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09.19.16 Volume 15 Issue 256
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WHAT’S UP WESTSIDE ..................PAGE 2 SAVE OUR SERVICES ....................PAGE 4 SMC/SMMUSD JOINT MEETING ..PAGE 5 CRIME WATCH ..................................PAGE 6 MYSTERY PHOTO ............................PAGE 8
Santa Monica Daily Press
smdp.com
Festivity SMC welcomes first bachelor’s degree cohort Interaction design students begin upper-division coursework of Hope BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN BY MARINA ANDALON
Daily Press Staff Writer
Daily Press Staff Writer
It is time for the fundraiser that brings smiles, laughter and toys to the iconic Santa Monica Pier. Stars will come out to show their support for the 17th Annual Mattel Party on the Pier on September 25 at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Pacific Park on the Pier. The party brings families together for fun activities while benefiting a phenomenal cause. Party on the Pier started back in 1999-2000 with the same mission in sight; raise money to provide resources for research to help patients of UCLA. For the past 17 years, Mattel Party on the Pier has provided unrestricted funding to launch high-priority programs and support innovative research discoveries that benefit children being treated at UCLA and around the world. Recent support has been directed towards clinical trials for teen and young adult patients in the pediatric hematology and oncology division. Funds also go to the development of new therapies for pediatric patients suffering from leukemia and lymphomas, and to support research in pediatric cancer predisposition and precision medicine. According to the press release, “Last year, Mattel Party on the Pier netted over $800,000 for the hospital and helped launch high-priority programs that benefit boys and girls being treated at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA and around the world.” Danielle Dietz, Assistant Director of Development, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, said, “We love working with Pacific
It’s official: Santa Monica College has students who are actively pursuing bachelor’s degrees. After months of intensive planning and preparation, the local community college this term launched its inaugural set of upperdivision courses as part of the new interaction design pathway. The 21 students who are enrolled in the program are trailblazers for the college as it attempts to align its
educational offerings with opportunities in the ever-changing, technology-driven workforce. “They are moving through as a cohort, and I think they’ve already kind of bonded,” said Jennifer Merlic, the SMC dean of instructional services. “They’re the first group to take junior-level courses. It’s exciting. We’re all very excited.” The college was hoping to attract a second IxD section for a total of about 40 or 50 students, Merlic said, but it didn’t have much time to groom lower-divi-
sion students for the new program. SMC is already anticipating a new session to start in spring 2017, the priority admissions deadline for which was last week. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through Dec. 15. Students are eligible if they have the appropriate units by the end of the fall, have already completed a graphic design program or have work experience in the field. The college expects to have two active IxD sessions at all times, Merlic said.
“If someone didn’t finish a course, we didn’t want them to have to wait a year for another cohort,” said Merlic, who noted that many current students are working professionals. “If they drop a class, they can take it again in the spring.” About 100 students with freshman or sophomore status have expressed interest in applying to the program. It’s a unique dynamic for SMC, which is well-known SEE COLLEGE PAGE 7
OPCC director talks homelessness, challenges in Q&A BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
ARTIVISTS
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Quetzal comes to Santa Monica College’s main campus (1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica) for two free events in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month: a community songwriting workshop Sept. 20 at 11:15 a.m. in Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS) Lecture Hall 165, and a concert September 22 at 11:15 a.m. on the SMC Quad. A poetry reading featuring renowned and emerging authors and poets also takes place on October 13 at 11:15 a.m. in HSS 165. See Page 3 for more information.
It’s well-known among Santa Monica politicians and community members that homelessness remains a major problem in the city. Local leaders have identified it as a priority issue. Residents see it on a daily basis. So do tourists. The annual count this past January tallied 728 homeless people in Santa Monica, more than half of which were living on the street. But their backgrounds and problems vary greatly. “Homeless people are not a homogenous group,” said OPCC executive director John Maceri, whose organization provides housing and other services to homeless people in the area. “Homeless people as diverse as all the rest of us.” The Daily Press spoke with Maceri about homelessness and efforts to address the issue locally. What follows is the first of two parts of the interview, which has
SEE FUNDRAISER PAGE 7
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SEE OPCC PAGE 9
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