more drunk Indian.” Sockalexis, was thrown out of baseball due to his lifelong battle with alcohol in 1903. He would die of tuberculosis in 1913. If the Indians truly wanted to honor the history they suppose to stake their name to, they would turn the horridly racist logo and their questionable name to an edifice to the late Sockalexis. By doing so, the Indians would be able to truly bring to light the miscarriage of justice that has befallen Native Americans and its effects which includes the destruction of their culture, poverty and alcoholism.
The Indians would be able to answer to one of the main criticisms of opponents even having a discussion on changing the name, that the name of a sports team does not have a social impact. Here the Indians have an opportunity to take a powerful leadership position in the ongoing discourse on Native American mascots. The least they could do is rid themselves of their sophomoric Chief Wahoo logo. Admittedly, this is an incredibly dark way to use the powerful imagery that sports teams carry. A much simpler way of using Native American imagery properly is to follow the model of Florida State University, who work with the Seminole Tribe in Florida to honor the tribe’s heritage. However, if we are to use symbols that are not from our culture, we must deal with the baggage it comes with. To answer to Pedro Rodriguez, a Cleveland Indians fan whom inserted himself into a rally to change the name and mascot saying, “We are honoring you” I simply respond: Sir, we are not honoring them.
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works closely with you from orientation to graduation
:: Financial aid available
:: No text
:: 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”
Jose Lopez Corsair
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 •
Clyde Bellecourt, a Native American activist who is a member of the Anishinabe Ojibwe Nation, poses for a portrait with a protest sign during the demonstration against the use of Native American images for mascots at the Washington Redskins versus San francisco 49ers game on November 23, at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Bellecourt, one of the original founders of American Indian Movement (AIM), has fought for Native rights which include his participation in the occupation of Wounded Knee and organizing for the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media challenging use of Native Mascots. @t h e _ c o r s a i r •
/thecorsairnews •
/thecorsaironline