Volume106issue02

CORSAIR

volume 106 issue 2 • september 11, 2013 • santa monica college

SMC Moves forward but never forgets Spring shootings leave scars Photostory pg. 6-7 Gun control debate pg. 4

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

Vacant seats on the AS pg. 3 smc remembers 9/11 pg. 11-12

Paul Alvarez Jr. Corsair

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2 contents

volume 106 issue 2 • september 11, 2013 • santa monica college

E D I T O R I A L S TA F F Amber Antonopoulos···· 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 Muna Cosic··············Managing Editor c o rs a i r. m a n a g i n g @ g m a i l . c o m Vanessa Barajas········ 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 Elizabeth Moss··············· News Editor Allie Silvas···················· News Editor c o rs a i r. n e w s p a g e @ g m a i l . c o m Jasmin Huynh····· Arts & Entertainment c o rs a i r. c a l e n d a r p a g e @ g m a i l . c o m Henry Crumblish·········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 David Yapkowitz············ 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 Sam Herron··················Photo Editor David J. Hawkins·············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 Jhosef Hern······················ Illustrator c o rs a i r c a r t o o n @ g m a i l . c o m Allie Silvas····················· Web Editor c o rs a i r. w e b e d i t o r @ g m a i l . c o m Cocoa Dixon················ Design Team Mikaela Osterlund·········· Design Team c o rs a i r. d e s i g n t e a m @ g m a i l . c o m c o r s a i r s ta f f Rubens Almeida Jr., Paul Alvarez Jr., Albert Andrade, Trevor Angone, Fabian Avellaneda, Lorentious Barry, Nathan Berookhim, Crislin Christian, Jenna Crowley, Tina Eady, Paulina Eriksson, Jon Falcone, Khalid Felix, Lorena Garcia, Vanessa Oliveira Gomes, Jimmy Janszen, Ludwig Jonsson, Arlene Karno, Michelle Kreel, Michael Lee, Josefin Lindstrom, Sumaya Malin, Simon Luca Manili, Reyna Mares, Jillian Montgomery, Lauren Narvaez, Daniela Orihuela, Belle Owen, Demetrius Palmer, Mark Popovich, Jessica Quintero, Rachel Porter, Jonathan Ramos, Alci Rengifo, Tristan Reyes, Jonathan Riley, Cassandra Rubio, Emilio Sedeno, Dion To, Gintare Urbutyte, Mark Williams, David Lloyd Wilson, Lyan Wong FA C U LT Y A D V I S e R S S a u l Ru b i n & Gerard Burkhart A d I n q uiries : co rsa i r. adc o nsul t an t @g m ai l . co m (3 1 0 ) 4 3 4 - 4 0 3 3

Arlene Karno Corsair Seagulls wait to eat remaining bread crumbs after the yearly ritual beginning the Jewish New Year. “Tashlich” is a spiritual custom when people cast pebbles, crumbs and flower petals into the sea as symbols of sins or burdens from the past year. A little girl attempts to replant the stem from a rose bush “so it will be ready for next year.” The beach in Santa Monica is a popular destination for ceremonies, meditations and celebrations from all faiths and practices.

SMC community!

if you have photos, feelings or opinions on what we publish, we want to hear from you! email, tweet, or facebook us. corsair.opinionpage@gmail.com

ON THE COVER: A student walks past the memorial for Margarita Gomez, at the site where she was killed by John Zawahri during the shooting rampage on June 7 outside the Santa Monica College library.

Final submission deadline Thursday, Sept. 19, 4:30pm

Final submission deadline Thursday, Sept. 19, 4:30pm

Applicants will be interviewed Friday, Sept. 20th at 12:00 noon and must be available to attend the Monday, Sept. 23rd AS Directors Board Meeting for conformation.

Those who are absolutely unable to attend the Friday interview, please email the Director of Publicity directly.

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Here to Help Michael Greenberg, Director of Publicity (310) 434-4965 greenberg.publicity@gmail.com Michael Greenberg, Director of Publicity (310) 434-4965 greenberg.publicity@gmail.com

Here to Help

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news 3

volume 106 issue 2 • september 11, 2013 • santa monica college

Paul Alvarez Jr. Corsair Members of the Associated Students board of directors sit among the vacated positions of budget management, outreach, and student affairs. Application to fill the new positions are due Thursday, Sept. 19. Interviews will take place the following day.

AS faces vacancies

The AS board has until Sept. 23 to confirm new directors.

Elizabeth Moss News Editor Three Associated Students director positions are vacant, leaving the spots open for budget management, outreach, and student affairs, which was previously called student services.

Due to privacy laws, AS President Ty

Moura could only say that one of the directors dropped because they “did not care enough,” another was not carrying enough units, and another did not enroll in classes this semester.

The same problem plagued the AS during the spring, when three directors dropped in the last months of the semester. The vice presidential position was among the

emptied seats.

As of Monday evening, only two applications for the vacant seats had been submitted.

“We have very few applicants,” said Alex Vandertol, AS vice president. “A lot of people apply right at the deadline.”

According to the AS Constitution Section 5.2, a committee of at least three, which includes the AS president and the interclub council chair, will review applications.

Section 5.3 states that, “This committee shall nominate a candidate or candidates to the AS Board of Directors for confirmation within three weeks of the vacancy.”

This means the board has until Sept. 23 to

nominate candidates. If those nominations are not confirmed after two consecutive votes, the board will have to reopen the application process for another two weeks.

“The difference is in the legality,” said Moura as she and directors worked out a plan of action to have nominations in time.

The application deadline is Thursday, Sept. 19 at 4:30 p.m. Interviews will be conducted the next day between noon and 4:30 p.m.

Candidates must have at least a 2.0 GPA, have completed eight units in the previous semester at Santa Monica College and be enrolled in eight units this semester.

Construction keeps on trucking Trucks continue moving dirt on Pearl Street despite minor setbacks.

Albert Andrade Staff Writer Construction at Santa Monica College is a common sight, and along Pearl Street these projects are taking a much larger form.

The Information Technology Project, budgeted at over $13 million, started last spring and is set to be completed in March 2014, according the master construction plan.

The new building will foster an environment for the information technology, network, and telecommunication departments, formerly located in Drescher Hall, that focuses on technological infrastructure in and out of the classroom.

“The new building will consolidate all the technology resources in one building,” said Greg Brown, director of facilities planning.

Since construction began last year, this undertaking has required a lot of sacrifices.

It has displaced the Library Village - former home to the Scholar’s Program and Career Services Center - and has obstructed the Math Complex and Media Center in an effort to establish the new building.

In addition, construction has been delayed slightly by the presence of underground utilities that leaders in the project guess might be old sewage lines that did not appear on the schematics.

An old baseball field was also found beneath the ground.

Mike Toepfer, the building’s senior project manager, said that the baseball field may have been built before the library.

The technical hiccup has delayed construction only slightly, but these discoveries are to be expected.

The construction process was planned far ahead of time in order to coordinate the project with the community. Student services have been relocated to the Counseling

Tsang sponsors scholarship Richard Jimenez now attends UC Berkeley on $30,000 scholarship.

Gintare Urbutyte Staff Writer Richard Jimenez has gone from high school dropout to undergraduate student at a top university in just a few years.

“I never got to attend high school because my father pulled me out of school," said Jimenez. "I grew up, you know, working construction and hard manual labor."

A notice about a $30,000 scholarship

sponsored by Chui L. Tsang, president and superintendent of Santa Monica College, was sent out to faculty, staff and administrators at the end of spring semester asking for nominations for students they thought would be the best candidates to receive the scholarship.

Wendi DeMorst, program director of TRiO Student Support Services, a program that aids students who want to transfer to a university with an associate degree, was quick to nominate Jimenez, who she worked with through the program.

“I went to college without any high school education," he said. "I used to study hard

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Village, fences were put up along the construction area and traffic control measures are in place.

“We follow very strict regulations with [the Occupational Safety & Health Administration] anytime we have something that could potentially be a safety concern,” said Toepfer.

According to SMC’s master plan, which outlines plans to improve the school’s infrastructure with Measure AA bonds worth $245 million, the Sam Herron Corsair first phase of the project is estimated Construction workers work on the second floor to finish around March 2014 with of the new media center on Pearl Street at Santa a fully constructed Information Monica College on Tuesday. The construction is scheduled to be completed in 2014.

Technology building.

After that, the Media Center will be transferred to the new building and safety standards. Brown said when the on Pearl Street. The second phase will begin project is complete, the use of technology with the demolition and reconstruction of will expand across campus. the Media Center and will conclude around Not only is the new building pioneering the end of 2014. technological standards for the school, but it The final phase will renovate or replace is also “going to be a great-looking facility” obsolete buildings to meet current health said Toepfer. and do my best, and I got to excel in my classes. I came over a lot in my life to be here in this moment.”

Jimenez is now studying psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. He said he hopes to help other people and families who have difficult times in life like himself.

DeMorst and Jimenez got to know each other while working on his transfer papers.

He was not only working at TRiO, but also was always actively participating in all possible activities and field trips offered by the program.

“That kind of started the conversation about his life, what he had gone through, and him being able to actually go to Berkeley, as he has such an amazing story,” she said.

Jimenez attended SMC for a little over @t h e _ c o r s a i r •

three years.

DeMorst, along with the other professors that nominated students, had to write 1,000 words on why their nominee deserved the scholarship. Students had to have at least a 3.0 GPA and a minimum of 24 transferable units, in addition to all of their transfer requirements completed by the end of spring semester of this year.

After being nominated, students went through an interview process before being selected.

“Focus on your goals," Jimenez said.

"Nothing is going to be easy. Take big steps toward your goal. Every step you take, every day is just one step closer toward reaching your goal. Be positive."

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4 opinion

volume 106 issue 2 • september 11, 2013 • santa monica college

Firearms

Staff Editorial

War, then and now

This Wednesday is the 12th anniversary of an attack that scarred the American homeland, and from which the consequences still reverberate today.

Some students and professors can pinpoint exactly where they were, and recollect with fervor the fateful day in fall, while others may be too young to even remember the chaos and commotion that accompanied the al-Qaida attack.

It’s important for Americans to acknowledge the significance of 9/11 in order to teach future generations in an effort to better our society and not repeat the past.

Incoming freshmen may think of Wednesday as nothing more than a historical event, interrupting their favorite television and radio programs, but there are clear parallels between 2001 and 2013.

Twelve years ago, George W. Bush had Americans believing our biggest problems were al-Qaida and weapons of mass destruction.

While in 2013, President Barack Obama has us ready to rush into Syria to stop chemical weapons, and the diabolical Bashar al-Assad.

The war in Iraq was quite possibly the least popular occupation since Vietnam, and now Americans and the rest of the world look on in tense silence as the Obama administration deliberates on how much interference is necessary in the Middle East.

Obama has said there won’t be any “American boots on the ground,” and no military personnel has been shipped out, so why does it feel like America is on the verge of war?

On Tuesday, during Obama’s address regarding the crisis in Syria, he announced that Congress has officially postponed the vote on America’s next move forward.

Despite the urging of the president and other gung-ho politicians, the priority of the American people should be peace.

“I don’t think we should remove another dictator by force,” Obama said during his address.

However, the president does believe in a “targeted strike to achieve a clear objective to deterring the use of chemical weapons and degrading Assad’s capabilities.”

Obama alleges that even without Congress’ approval, he will not take the option of a strike off the table.

“It is in the national security interest of the United States to do a limited military strike,” he said.

The commander-in-chief made it clear that despite the fact that he has the power and authority to go ahead with a military strike, he said he believes “our democracy is stronger when the president works with the support of Congress, and I believe America acts more effectively abroad when we stand together.”

While there are similarities between the social climate of Sept. 11, 2001 and today, they are not the same.

America has not been attacked in over a decade, and if there is still an option of peace, we as nation should be doing everything in our power to make peace a reality.

9/11 is a day to remember because of the pain and heartache that touched the United States, but a war with Syria will only spread and perpetuate that same despair and sorrow.

and our

forefathers David yapkowitz Sports Editor

The great American patriot Benjamin Franklin once said, “Any people that would give up liberty for a little temporary safety, deserves neither liberty nor safety.”

It’s been over three months since a spate of gun violence in our community of Santa Monica that left seven dead.

I was personally affected by both John Zawahri’s rampage that culminated at Santa Monica College, as well as the shooting death of Gil Verastegui that happened only a few blocks away from campus.

I was on campus when Zawahri made his way to the library, and Gil was my friend. As investigations into these separate acts continued, and as the community began to heal, I knew exactly what would follow.

First off, the flood gates opened up on the highly sensitive issue of gun control, leading California Congressman Henry Waxman to host a recent forum on gun violence.

Secondly, as I expected, the Santa Monica City Council and the Santa Monica Police Department reacted very differently to the two incidents.

The Pico neighborhood in Santa Monica, home to the majority of the city’s black and Hispanic residents, and just right across the street from SMC, has historically been an underprivileged and ignored community.

The gun violence prevalent in the neighborhood is largely disproportionate compared to the rest of the city.

Ironically, Zawahri grew up in the same neighborhood, and as cowardly and horrific as Zawahri’s actions were, he too suffered from neglect. Contrary to what many would have you believe, these incidents are not an issue of gun control, but a social issue.

Gun violence in our communities is unfortunately a resulting symptom of a history of oppression, a history of those in power who continue to permeate a message that it is acceptable to shoot and kill an unarmed black teenager and walk free.

This culture, no matter what the news tries to tell you, is still deeply ingrained with covert racism. The ways in which to solve these social issues does not lie within strict and harsh gun laws, nor does it lie within jails and law enforcement.

The solution lies with a complete and radical overhaul of our culture’s mentality where people of color are still considered to be less than human, despite the rights that are guaranteed to us in our great Constitution.

Fortunately for Santa Monica, there is one such organization that has dedicated itself to addressing these social issues, to empowering those without a voice, and to successfully rehabilitating and taking care of those with a troubled past.

That organization is the Pico Youth and Family Center, born from the ashes of another spate of gun violence

for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com •

back in 1998. The PYFC is the only organization in Santa Monica that is attacking these issues head on, and working towards real solutions, and unfortunately is punished for it.

This is what I mean when I say a change in mentality, just like Republicans use the acronym “RINO” to stand for “Republicans in name only.” The majority of Santa Monica is liberal in name only, and content with maintaining the status quo just as long as their hypocritical sense of entitlement is not disturbed.

The PYFC has been under constant harassment from city hall, at a time when its services are needed most.

The City Council voted in June to slash the PYFC’s funding, severely hampering its ability to provide the Pico neighborhood with the services it needs, without so much as a whimper from Santa Monica’s faux liberals.

Which brings me to my next point, which is the city’s and our nation’s culture in general, continuing and extravagant support for the oppressor.

In the aftermath of Zawahri’s rampage, I observed countless messages of support and congratulations to the Santa Monica Police Department for the handling of the incident. The local Santa Monica Mirror newspaper even went so far as to print a piece of propaganda that would make Hitler blush.

I first want to say that I have the utmost respect for our Santa Monica College Police Department. As a student, employee, and journalist at SMC, I can say with great certainty that our campus police are by far the most respectful and trustworthy police department I have encountered.

Despite what a fringe element on campus would lead you to believe, the SMCPD does their job the right way.

They are constantly outside walking around, interacting with students and staff, making themselves accessible and generally getting to know the population they serve and protect.

This further illustrates my point about a change in mentality. The SMPD has long been an oppressor and a source of hostility in the Pico Neighborhood and to people of color in Santa Monica in general.

I personally have been victimized by them, as have my family and many community members that I know.

This was best illustrated perhaps with their different responses to the community healing events that were held following these tragedies.

At the official memorial for the victims of Zawahri’s attack, attended by many prominent city leaders and SMC officials, as well as being largely white, the SMPD stood in solidarity with the community, many of them joining the crowd and paying respect to the victims.

One week later, Pico Neighborhood leaders and the PYFC held a candlelight vigil honoring Gil and other community members who have fallen due to gun violence. The @t h e _ c o r s a i r •

crowd that showed up for the vigil was largely black and Hispanic, and instead of marching in solidarity with the community, the SMPD hid in their cars and trailed the procession as if we were under surveillance.

This attitude is something we have grown accustomed to. We are used to feeling like we’re in a police state, and we are used to feeling like we’re living under martial law. Only now it is happening with alarming regularity.

These faux liberals I speak of have enabled law enforcement to get away with a false sense of security and entitlement.

These same “liberals” paying lip service to equality and justice did nothing when Boston was practically under martial law. They did nothing when SMC students were screamed at with weapons pointed at them during the shooting evacuation by practically every military branch and law enforcement agency in the state.

The SMPD, SMCPD, U.S. Army Rangers, and even the Bomb Squad were all on campus carrying highpowered, high caliber weaponry.

Ben Franklin said, those people who would willingly support that do not deserve to call themselves free and do not deserve freedom.

These faux liberals want to argue that only law enforcement and military should be allowed to carry certain weapons, which is nothing short of tyranny, exactly what our founding fathers fought and died to prevent.

The great Thomas Paine once said, “The balance of power is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them, the weak will become prey to the strong.”

Just to be clear. I fully support a ban on certain types of guns, like many people have advocated, as long as it is across the board.

If law enforcement will not give them up, the American people should not be made to give them up. To advocate that is tyranny, and is allowing our communities to be victimized even more.

It is time for our entire nation to rethink what it means to be an “American.” We have not yet achieved a society where, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, “all men are created equal.”

We live in a society where real American patriots such as Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden are branded traitors, just like the British parliament and King George had labeled our founding fathers.

I consider myself a true American patriot, fighting the ongoing struggle to bring about true equality in our country, and as Thomas Paine once said, “Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it.”

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Opinion 5

volume 106 issue 2 • september 11, 2013 • santa monica college

Mars rules the hour: The world since 9/11 alci rengifo Staff Writer Sept. 11, 2001 marked the beginning of the 21st century.

It set in motion the dominant themes of the last decade, and opened the door for conflicts that will cast a shadow over generations to come.

On the 12th anniversary of the attacks, we inevitably question whether the world has changed.

The world has indeed changed, but not for the better. It has instead been building up to a disturbing crescendo.

The Obama administration — once hailed as the coming of a new era of liberal reform — is trying to rally support to wage war on Syria, a war which could easily set fire to the entire Middle East, a region that is already scarred by U.S. interventionism and undergoing dramatic, revolutionary changes.

A close look at history reveals that we are not witnessing changes, so much as shifts to more dangerous levels of imperial violence. Consider that this Sept. 11 marks 40 years since the CIA overthrew the elected, socialist government of Salvador Allende in Chile.

On Sept. 11, 1973, the U.S.-trained Chilean army overthrew Allende after years of economic war and sabotage funded by the Nixon administration. Allende was replaced by the barbaric regime of Augusto Pinochet that tortured and killed over 30,000 people.

Just this summer, the CIA finally admitted to overthrowing the elected government of Mohammad Mossadeq in Iran in 1953, replacing him with the shah who was, in turn, overthrown by the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which birthed the current Islamic Republic.

In 2009, Obama looked the other way when the elected progressive government of Manuel Zelaya in Honduras was overthrown in a bloody military coup orchestrated by local oligarchs. This is a small blip on a radar screen that includes drone strikes, support for repressive regimes and now more war.

History will record how, instead of using the attacks of 9/11 to do some serious self-reflection on our role in the world, the U.S. under George W. Bush used the terrorist act

to charge like a mad beast into Iraq, shattering that country and fueling a deadly sectarian war between Shia and Sunni Muslims that has spread region-wide.

This demonstrates the greatest fundamental error the U.S. made, which many citizens do not yet understand.

We never stopped to wonder how our actions fed the terrifying fantasies of the radicals who flew the planes into the World Trade Center.

Instead of reducing our presence in other corners of the world, we decided to expand by force. We made the decision to spiral ever so downwards. Radical men, whether religious extremists or secular revolutionaries, are products of their time and place.

In the case of the Middle East, we have spent decades supporting dictators, police states and corrupt monarchs.

We have supported Israel’s brutal occupation of the West Bank and its recent wars on the besieged population of Gaza.

This has only produced resentment among the peoples of the Middle East and boosted the ranks of those who choose darker, more dangerous paths toward change or for getting a point across.

In the post-Bush era, Obama and John Kerry pontificate about saving the people of Syria, only because they happen to live under a violent regime we do not like.

But in 2011, Obama supported Saudi Arabia’s invasion of Bahrain to crush a popular, unarmed Arab Spring uprising against the local monarchy.

Funding from U.S. coffers still pours into the Egyptian Army, which now presides over a country drenched in blood and sorrow.

Not to mention, in our hemisphere, Obama has done nothing to end the ridiculous embargo on Cuba.

This is not the idea most people had in 2008 when the slogans “Hope” and “Change We Can Believe In” were splashed all over the country.

The attacks of 9/11 did not inspire our rulers to self-reflect, but instead it turned the vast machinery of U.S. power into a living version of Francisco Goya’s terrifying painting, “Saturn Devouring His Son.” James Stramel, philosophy professor at Santa Monica College, reflects on the current state of the world.

Illustration by Jhosef Hern Corsair

“There’s the old quote, ‘the more things change the more they stay the same,’” he said.

“Human beings have a tendency to repeat history again and again, despite knowing our history,” said Stramel.

“We’re short-sighted. We don’t plan well for the long term.

We’re xenophobic. I’m talking about all humans. And unfortunately, when there’s a conflict of interest, I think we do tend to return to our animal natures of ‘I’m going to protect mine, you’re my enemy.’ That doesn’t set us up for peaceful negotiation.

“If we can understand that those xenophobic reactions that people tend to have against ‘those bastards’ is deeply rooted in us, and to a certain extent there’s nothing we can do about those responses because they are so evolutionarily ingrained,” he said.

Was 9/11 more of a prophecy than occurrence? The world since that fateful Tuesday never regained a steady axis. Stramel said he feels the vibe in the air.

“Even though I’m generally a positive and optimistic person, I kind of think humanity has peaked,” Stramel said.

“I kind of think we’re on the downward slide.”

Twelve years since 9/11 and the appropriate words for our time come from Frederich Schiller’s play, “The Death Of Wallenstein.”

“The dawn commences, and Mars rules the hour.”

Are you afraid of the dark?

Illustration by Jhosef Hern Corsair

paulina eriksson Staff Writer When I turned the corner, I could finally see my house. With my heart racing, I picked up speed with each step I took.

I could still hear someone walking behind me, but I did not dare turn around. I was afraid – afraid to show fear.

I opened my bag and desperately started digging for my keys, not just to be ready to open my door quickly, but to have something to defend myself with in case anything happened.

I was practically running at that point. I stumbled up the stairs, rushed in and locked the door behind me. I was safe.

This experience is something most women have felt at least once in their lives. But is it really that much more dangerous when it is dark, or is it merely a charade?

Santa Monica College has dealt with shootings, lockdowns and bomb threats this year, all of which have occurred in broad daylight.

So what is it that we are so afraid of at night? Is it the dark, or the fact that you are out at night practically alone?

SMC student Marie Hagstrom said she believes that it is a mixture of both. We are scared of what we cannot see in the dark.

However, when no one is around, that creates the perfect opportunity for someone to cause harm without the risk of anybody witnessing it.

Hagstrom said that for her, the fear of imminent danger is real. There is no difference between walking alone at dusk and taking a stroll just before sunrise.

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“If there are no people around, I am terrified that something bad will happen,” said Hagstrom.

Fear of the dark is more common among women than men.

SMC student Rojan Telo said he never feels scared or unsafe in the evenings, rather the opposite.

“I think it is kind of nice and peaceful walking outside when it is dark,” he said.

Before the violence took place last semester at SMC, Telo had never experienced anything scary or uncomfortable on or off campus.

However, his mentality has not changed much this fall.

“You can’t go around thinking that everyone you meet wants to hurt you,” he said. “It’s all about your attitude toward the people you meet.”

Even though Telo said he always feels safe, there are still some places he would not dare venture to in the evenings.

Telo has an interesting theory on why women are more scared of the dark than men. He believes the media is the source of midnight paranoia.

“They make people more afraid than necessary, especially women,” he said.

Telo also pointed out that the SMC syllabus has a disturbing message. It states that women are advised to study in places where they are not alone, and that there is a guide detailing what to do if someone touches them inappropriately.

“It just creates more anxiety than it does good,” he said.

Would it not be better to, for example, inform students about the routines of a @t h e _ c o r s a i r •

lockdown on the syllabus, rather than safety measures for women?

From my own experience and the impressions I received when I spoke to some women is that none of them ever experienced anything scary or dangerous in Los Angeles, and yet we are still afraid to walk alone in the dark.

Louise Lindback, a freshman at SMC, and despite having only been in Los Angeles for two months, is already under the impression that the streets of LA are a dangerous place for women, especially when the sun sets.

“I never go by myself when it is dark,” said Lindback. “I always meet up with my friends and we will walk together.”

The hype around the danger in LA only creates a bad environment among women.

Of course you have to be careful to not tempt fate, but that does not mean you shouldn’t be able to go to the supermarket or walk your dog without being scared to death.

After living in this country for six months, It still amazes me to witness the attitudes many people have toward the night. It’s almost as if I have to be scared because everyone says I should be.

But what if we all followed Telo’s suggestion and started to walk outside more regularly instead of staying home and being afraid?

What if we could create a chain reaction which would make it possible for more women and men to feel safe when they walk outside on late hours?

The more people that we have around us, the safer we feel.

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6 Photostory

volume 106 issue 2 • september 11, 2013 • santa monica college

Seasons have changed, and so have attitudes of students and residents alike.

Faith-based leaders lead a vigil down Pearl Street to honor the lives lost in the recent shooting that culminated the victims, Carlos and Marcela Franco, who carries a photo of the loved ones lost in the shooting.

Rememberin

Jose Lopez Corsair U.S. Marshals search for a possible second shooter on June 7 as students inside the Business Building at Santa Monica College are seen looking out, unable to leave in the campuswide lockdown. It turned out, the gunman acted alone, and six people, including the shooter, were killed during the tragedy.

David J. Hawkins Corsair Rafael Torres, son of Margarita Gomez, and her granddaughter sit at a memorial on Monday, June 10 at the spot where she was slain near the recycling bin outside the library of the Santa Monica College main campus.

It has been over three months since John Zawahri’s June 7 violent rampage on through Santa Monica, leaving a path of destruction the likes of which the seaside community had never seen.

The troubled former Santa Monica College student ended six lives and impacted thousands more, and in the less than 100 days since the shooting, Santa Monica College has never been the same.

Seasons have changed, and so have attitudes of students and residents alike, regarding matters of crisis situations, education and gun control.

The college has held memorial services, updated safety protocols, and increased police presence on campus.

Wednesday, Sept. 11 marks the 12year anniversary of America’s most traumatic terror attack that made national headlines, while the Santa Monica shooting went unmentioned by President Barack Obama, who was less

Amy Gaskin Corsair Santa Monica College community members hug on Sunday, June 9 at the gathering held by the counseling department at the Bundy Campus. After announcements by college President and Superintendent Chui L. Tsang, faculty and students gathered outside where private counseling sessions were offered.

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volume 106 issue 2 • september 11, 2013 • santa monica college

photostory 7

Rachel Porter Corsair Carlos Franco, 68, a Santa Monica College employee for 22 years, and his daughter, Marcela, 26, a California State Dominguez Hills student who was purchasing books for summer classes at SMC, were victims killed in the shooting rampage. The two were shot in their vehicle after leaving the campus parking lot. A memorial is still set up at the scene, photographed on Monday.

Jose Lopez Corsair d on the campus of Santa Monica College. Behind them is a family member of two of

ng the fallen henry Crumblish Opinion Editor

than 20 minutes away from the scene that day.

As students return to classes and their studies, many do their best to not dwell on the negative events of the not-sodistant past, but for those who were touched personally by the loss of life, June 7, 2013 will be a day forever on their mind.

Just like Sept. 11, 2001 is forever rooted in America’s psyche.

Students and faculty have shown tremendous bravery as they return to classes this fall, many for the first time since the shooting. Every day, students walk past the exact spots where innocent people were shot and killed, and the vigils in memory of the victims that still stand.

The healing process is underway, but the sorrow brought upon Santa Monica

by Zawahri this summer has not yet passed.

Paul Alvarez Jr. Corsair Priscilla Morales is consoled by a parking enforcement officer after being in the library at Santa Monica College, where police gunned down John Zawahri after his shooting rampage that left six dead. No one was hit from shots fired inside the library.

Jose Lopez Corsair Santa Monica College students, who were in the middle of taking final exams, evacuate from the Business Building at the college campus with Professor Bob Ware leading them outside.

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+ Entertainment 8 Arts

volume 106 issue 2 • september 11, 2013 • santa monica college

Artist Catherine Tirr exalts the imagination Crislin Christian Corsair Linda MacEwen views original acrylic paintings by Catherine Tirr at the art gallery at the Emeritus College of Santa Monica College on Thursday.

Gintare Urbutyte Staff Writer The atmosphere at the Emeritus College was transformed from an urban landscape to an eye-catching world of imagination on Thursday evening.

The acrylic paintings by artist and Emeritus College art instructor Catherine Tirr had been created over different decades and are now exhibited in Tirr’s own solo show from Sept. 5 to Oct. 4.

At the art exhibition, Tirr used a great variety of colors, predominantly blue, green and red, and emotions that express her visions on canvas and paper.

A gallery visitor was able to see anything from colorful galaxies to steamy nature landscapes, some spotted with what looked like bubbles, corals and soft curvy waves, leaving the interpretation to the imagination.

Not only people from the area, but also her current and past students came to the opening reception on Thursday.

“It is just exciting and colorful,” said Tirr’s current student Stephen Young. “It’s adventurous too. It really has a dynamic feel of a lot of movement.”

Former student and fellow artist Christine Waljeski was positively surprised by the work of her erstwhile art instructor.

“I love how kind of ethereal and organic they are; I wasn’t expecting that,” Waljeski said. “They have a really luminous quality.”

Many of Tirr’s pieces were inspired by the play of different elements in nature and the movements of smoke and clouds.

“ I have always had an interest in the layering process and how things sit on the surface, and things are hidden, and things are revealed,” Tirr said. “What intrigued me about smoke following around [is that] in a way it’s sort of a barrier or vale through which you see the world.”

“I think the fog does the same sort of thing, and what interested me was the way the fog was rolling up the canyon where I was walking and so it was revealing certain parts of the landscape and hiding others,” she said.

Her work would not have been displayed without the aid of gallery curator Becky Koblick, who not only helped Tirr to organize the exhibition, but also to choose which pieces to showcase.

“I went to Catherine’s studio several times, and we would look at her work,” said Koblick. “She has tons and tons of paintings in her studio. She would show me places that inspired her painting, and it just grew out of conversation, so we just kept revisiting, and we would pick paintings together. It was mutual deciding.”

Tirr has been working at the Emeritus College for about 13 years. She originally came from England and moved to the United States after receiving a scholarship from Cranbrook Crislin Christian Corsair Academy of Art. Catherine Tirr (left) speaks to a guest at the opening After receiving her education, she went to New York City, of her art exhibit at the Emeritus College on where she later met her husband, who works in the movie Thursday. industry. As her husband’s career called for a move to the west coast, Tirr came to California.

In addition to teaching at the Emeritus College, she also has been seeking a teaching position at Santa Monica College.

Faculty Art Exhibit brings professors and students together Dion To Staff Writer

Donned in dresses, blazers, suits and ties, students, professors and admirers of art came out to the Santa Monica College Pete & Susan Barrett Gallery to see the Faculty Art Exhibit on Friday night.

Alhough the open reception started at 6 p.m., many people came sooner and made their way to the gallery, a bright and bustling landscape.

Cameras snapped, flashes flickered, people hugged and cheered. Even the spread on the snack table seemed artistic, appealing to the crowd with glossy, glazed cookies and sparkling sodas.

The gallery itself was cozy but spacious.

Pieces lined the walls; some took up room on the floor, and others packed neatly onto stands and displays.

The event peaked shortly after it started.

Eyes lit up as people recognized friends, professors and fellow students.

The room echoed snippets of deep discussion, laughter and also the sweet silence of people examining the artwork.

As many as 34 pieces of art were displayed, each one capturing their own audience that was eager to discuss, to take mental pictures, and to point out that one unbelievable aspect.

Some people stared in awe, while others meticulously eyed the work to find all the distinct details.

Ozzy Juarez, an SMC student majoring in fine arts, who admired the elaborated work of SMC’s art professors.

Juarez explained that he attended the exhibit to support the faculty, both as a student and as an artist.

“It feels great to get some fresh air among great people,” he said. “The professors we have here are just way too valuable.”

Rory Toole, another SMC fine arts major, said that coming to see the works of his professors gave him more insight into their teaching style and their general perspective on art.

Linda Lopez, professor and creator of the sculpture “Transcendence,” enthusiastically explained her artwork, which was built inside the gallery for about six weeks.

The piece was an eye catcher, with hidden

for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com •

color-changing lights beneath fluffy white feathers, all enclosed in eggshells of different sizes, some as big as a human head, others as small as a golf ball.

These realistic looking eggshells were actually thin pieces of plaster and extremely fragile, Lopez said.

Although Lopez created a complex artwork with precisely placed tumbleweed, glimmering chips of plaster eggshells, and glows of soft colorful light, the exhibition had a bigger purpose overall.

She said she hoped that not only the Santa Monica community, but also SMC students would view this gallery in order to see what an artist can achieve with dedication and “months, years of hard work to perfect those details.”

According to her student Melika Abikenaari, Lopez attained her goal.

Abikenaari said she enjoyed both talking to her professors and seeing how much hard work they put into their artwork.

“It was so cool to look at a piece of art and say, ‘I know that artist; that’s my professor,’” she said.

Although professors and students may @t h e _ c o r s a i r •

Crislin Christian Corsair Professor Linda Lopez explains her contemporary art sculpture “Transcendence” to visitors to the Santa Monica College Faculty Art Exhibit at the Barrett Art Gallery on Friday.

have had different motivations for creating and attending the exhibition, they and the rest of the night’s audience all had one thing in common, the thrill for captivating art.

This year’s Faculty Art Exhibit started Sept. 3 and will be open through Oct. 5.

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arts + Entertainment 9

volume 106 issue 2 • september 11, 2013 • santa monica college

Night sky comes to life at SMC’s planetarium Alci Rengifo Staff Writer

The night sky above Santa Monica College showed the stars lighting up in a blue gleaming cluster, shining in luminous stellar explosions, and dancing in a constellation that appeared like a swan with spread wings.

Astronomer Jim Mahon revealed this cosmic theater to attendees of the show and lecture called, “Autumn Deep Sky Wonders,” presented at Santa Monica College’s John Drescher Planetarium on Friday night for the first time this semester.

The planetarium has been projecting the wonders of the universe since 1971, and was the brainchild of Bruce Young, the first chair of the earth science department at SMC. The theater has a 28-foot diameter that allows attendees to travel through and beyond the solar system.

Mahon showed a group of visitors just how dangerous and vast the cosmos can be, and how comparably small a human individual is.

“Understand that we are on a very small mode of dust orbiting one little star in one galaxy out of billions,” said Mahon. “We’re very full of ourselves, and we should spend a little more time considering our relative insignificance when scaled against the cosmos.”

“At the same time you are an integral part of it,” he continued. “Your body, my body, in every blade of grass, there are atoms that were made in the stars.

We were born out of stardust. We are physically, intimately connected to the sky.”

During the show, the dome above the audience darkened and the theater turned into a cavern.

A gallery of impressive sights hovered overhead. Stars and colorful clouds called nebulae appeared. Some shone like pearls,

others stretched and spread like colorful haze or transparent rivers of light.

Mahon said that as fall is approaching and evenings become longer, the time would be more ripe to study a phenomenon so beautiful, organic and even destructive, such as the Lagoon Nebula, a milky orchid which is in fact a huge cloud of hydrogen.

All eyes were fixated on Mahon when he discussed supernovas, the massive, catastrophic death of a star which produces an eruption of energy so powerful that the resulting nebula, or “wreath on a dying star” as Mahon described it, can devour any planet in its path.

After the planetarium show, Mahon led the audience outside Drescher Hall, and with a fine laser pointer revealed a world of myth and evolution in the night sky.

The stars took on a new shape as Mahon explained constellations and clusters of stars that are all connected to ancient stories and Greek mythology.

Jon Falcone Corsair Jim Mahon (right) presents his weekly series on the universe at the John Drescher Planetarium at Santa Monica College on Friday. Mahon, who has worked building space shuttle engines for NASA spaceships for over two decades, has worked under companies such as Pratt Whitney, Boeing and RocketDyne. In his spare time, he gives presentations at the Griffith Observatory and operates the telescope on Mt. Wilson.

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During the show, the dome above the audience darkened and the theater turned into a cavern.

The season of stargazing is just beginning.

Coming up at the planetarium are programs about the moon and even NASA’s latest plans for Mars explorations.

The planetarium will be hosting the Friday night shows through Feb. 7, beginning at 7 p.m.

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10 sports

volume 106 issue 2 • september 11, 2013 • santa monica college

Women’s soccer drops home opener Lauren Narvaez Staff Writer

Colette Blonigan Corsair Santa Monica College Corsairs’ soccer player Cassidy Schweiger takes control of the ball in a game against the Sierra College Wolverines on Friday.

sports Opinion

What’s wrong with sports?

David Yapkowitz Sports Editor

The phrases flashed across my computer screen.

"You showed us an 18-year-old could play with the best."

"You showed us how to hit game-winner after game-winner."

And on and on. I had to pause the video several times to refrain from regurgitating my lunch.

Never mind that the above statements are false. That didn't stop Nike from including them, as well as numerous cliches, in a new commercial designed to promote Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant.

That single commercial alone summarizes what the problem with sports media is these days.

Bryant rode the bench as an 18-year-old because he was not good enough to play regular minutes. He has actually missed more game-winning shots than he has made, and when compared statistically to

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As they tried to get off to a powerful start, the Lady Corsairs raced up the field and pushed forward to the Wolverines' goal line with great force.

On the defensive end, Monique Boe, Santa Monica College's goalkeeper, tried valiantly to defend the Lady Corsairs' goal, but could other top players in the NBA, he is only one of many who come through in the clutch.

But you wouldn't know that if you follow mainstream sports media.

ESPN and Nike are prime culprits of the demise of sports journalism, a field that has become less and less about actual reporting and more about sensationalism.

It is more about who has the bigger name and what team brings in the most money.

Two years ago, I was at a now defunct basketball summer league in Los Angeles known as The Real Run. J.A. Adande from ESPN was sitting right in front of me.

Playing in the game were Eugene "Pooh" Jeter and Samardo Samuels, two players that were never drafted into the NBA, and spent several years languishing in Europe before finally getting a look from NBA scouts.

By the end of that season, both players were not only key contributors in the NBA, but starting for their respective teams. Two of the biggest feel-good stories of the NBA that year. You would think someone with the reputation that Adande has would be interested in writing about them.

Guess again. Adande spent the majority of the evening on his cell phone and left early without talking to anyone. The real reason he was there? There were rumors of Miami Heat superstar Lebron James showing up that day.

I spent this summer covering the Drew League, another basketball summer league in Los Angeles. Rumors exploded all over social media the entire summer about NBA players such as Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and Blake Griffin

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not stop Wolverine Carissa Schlesinger, as she scored a goal in the first half.

The Lady Corsairs were unable to score a goal, and lost their first home game of the season, 1-0 against Sierra College.

The loss brings SMC's record to 1-1, following their season opening victory over the Los Angeles Harbor College Seahawks, 2-1, on Sept. 3.

With pushing and shoving from both teams, including a yellow card being assessed to SMC's Yajaira Godinez, the match kept the crowd at the edge of their seats, despite being a low-scoring game.

“The game was filled with such excitement, it made it almost impossible to stop watching,” said SMC student Vanessa Rivera. “There was never a dull moment."

With stellar defense, led by Boe, SMC kept Sierra at bay for the rest of the game.

SMC came close to scoring, but never could quite capitalize.

New head coach Joe Pehanich encouraged the team from the sidelines as they kept pushing to try and tie the game. Staying positive, he kept the team's spirits high.

Despite the early season defeat, Pehanich had nothing but encouraging words and suggestions for his team as the game came to a close. The disappointment was evident, but Pehanich would not allow the team to hang their heads as they walked off the field.

“It was tiring, intense, but they [Sierra] played very well,” said Godinez.

The Wolverines were ranked fourth in the nation last season in a National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.

Despite that, the Lady Corsairs held their ground and did not allow them an easy win.

“I’m very happy and felt very confident walking off the field; they showed a lot of character,” said Pehanich.

A former player, Pehanich coaches with encouragement, of which he showed plenty throughout the game. As he kicks of his inaugural season as head coach, his hope for the season is to, “do well in the conference.”

The Lady Corsairs will return to their home field next on Friday, Sept. 13 against the Ventura College Pirates at 5 p.m.

SMC dropped their second game in a row to Long Beach 2-0.

showing up to play.

Each time one of these rumors started making the Facebook and Twitter rounds, the gym would be packed with reporters from various publications. None of these players actually showed, but Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder did.

several top Nike executives were flying in and all the press passes were reserved for them.

Never mind that the day before, several NBA players were also in attendance, but alas, none of them were Kevin Durant so the Nike executives couldn't care less.

It is more about who has the bigger name and what team brings in the most money.

Bryant was in attendance to watch the championship game, prompting ESPN reporter Arash Markazi to lament the fact that he was not there. Forget that there was a title on the line for two teams, he was only bummed because he couldn't be in the mere presence of Bryant.

I was issued an official Nike press pass each time I arrived at the Drew, but on one particular day that Durant showed up, I was not allowed to be credentialed because

Illustration by Jhosef Hern Corsair

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We have just finished up our first issue here at The Corsair, and we will already be working on our third by the time this story makes it to print. I'm in my final semester as sports editor at our award-winning paper, a position I have held for a year now, and I hope to make our sports section the best it has ever been.

You will not find sensationalism on our part. Team and player reputations do not matter to us. We are not cheerleaders for any particular sport or player. We merely inform the public of what is happening.

It is our duty to report on all of Santa Monica College's athletics and student athletes, including those that do not garner much attention. In the event that certain players may stand out, we report accordingly, while understanding that one player does not make a team. They are just one part of a whole.

But know that sometimes, the team that isn't doing too well, or the player that sits at the end of the bench, make the best and most entertaining stories.

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Health + Lifestyle 11

volume 106 issue 2 • september 11, 2013 • santa monica college

9/11 airport anxieties belle owen Staff Writer Hugo Grégoire, a Santa Monica College student, loves to travel to a new place at least once a year. The upgrade to high-level security at airports has not changed his mind about traveling, nor does the chance of hijackers on a plane affect his love for going places.

As for Grégoire's family, they are still concerned every time he boards a plane because of the frightening chance he could be on the plane that crashes. But they were even more worried about his safety the first two years after the Sept. 11 attacks, he said.

"I think security was a lot crazier a few years after the attack," said Grégoire.

Though 9/11 still haunts the minds of many Americans 12 years later, students like Grégoire have decided not to let painful airplane reminders stop them from traveling.

Fredrick Douglas, a photography major at SMC, lived in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, and vividly remembers the devastation that struck that day. But he has still traveled throughout the years for photo opportunities, opting to drive or take rail transportation whenever feasible to avoid the ordeal of flying.

"Flying has certainly changed," said Douglas. "Gone are the days of hassle-free travel.

Security is at an all-time high with armed guards throughout the airport."

In 2001, President George W. Bush passed the Patriot Act to improve machines, tools, security, and help prevent terrorism in the U.S. "The official title of the USA PATRIOT Act is 'Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism," according to the website of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a division of the United States Department of the Treasury.

Heightened airport security was instituted after 9/11 for protection, but it can be offputting to uneasy travelers.

"The radiation in the screening machines are harmful to our bodies," Douglas claimed. "If we choose not to subject ourselves to radiation we have to be patted down. I feel sometimes they can be pretty intrusive."

The Transportation Security Administration has recently changed security rules, removing the Rapiscan System's "backscatter" body scanners. Also, people who are age 12 and younger, age 75 and over, or members of the military, will no longer have to remove their shoes or light jackets, according to the Association for Rational Psychology's website.

Recent reports from the TSA's official website state that the organization is currently

Muslim millennials 12 years later alci rengifo Staff Writer On any given day, a walk through the Santa Monica College campus reveals a mix of faces, colors and nationalities. Like any major college campus in the United States, SMC features a generation of students who have come of age under the shadow of Sept. 11, 2001 and its aftermath.

Atheer Althobaiti, dressed in a traditional Muslim hijab, sat on the third floor of the SMC library after her first class of the day, and spoke about 9/11 and being a Muslim student in the United States.

“I remember when this happened,” said Althobaiti. “My parents talked about it.”

Only 20 years old and too young to remember the full, worldwide impact of the event, Althobaiti nevertheless has specific views about the image of Muslims flashed on television and movie screens since the attack, stereotyping an entire community as fanatics.

“The media shows a lot of these things, but that is not Islam; Islam does not promote this kind of violence,” said Althobaiti, who, herself, has never experienced discrimination due to her faith or ethnicity at SMC. “The students are very nice," she said.

"Many Saudis receive scholarships from America.”

The events of the last 12 years have forever marked our national discourse with phrases such as “Islam,” “Islamic fundamentalism,” “the war on terror,” and “East versus West.”

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, American pop culture has been peppered with commentators, comedians and writers who have become obsessed with the idea of “East versus West.”

Prominent television hosts like Bill Maher have made it routine to slam Muslims as inferior or backwards. In November of last year, during a YouTube broadcast, Maher said that, “our culture isn't just different than one that makes death threats to cartoonists, it's better.”

Since 9/11, there has been a rise in commentators and authors such as Pamela

Geller and Brigitte Gabriel who make a living off of books and radio shows warning Americans about the so-called danger of Islamic fundamentalism invading U.S. shores.

“I think Muslims as a whole are no more distinctive than individuals who call themselves Catholic," said Dianne Bermann, a political science professor at SMC. “But unfortunately, what has become dominant when we discuss Muslims are a fringe branch that is radical and fundamental,” she said. “And many times peoples get tarred with the same brush.”

Bermann said that she does not think Muslims should be singled out as a group from other religious groups.

"But they often are because of very small, radical elements, and as a result an entire group gets a stigma," she said.

A stroll through SMC reveals that the spirit of letting go of the past and simply living cuts across ethnic lines. SMC students Ashley Mendoza and Elizabeth Perez ponder 9/11 and their Muslim neighbors.

“I don’t really remember it,” Perez said. “I never really had a connection to it.”

“I’m not the type to stereotype people,” said Mendoza. “Going to SMC, you learn about different cultures and you’re surrounded by diversity.”

Discrimination did not enter the minds of these students.

“I think it’s more, you hear about it,” said Perez. “More like our parents or others are the ones who criticize, but you grow past it.”

“You learn to appreciate other people and their beliefs,” Mendoza added. “I’m actually very interested because I’m a linguistics major who is studying other cultures.”

Saif Shreim, an SMC student from the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan but raised in Dubai, said he has never experienced any discomfort from his peers.

"No one has been racist towards me," said Shreim. "They don’t see me as a threat

for extended coverage visit us at thecorsaironline.com •

David J. Hawkins Corsair An Airport Services Unit vehicle of the Santa Monica Police Department patrols the airfield on Saturday at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport.

working on technological improvements. These include continuing to expand paperless boarding passes, bottle liquid scanners, biometric technology, explosive detection systems, threat-image projection, and better imaging technology.

"I'm interested in being a part of the new TSA pre-check program, starting this fall," Grégoire said. "It will make traveling a lot more comfortable, timely, and advantageous."

The new pre-check program will allow eligible passengers to use a quick lane during the screening process, which allows you to keep your shoes on, light jackets, belts, and not have to pull out your laptop or carry on liquids, according to the TSA's website.

Douglas said he believes that with improvement of technology and attention to detail, flying will become more of a trustworthy and safe operation for passengers, flight attendants, pilots, and TSA employees.

For 12 years, both Grégoire and Douglas have changed their perspective on the convenience of flying, rather than the fear. because I’m Middle Eastern. Some think I’m from India.”

Shreim said he supports the ongoing Arab Spring uprisings.

“I’m really with it,” he said. “Dictatorships are not a good way of ruling people.

Democracy is way better.”

The general atmosphere on campus is that the stereotypes that have infected much national discourse when it comes to the Muslim community has not generally been prominent on the SMC campus, but instead, students seem to be working as a diverse collective dismissing the past and marching toward the future.

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+ lifestyle 12 health

volume 106 issue 2 • september 11, 2013 • santa monica college

What do you remember?

American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into floors 93-99 of the World Trade Center’s North Tower.

8:46 a.m.

Staff Professor Mary C. Colavito Genetics & Molecular Biology

"I woke up and saw it on T.V. dumbfounded, just staring at it, and I turned it off. You see the airplane going toward the building, and I didn't want to watch that."

- Cindy Kelly

"It was a Tuesday, and I remember meeting with my class. The students were just stunned. I asked if any of them wanted to talk about what was happening and they just stared at me so I asked if they wanted to continue on with the lecture and some of them just nodded."

9:03 a.m.

From Florida, President George W. Bush calls the events in New York City an “apparent terrorist attack on our country.”

Student Colin Evans (was in first grade) Theater Major "I was only in first grade, and I remember turning on the news in class, and we all went home after seeing it on television. School was cancelled that day.

I was scared because I didn't understand what was happening. When I'm older, I can see how much of an impact it must have made on everybody because it's such a shocking situation."

9:31 a.m.

“My first impression was disbelief, like, wow this is happening. The trade towers had been bombed and that day everyone was in shock."

9:37 a.m.

[About the efforts of the passengers of Flight 93 attempting to overtake the plane.]

“I saw it as desperation. It was really sad and usually the last resort. [The terrorists] came in with a specific duty and nobody was going to stop them.”

9:59 a.m.

Student Melia Robinson (was in Kindergarten) Fashion Merchandise, Business Admin Major “I was so young, I didn’t understand what was going on. I kind of wished I knew what was going on. I remember my mom being really upset about it, but I didn’t really know why.”

Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing 59 on board the plane and 125 military and civilian personnel.

Student Amanda Wilson English Literature Major

- Amanda Wilson

The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into floors 75-85 of the World Trade Center’s South Tower.

10:07 a.m.

Passengers on Flight 93 attempt to retake the plane. Hijackers crash the plane into a field in Somerset County, Penn.

Student Martin Loureiro (was in fifth grade) Geography Major

The North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

10:28 a.m.

“I'll never forget how much dust there was all over everyone. It was just shocking. I was scared that day. When I got home, I didn't want to leave my dad's side."

[About the efforts of the passengers of Flight 93 attempting to overtake the plane.]

"I felt bad, but my dad told me about how many lives they saved by doing so and it made me pretty emotional. I'll also never forget the flags at half staff."

11:00 a.m.

- Martin Loureiro

Bush announces U.S. military forces are now on high alert from an Air Force Base in Louisiana.

1:00 p.m.

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani calls for the evacuation of Lower Manhattan.

"What I remember among my colleagues is thinking that this was an act of terror and just stunned that this could happen on our soil."

- Professor Mary C. Colavito

Administration Cindy Kelly Administrative Clerk (SCI Computer Lab) “I believe we will destroy ourselves from within before we are destroyed from outside forces. The way I feel about this is the same way I felt about the Oklahoma bombing as well. Domestic terrorism is new to me.”

8:30 p.m.

President Bush addresses the nation, declaring that America, its friends and allies would “stand together to win the war against terrorism.”

Illustration by Jhosef Hern Corsair

* Times and major events from The History Channel

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