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volume 106 issue 7 • october 16, 2013 • santa monica college

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volume 106 issue 7 • october 16, 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 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 Albert Andrade ·······Multimedia Editor c o rs a i r. m u l t i m e d i a @ 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 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., Trev Angone, Fabian Avellaneda, Nathan Berookhim, Crislin Christian, Tina Eady, Paulina Eriksson, Jon Falcone, Lorena Garcia, Vanessa Oliveira Gomes, Jimmy Janszen, Ludwig Jonsson, Arlene Karno, Michelle Kreel, Michael Lee, Josefin Lindstrom, Jose Lopez, Sumaya Malin, Simon Luca Manili, Reyna Mares, Lauren Narvaez, Belle Owen, Mark Popovich, Rachel Porter, Jonathan Ramos, Alci Rengifo, Jonathan Riley, Cassandra Rubio, Emilio Sedeno, Dion To, Gintare Urbutyte, Mark Williams, David Lloyd Wilson, Lyan Wong

NICK KOVALENKO CORSAIR A tree falls down on a street-parked car near Santa Monica College, at the intersection of 11th and Broadway on Friday night. Police

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news 3

volume 106 issue 7 • october 16, 2013 • santa monica college

Government shutdown leaves vets uncertain Among the few campus groups affected by the shutdown, veterans may not see crucial money next month.

S

tina Eady STAFF WRITER

anta Monica College veteran student Ronald Gray served three years of active duty in the United States Marine Corps, four years in the Reserve, two years in the Texas National Guard, and two years in the California Guard.

Two weeks ago, Gray received denial from the Social “I’m looking at what’s happening, and it’s making me nervous,” he said.

Without this money, Gray will be homeless and unable to attend school.

Since the government shutdown began, now in day 16, SMC funding has remained intact and largely unaffected.

But students like Gray, who rely on federal money to survive, are starting to feel the heat in light of the continuing shutdown.

“We’re good until the end of the month, but if the shutdown continues, we don’t know what will happen,” said Linda Sinclair, faculty leader for the Veterans’ Resource Center.

Some veteran resources have already been shuttered, Sinclair said. Among them are the West Los Angeles Vocational Rehabilitation Center and the San Diego

If the shutdown continues, processing claims on pensions, education and rehabilitation programs will be “suspended when available funding is exhausted,” according to the “Veterans Field Guide to Government Shutdown” document on the Department of Veteran Affairs’ website.

SMC. Students would normally mail the documents after receiving them from the IRS, or use the online site that is now closed due to the shutdown. On this site, students could retrieve the documents by using a link in order to transfer the income information onto the online application.

suspended starting next month.

However, most of the state money that SMC receives has already been allocated for the year.

“Although the federal programs fund some of the state’s money, [the shutdown] is very minimal to us,” said Bob Isomoto, vice president of business and administration at SMC. Most of the school's funding from the U.S. Department of Education is through forward funding, which is allocated a few years in advance, allowing the funds to still exist even in the event of a shutdown, said Laurie McQuayPeninger, director of grants at SMC. However, annually appropriated funds would be affected.

“Federal funding comes from the Department of Education, and they forward fund most of it, and thus our programs are safe; they’re not impacted,” McQuayPeninger said.

“Although the school pays for the running of the veterans'

According to the Department of Education's contingency plan, since the shutdown lasted longer than a week, the department was set to phase employees in only as necessary But even in a longer-lasting shutdown, no more than six percent of the total staff, which would include partial and rotating employees, would be phased in. This means that longer wait until they receive it.

Teresita Rodriguez, vice president of enrollment development at SMC, had some concerns about students students coming abroad would not be able to secure visas. they’ve told us business as usual,” Rodriguez said.

affected,” Isomoto said.

situation to make sure students are not greatly impacted.

“The FAFSA website is still up, and students can actually apply, make corrections," she said. "The other thing is that we draw down funds as we need them to pay students from the federal government, and both those things are

that have yet to be awarded funds and are randomly selected by the Department of Education to submit tax return transcripts from the Internal Revenue Service.

“Students are not able to retrieve those tax returns from the IRS,” said Jeremy Newman, student support clerk at

check and are already processed for this semester."

Ready, set, earthquake The drill will commence at 10:17 a.m. There will not

Students from around the world sound off be any signals given to announce that an earthquake has on earthquake preparedness. struck.

S

At the start of the drill, professors and students are expected to practice the safety measures of dropping to the ground, taking shelter under a sturdy desk or table,

alci rengifo STAFF WRITER

anta Monica College will participate in the worldwide earthquake drill known as “The Great ShakeOut” on Thursday. Major corners of the world, which are candidates for seismic activity, from Japan to southern Italy, will take part.

First established in 2008, the drill is meant to make residents aware of the need for emergency preparedness and to practice basic techniques to avoid injury or panic during an earthquake. California is marked by several active faults.

“It’s good to be prepared,” said SMC student Brennan Stanley, who said, in an earthquake, he would worry about, “buildings crushing my body and falling into one of the cracks.”

SMC student Kerstin Kielgass also had a gripe about earthquakes.

“Getting separated and your cellphone not working,

shaking stops. Fire alarms will then switch on as a signal for everyone to evacuate.

“It is important for students, faculty, staff and administrators to be prepared to handle emergencies such as earthquakes so that we can help each other to safety and remain as calm as possible and know what to do in an emergency,” said Tony Prestby, project manager for SMC’s supplemental instruction department and building monitor for the Letters and Science Building during the drill.

“I was working at the college during the Northridge earthquake,” he said. “The earthquake damaged several buildings on campus and showed us we needed to be better prepared.”

For international students, the earthquake drill could serve as a useful exercise.

“I’ve never experienced an earthquake,” said Lindsey Leduff, an international student from France.

“I never even knew there could be an earthquake in Los Angeles,” said Mauricio Vejar, another international student from France.

Apparently in Paris, where both Vejar and Leduff are from, the popular concept of earthquakes in California centers around San Francisco.

Vejar said he knows about the San Andreas Fault, but when it comes to Los Angeles, it is a different story.

“You never hear about earthquakes here, but if your friends are from San Francisco, then you do hear about it,” Vejar said. “In Paris, besides terrorism or bomb threats, there’s nothing. To be honest, I lived for 20 years in Paris, and nothing happened.”

But for Californians, the threat of an earthquake is very real.

Prestby pointed out the main concerns that should be paid attention to during the drill in order for it to serve as a preparedness exercise.

“The biggest concern is knowing how to get others to safety and making sure everyone knows whether they evacuation exit,” he said.

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4 photostory

volume 106 issue 7 • october 16, 2013 • santa monica college

RACHEL PORTER CORSAIR

Shutdown, shut out

PAUL ALVAREZ JR. CORSAIR

JOSE LOPEZ CORSAIR SCOTT BIXLER CORSAIR

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opinion 5

volume 106 issue 7 • october 16, 2013 • santa monica college

JOSE LOPEZ CORSAIR

The Republicans’

Frankenstein shutdown The United States government shutdown rattles nerves and captures the world’s attention.

T

alci rengifo STAFF WRITER

his is an alarming sign that an extremist wing has completely taken over at least one side of the benches in the U.S. Congress. A minority within a minority party is now setting us on a course toward catastrophe.

For now, the shutdown has created a few annoyances, like national park closures, but surely the effects are rippling out into frozen paychecks, and if the U.S. defaults, then all bets are off.

Even the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, warned on the show Meet The Press, that a U.S. default would bring “massive disruption the world over.”

This could be the beginning of a culmination of developments which have allowed the Republican party to be dominated by the extreme right wing. It is the right wing that sought to keep the U.S. from progressing into the 21st century by starting a storm over a simple health care reform that barely comes close to anything being practiced already in Sweden or Canada.

In his Oct. 8 speech addressing the ongoing shutdown, President Barack Obama made the interesting statement that House Speaker John Boehner should not be pressured by members within his own party. This was an interesting observation because it means that while Boehner might

be your typical Washington bureaucrat, the driving forces behind the shutdown are the extremists, ranging from the Tea Party hyenas to radicals like Sen. Ted Cruz, one of the leaders of the shutdown movement.

The extremists, which also include luminaries of irrationality like Michele Bachmann, fear any sort of functioning social programs in this country that would provide less expensive health care or education.

They follow the free market, predatory capitalist philosophies of writers like Ayn Rand and economists like Milton Friedman, which glorify total privatization of society’s basic needs such as health care and education.

Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney’s running mate during the 2012 elections, was a major Rand devotee, who would hand out free copies of her novels to his This is why in the latest round of talks to end the shutdown, Republicans demanded that any new deal also include budget cuts for Medicare and Medicaid — not surprising from a party whose rising stars read Rand titles like Now consider that a recent Wall Street Journal poll revealed dipping numbers for the GOP, including Cruz. Yet, at the notoriously right-wing Values Voter Summit, he won the annual

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straw poll with 42 percent. This straw poll is usually seen as an indicator of who will lead the contenders list for the Republican presidential nomination come 2016. The WSJ poll also showed that 28 percent of all Americans view Cruz negatively, a poll he where this country is,” a typical, irrational response.

But irrationality is not alien to the modern Republican party, which is also dominated by religious extremists with visions bordering on theocracy. Only at the Values Voter Summit would a political movement invite a speaker like author Joel Rosenberg, a religious fanatic who believes Israel and Iran are destined to clash in an End Times war that will usher in the return of Christ. This must be pointed out because it explains some of the kamikaze attitudes behind the shutdown.

The shutdown signals a frightening new page in American politics. These are quite literally banana republic tactics that are being employed right here in America.

In 2003, the oil sector in Venezuela was completely dominated by the country’s rightwing oligarchy, the self-entitled aristocracy. Fearing the radical reforms of Hugo Chavez, the bosses who owned Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., the nation’s key oil producer, carried out a massive strike to cripple the Venezuelan economy and provoke mass chaos, or better yet, a coup. The strike was broken when all of the old PDVSA staff members were

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workforce.

Obviously, the U.S. is not Venezuela, and Obama is not a late Chavez, but he must stay a political virus that has infected the Republican party, and is willing to destroy the country as long as it means halting anything perceived as too liberal or even worse, socialist.

Obama should learn from the battles fought during the Depression when Franklin D. Roosevelt faced radical opposition to the implementation of the New Deal. His immortal motto was, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

It rings even more true today because the great weapon the Republicans’ Frankenstein monster is wielding is fear. Fear of adjusting our system just a little, and fear of joining the rest of the industrialized, civilized world is what drives the radical wing of the GOP’s campaign.

“Obamacare” is not the most ideal reform we would want as the dominant hegemonic power in the world. It falls short of providing any sort of real health care coverage, as seen in Germany or even tiny, red Cuba.

Health care under the nation’s new system remains deeply tied to private interests.

It is hard to tell what course Obama is now planning to take in order to stop the madness of the shutdown. Will he compromise?

The president better think fast, because we may be witnessing the republic.

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6 sports

volume 106 issue 7 • october 16, 2013 • santa monica college

Most valuable player Evan Peterson has been dominating the waters for the Santa Monica College men’s water polo team.

Trev Angone STAFF WRITER

C

"If we do well in our upcoming conference games, we

alifornia Interscholastic Federation champion, Ocean League Most Valuable Player, two-time All Ocean League and third team All-CIF are good starting places when describing the young career of Santa Monica College men’s water polo standout

Evan Peterson.

Not only is he the leading goal-scorer this season for the Corsairs, but he also serves as team captain.

"I’m proud; I’ve worked hard," Peterson said. "We do get everyone ready to play in the games, but team chemistry is much more important. I’d rather have our team do well than just me be the leading scorer."

Peterson began playing water polo the summer before his freshman year at El Segundo High School.

After his decorated high school career, he played for multiple club teams around the South Bay in Los Angeles, and participated in the Junior Olympics.

Even with a leader as talented as Peterson, SMC has struggled to reach the top of the standings this season.

With a record of 8-10, including 0-2 in their conference, and a current two-game losing streak, it is going to be tough for the Corsairs to make a run at the playoffs.

win from here on out," Peterson said. "To be completely honest, I don’t think the chemistry is all the way there. We still have more stuff we need to work on to get into a better rhythm."

The Corsairs have battled in several close games, but have ultimately come up short.

"We’ve had some good wins, but we’ve also had some close losses to teams we should have beat," Peterson said. "There have been some games where we just haven’t played up to our ability."

“I played club Peterson is already preparing for water polo for the the day when he will leave the South Bay and then waters of SMC for the next stop collegiate journey.

Palos Verdes. The summer on"Ihishave been talking to UCSD coming into my freshman a little bit; hopefully that could work out," Peterson said. "I’m year at SMC, my Palos still undecided when it comes to my major, but I’ve been thinking Verdes club team, we about marine biology. After college, I probably won’t continue playing, but I could be interested in coaching in the future."

When Peterson is not dominating in the pool, he spends his time guarding it and making sure it is a safe place for the next generation of water polo players.

When he is on dry land, he can usually be found relaxing with those who know him best.

"I like to hang out with my friends on the weekends,"

Junior Olympics.”

-Evan Peterson

ARLENE KARNO CORSAIR

California, Santa Barbara.

Peterson said. "Also I’m working right now as a lifeguard at the Westchester YMCA." Impressive young athletes like Peterson do not just fall out of thin air. There is almost always someone behind the scenes pushing them to reach their full potential, and his story has no exceptions.

"I would say my mom has been my biggest inspiration because she’s always been there for me and believed in me with what I’ve been doing," said Peterson.

ARE NOT ALONE.

At CSU Channel Islands students have one-on-one access to all of their professors, and a supportive campus culture that’s perfectly suited for exploring ideas beyond the classroom, learning new subjects

TOGETHER WE INNOVATE L to R: Darius Riggins, Admissions & Recruitment; Patrick Tafoya, Facilities Services; Ellie Tayag, John Spoor Broome Library; Jill Leafstedt, Associate Professor of Education; Carmen Gutierrez, ‘13 Early Childhood Studies, future

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health + lifestyle 7

volume 106 issue 7 • october 16, 2013 • santa monica college

Chris Hedges talks resistance against status quo Best-selling former New York Times journalist shares knowledge and opinion in Santa Monica.

T

alci rengifo STAFF WRITER

he capitalist order is cracking, climate change is shattering the very structures of the natural world, and resistance is our only option to survive.

That was the message renowned author and journalist Chris Hedges brought to Santa Monica during a talk at the Santa Monica Women’s Bay Club on Sunday.

Word spread that Hedges would be in town. The lines outside the club were a few capacity.

Hedges gained prominence after taking part in a team of New York Times reporters who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for their coverage of global terrorism. But in 2003, heavily criticizing the war in Iraq during a commencement speech at Rockford College in Illinois.

Hedges is now a celebrated columnist and author of best-sellers about war and modern America such as "Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt" and "War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning," which Hurt Locker." He came to Santa Monica to discuss America as it stands today amid a continuing global economic crisis, climate change and the government shutdown.

Robert Scheer, editor-in-chief of the online journal "Truth Dig," introduced Hedges. Upon taking the podium to rousing applause from an audience of all ages, Hedges compared modern American society to Herman Melville's classic novel "Moby Dick."

Hedges compared the doomed quest of Captain Ahab and the crew of the Pequod in their search for the great white whale to the rise and fall of a civilization.

"Those on the ship, on some level, know they are doomed, just as many of us know our civilization and ecosystem cannot stand the continued assault by corporate capitalism," said Hedges.

He said that society lives under the illusion that the great changes now happening are of little concern, and we will simply adapt.

Continuing with quotes from Nietzsche and descriptions of modern America where wages remain stagnant, Hedges spoke about the rising cost of living, a good education becoming less affordable,

JIMMY JANSZEN CORSAIR

and our leaders, both Republican and Democrat, catering to corporate interests.

Hedges discussed the recent Occupy movement, and how the assaults on the encampments by local authorities were an example of state powers quickly silencing "Physical courage and moral courage can and a coward before human evil," he said.

Resistance, Hedges said, will come through protest, even if it means arrest, through creating art and forming a sense of community.

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During a question-and-answer session following the lecture, Hedges warned that the ongoing government shutdown is a disturbing sign of the kind of "malfunction that infects dying civilizations."

"We're seeing the dysfunction of empire," he said.

After the event, Hedges discussed the need for the modern students to take some time to think and escape from the restless, technology-dominated world.

"The modern culture has made it constant intrusion," he said. "I don't have

a TV. I try to read every night."

For students preparing to jump into a world where opportunities might seem scarce in a time of economic uncertainty, Hedges added that students are also being thrown into tremendous debt while college administrators are making a generous amount of money.

"If you got up in France and announced to French university students that they had to pay $50,000 a year to go to college, they would shut the damn country down," Hedges said. "And that's exactly what we need to start doing here."

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8 arts + entertainment

volume 106 issue 7 • october 16, 2013 • santa monica college

SMC’s ‘Twelfth Night’ impresses pompous steward Malvolio, played

by Ryan Haberfeld. Making mischief for them all, Olivia's raucous uncle Sir Toby Belch was played by Phillip Murray, and devilish servant Maria was played

by Rossi-Anne Jaffe.

One of the great challenges when staging Shakespeare is making it feel both accessible and new. In this production, the combination of strong performances and skillful costume and set design did both.

The production was a fresh, energetic take on the classic play with the setting changed from early 17th century England to 20th century America, with costumes reminiscent of a Charles Dickens novel or a Mark Twain story set in the old south.

A review of the Santa Monica College theater department's production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night."

Alci Rengifo STAFF WRITER When Santa Monica College student Krystyna Rodriguez dressed as a clown and burst onstage singing William Shakespeare's classic words, "for the rain it raineth every day," you knew the performance was going to be something special.

With a singing clown and ocean breezes, the SMC theater department opened the premiere of its new rendition of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," directed by Professor Janie Jones, on Thursday night at SMC's Main Stage.

Shakespeare's poetry was revived on a set designed to evoke a breezy beach, complete with fenced walkways and seagull sounds emanating from the theater's speaker system.

A girl named Viola, played by Tiana Randall-Quant, was shipwrecked and saved by a captain named Fabian, played

by Nicolas Lozano. Believing her brother Sebastian to be dead, Viola dressed up as a man and took on the name Cesario to work for Duke Orsino, played by Robert Jensen.

Meanwhile, a wealthy woman named Olivia was sought after by a group of suitors including Orsino and the buffoonish Sir Andrew, played by Jonathan Driegert.

Keeping an eye over everything was the

cheering at the performances.

Jones said that many of the cast members play before." The cast fully embodied their characters and rarely ever struck a single false note.

Murray was a comic blast as Belch; his drunken, spirited rendition was almost a combination of Shakespeare and Jack Black.

The female leads shone onstage in dresses that made them look as if they stepped out of a 1930s technicolor "Gone Wi t h The

scene, the play never lost a kinetic energy that resonated until the end.

Shakespeare's story of upper class silliness and comic relief at the expense of others felt immediate, and the audience was fully engaged, laughing at the jokes and

Wind."

Jaffe's Maria in particular was a delight because she played the scheming role with real, malevolent glee.

She had excellent timing and a real command of how to convey emotions with facial expressions.

But the real star of the night was Haberfeld as Malvolio, playing a poor, pompous soul who was taken advantage of with an awful prank.

When his character exploded in rages at the drunken louts surrounding him, the audience cheered, completely taken in.

"Theater is this old-fashioned art in the modern age," Jones said. "In this modern age of technology, it is the one thing that involves the person. You can't substitute an actor even with a hologram."

This play was not the original production that Jones wanted to stage to launch this semester's theater season.

"We didn't get a chance to do the show that I had wanted to do," Jones said.

"We weren't able to get the rights for the one I wanted, neither for my second or third choices. With the semester looming overhead, we just had to choose. You don't have to pay rights for Shakespeare."

Jones said she believes Shakespeare is universal.

"So many scenes in this play are relevant today — the love affairs, being in love, the idea of right and wrong," she said.

"What a joy to hear human emotions spoken through his poetry."

The play previewed on Oct. 10, and runs on weekends through Oct. 20.

ARLENE KARNO CORSAIR

Film instructor directs

musical

professor produces a musical entitled "Venice Beach" for SMC's Broad Stage.

and screenplay at the Los Angeles 3-D Film Festival. professor Salvador Carrasco, Bartesaghi was

Alci Rengifo STAFF WRITER

S

anta Monica College's new

Bartesaghi is leading a class that will help produce a major show for The Broad Stage. The production, titled "Venice Beach," will premiere in November 2014.

"Venice Beach" will tell a Romeo-andJuliet-style tale of forbidden love between a rebel surfer and an upper-class valley girl in modern-day Venice. The musical will feature a wide array of multimedia content to go with live acting, and will be produced by Bill Borden, who is best known for producing "Glee" and "Mission: Impossible III." Bartesaghi says he has never imagined "I always loved watching movies and did a lot of editing with vacation footage," he says.

"When I was a teen, I liked writing stories, but never saw any hope in being a writer. So I studied economics and business and became a consultant. That was my job for seven to eight years."

At the age of 30, Bartesaghi decided to try something else, and his wife convinced him

in Los Angeles, all tuition expenses paid.

Since then, Bartesaghi has directed several award-winning features, including the 3-D

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the video segments of the musical "Venice Beach."

Carrasco will be the studio executive and supervisor of the project, who will be "the one making sure that the vision is coherent with the project and what it wants to achieve," Bartesaghi says.

During the project, students who mount a full musical will undergo training for the real industry while working with professionals.

“This is a very interesting combination," Baresteghi says. "It is a way to bring [the students to] the industry. It is a musical a very well-known producer is bringing together."

He hopes that the team of students will be able to create a truly immersive experience that will transport the audience into the musical’s world.

“Our goal is to create an experience that is totally unique," Bartesaghi says. "When the characters surf, we will have images of waves on the screen, but the actors will surf on the stage. We’re doing a lot of experimental stuff."

The challenge will be bringing the very sights and smells associated with Venice to life within the walls of the theater, he says.

"It will be a lot of fun to recreate Venice and make sure the audience can experience it," says Bartesaghi. "We want to make them feel as if they are walking on the Venice sidewalk, smell the ocean and the incense of candles."

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