News Dorothy Alexanian News Dorothy Alexanian

False Start for SMC Students Due to Getty Fire

Motes of ash from the nearby Getty fire peppered Santa Monica College (SMC) students flooding towards main campus exits on the morning of Oct. 28. Shouts of “California snow day!” circulated through the crowd, while the surrounding air grew hazy. Traffic backed up inside campus parking structures as students, faculty, and staff heeded evacuation announcements from the college.

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Culture, Entertainment Josh Hogan Culture, Entertainment Josh Hogan

Spider-Man is back in the Marvel Universe

After Walt Disney Studios’ and Sony Pictures’ brief split, the two studios have since found a way to get back into the Spider-Man business together. In late September, Disney and Sony renegotiated how they would share the Spider-Man intellectual property and reached a new agreement allowing Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to return again as co-producer for the third Marvel Spider-Man film. Tom Holland will also be returning as the iconic web-slinger.

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Culture Aleah Antonio Culture Aleah Antonio

Clubs Old and New Gather for Club Row’s “Fall Harvest”

The unusually torrid heat pervading the October air didn’t stop Santa Monica College’s (SMC) clubs from taking this year’s Club Row theme of “Fall Harvest” into full effect. Taking place during activity hour on Thursday, October 24, club representatives weaved around curious students with enthusiasm, pulling pockets of different students to interactive tables lining the main campus quad.

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News Eline Millenaar News Eline Millenaar

Ernest “Undocubae” Rocha Speaks About Owning Your Narrative

Ernesto Rocha is an activist, organizer, motivational speaker, and UCLA graduate. Rocha is also known as “Undocubae,” which stands for Undocumented Before and After the Election. He adopted this name after the 2016 elections to state that he still had the same status, regardless of the political change. Merely three days after the election, tweets streamed in from Trump-supporters, saying, “Come and get him ICE. Obama can’t help him now.”  In spite of opposition and threats, Rocha did not keep quiet, choosing instead to give a TEDx Talk titled “I am NOT My Status: An Undocumented Immigrant’s Perspective.” 

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News Aleah Antonio, Dorothy Alexanian, Dana Binfet News Aleah Antonio, Dorothy Alexanian, Dana Binfet

SMC Hosts Second-Annual Undocumented Student Week of Action

From Oct. 14-18, Santa Monica College's (SMC) Dream Program hosted its “Undocumented Student Week of Action” for the second year, with support from a number of organizations, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA). 

SMC Dream Program Counselor Sergio Belloso explained that SMC participated “in [the] Undocumented Student Week of Action to provide support, encouragement, empowerment, and resources to undocumented students and strengthen allyship for students on campus.” 

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Culture Dashon Love Culture Dashon Love

A Masterpiece of a Most Hilarious Manner: 'Joker' Brings Smiles Through His Torment

Joker is a movie based on the 1980s pre-Batman era of Gotham City, and depicts a clear story of wealth inequality. The seemingly simple-minded Arthur works a dead-end job and is plagued with a chronic laughing condition -- a condition that obviously causes him great pain and inconvenience -- as he dreams of fame as a stand-up comedian. His dream, however, may be far-fetched, as unfortunately he isn't very funny.

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News Jackie Sedley News Jackie Sedley

Great ShakeOut Off-Key at the PAC

As soon as the Great ShakeOut alarm rang, students evacuated the buildings and headed out toward the main quad and parking lot of the PAC campus. This went against the direction of the announcement, which informed students and faculty to “duck, cover, and hold” before moving outside. One of the first students to exit their classroom, SMC freshman Frances Tollman said she was not given any specific instructions to follow along with the loudspeaker’s direction, and her and her fellow classmates all “walked straight out.”

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Culture Julianna Wingate Culture Julianna Wingate

Santa Monica Citizens Gather to Save Muir Woods Mural

All the chairs were taken at the second-floor community room at the Santa Monica Public Library on Wed. Oct. 16. Serving up her own birthday cake, art therapist and peace activist Marissa Rubin greeted attendees of Santa Monica CityTV producer Madeleine Gallagher's film, "Art and Activism." As part of the station’s “Wave” series, the film explored the impact that artists have on local communities with respect to environmental justice. It featured artists like Mary Kelly and Ron Finley, as well as Marissa’s husband, Jerry Rubin.

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Culture Shayn Almeida Culture Shayn Almeida

Dotan Saguy: From SMC to World-Renowned Photographer

or many artists, photographers, creative writing and journalism students, the idea of being published can often seem like a childhood fantasy. However, when hearing about the progression of Dotan Saguy, students eyes are often opened to the myriad of possibilities available to anyone who’s willing to put in the work. Saguy took a project for The Corsair newspaper and turned it into a publishing deal and professional photography career.

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Letter from the Editor Blake Atwell Letter from the Editor Blake Atwell

Letter from the Editor - Fall 2019, Print Edition No.4

Wildfires are blazing across Southern California. Thousands of Southern California residents have been displaced from their homes and communities – including the San Fernando Valley and Pacific Palisades right here in L.A., two areas filled with people from the Santa Monica College (SMC) community. Yet, despite the graveness of the California wildfires, our nation’s attention continues to be dominated by the words and actions of President Donald J. Trump in Washington D.C.

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News Drew Andersen News Drew Andersen

AI Technology Nails Parking Violators

Parking officer Jonathan Rosas patrols Santa Monica College’s (SMC) parking structures every day, checking to see if each vehicle has the required valid permit to park within the designated spaces marked by white lines. Hundreds of student and staff vehicles stream in and out of the four major parking structures on campus each school day and night. Rosas's job is to identify which vehicles are in compliance with SMC's regulations and which are not.

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News Ryanne Mena, Dorothy Alexanian, Aleah Antonio, and Dakota-Castets Didier News Ryanne Mena, Dorothy Alexanian, Aleah Antonio, and Dakota-Castets Didier

Confederate Flag Placard Sparks Controversy

“PARKING FOR CONFEDERATES ONLY, ALL OTHERS GO BACK NORTH,” read a placard found on the desk of Inter-Club Council (ICC) Vice Chair Gabriella Montgomery.

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Opinion Chloe Geshwind Opinion Chloe Geshwind

The Judgement of the Joker

When one goes to the movie theater to see the new “Joker” movie, it's no surprise to see a couple police officers guarding the perimeter of the cinema. Although some theaters nowadays will usually check bags before people come in, extra precautions are being put in place with this new contentious movie. Controversy sparks from the violence portrayed, and has caused paranoia that this in turn will give people the idea that they, too, should create violence in the real world.

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Opinion Dorothy Alexanian Opinion Dorothy Alexanian

Blind Eyes and Genocide

The Turkish government refuses to acknowledge the Meds Yeghern as a genocide. Their education system paints Armenians as traitorous defectors who were a threat to the Ottoman Empire, and they continuously lobby foreign governments to prevent the spread of public knowledge about the genocide.

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News John Roth News John Roth

SMC Celebrates its First-Ever Indigenous People's Day

Santa Monica College (SMC) celebrated its first ever Indigenous People's Day event on main campus with live music and interactive dancing. Rather than observe Columbus Day, many students opted to observe Indigenous People's Day in remembrance of the cultures negatively affected by Europe's conquest of the Americas.

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