Volume 103 Issue 09

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APRIL 25, 2012APRIL 25, 2012

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Sal Guerra CorsairPresident of the Honor Society Ernie Savilla (above), AS Director of Sustainability Marjohnny Torres-Nativi (lower left) and commissioner to AS President Harrison Wills, Parker Jean (lower right) are this year’s Associated Student Presidential candidates.

Andy RiesmeyerNews Editor

Candidates for leadership positions on the Associated Students board are gearing up for next week’s election while tensions over budget cuts and self-funded education remain high at Santa Monica College.Members from various campaign slates

have spent time talking to students, explaining how student government should deal with pressing issues if they are elected. The budget crisis and the Board of Trustee’s implementation of Contract Ed—a catalyst for student protests earlier this month—are central to the debate.Parker Jean is a candidate for AS

President running on the “Paradigm Shift” slate, and says the issue of student’s rights is paramount to his campaign. “The way that Contract Ed was passed without shared governance can’t happen again,” he says. “I want to empower students to make decisions on their own, I don’t want to run the school; I want the students to run it.”Jean, who was a commissioner for

outgoing AS President Harrison Wills, says that he’s learned a lot from his experiences but adds he has his own style of leadership. We have a crisis in education; one of

my number one things on my platform is political activism,” Jean says. “Anything you’re willing to fi ght for should be handled in any way possible.”Wills endorsed Jean Tuesday. “Parker

is an incredibly honest, hard working and intelligent guy,” he says. The two appeared together at a Student Organizing Committee meeting later that day in support of the upcoming May 1 protests against Contract Ed. Challenging Jean is Honor Society

President Ernie Sevilla, who is running on the “Experience, Strength & Hope” slate. “I’ve worked with many diversities and communities,” he says, adding that his experience in the “working world” helps him fi nd solutions to problems. Sevilla is a vocal critic of the current AS

administration, and publicly condemned

both the AS and Wills for their actions leading up to the April 4 protests in which 30 students, including a 4-year-old, were pepper-sprayed by college police. “That’s not how you get things

accomplished,” he says. “We need to act like adults.” Sevilla, who says he is against Contract

Ed, proposes the budget crisis can be helped by putting pressure on corporations to fund higher education. “We need to go to the oil companies and urge them to set up scholarships,” he says, adding, “We need to get people to vote and support the tax initiatives that fund public education.”Current AS Director of Sustainability

Marjohnny Torres-Nativi is also running for president. Torres-Nativi is running on a slate called “The Mango,” and says that his success in lobbying the administration for eco-friendly campus additions like doubling bike parking and the Organic Learning Garden is evidence of his leadership.Torres-Nativi says he’s against the self-

funded education system, but offers a caveat. “I understand it may be in the students’ interests,” he says. “I want to be a leader who listens to their needs and represents all of the students at SMC, not just a small group.” “I’ve always stood for what the students

want,” Torres-Nativi says. “I’m always thinking of ways for students to save money, and for them to be able to speak their minds.” Torres-Nativi adds that he thinks

the protests have helped bring public awareness to the issues facing the schools and empowered student activism.Candidate for Student Trustee, Michele

Olivarez, is also running on Sevilla’s slate. “I was actually against Contract Ed until I found out more about it,” she says, adding that she is running on a promise to inform the student body of pressing issues responsibly.Also like Sevilla, she criticized the SOC

and the way they’ve handled the protests. “If people actually found out what Mikail

AS Candidates respond to Contract Ed

Pronilover’s motives, are he’d lose a lot of followers,” she says, referring to one of the group’s most vocal members.Jesse Allen Ramirez, candidate for

Director of Publicity, and also running on the “Paradigm Shift” slate, says that if he’s elected he’ll make sure that funding for the AS is used towards “classes and students.” “I want to get information about the

activities of the Associated Students out to the public better,” he says. Ramirez founded “Project: Dreams Made Reality,” a club aimed at assisting fi nancially disadvantaged members of the SMC community.Students will be able to vote for candidates online

through Corsair Connect starting Monday. Voting closes Thursday night, with the results released Friday.

FOR EXTENDED COVERAGE VISIT US ONLINE . THECORSAIRONLINE.COM

WEDNESDAY APRIL 25, 2012 - SANTA MONICA COLLEGE 2|CONTENTS

E D I T O R I A L S T A F FNathan Gawronsky ··············Editor-in-Chief

c o r s a i r . e d i t o r i n c h i e f @ g m a i l . c o mNathalyd Meza ·················· Managing Editor

c o r s a i r . m a n a g i n g @ g m a i l . c o mAndy Riesmeyer ······················· News Editor

c o r s a i r . n e w s p a g e @ g m a i l . c o mAmber Antonopoulos ··Health + Life Editor

c o r s a i r . l i f e s t y l e p a g e @ g m a i l . c o mJacob Blackoff ·························· A & E Editor

c o r s a i r . c a l e n d a r p a g e @ g m a i l . c o mMia Shilpi ······························ Opinion Editor

c o r s a i r . o p i n i o n p a g e @ g m a i l . c o mRoger Morante ························Sports Editor

c o r s a i r . s p o r t s p a g e @ g m a i l . c o mPaul Alvarez ···················· Multimedia Editor

c o r s a i r . m u l t i m e d i a @ g m a i l . c o mMichael Yanow ·························Photo EditorAnisa El-Khouri ······················· Photo Editor

c o r s a i r p h o t o e d i t o r @ g m a i l . c o mDavid J. Hawkins ························Web Editor

c o r s a i r . w e b e d i t o r @ g m a i l . c o mNathalyd Meza ······················· Design EditorAlfredo Avila ····························· Design Staff Elham Sagharchi ·······················Design Staff

c o r s a i r . d e s i g n t e a m @ g m a i l . c o mJhosef Hern ·································Illustration

c o r s a i r c a r t o o n @ g m a i l . c o mS T A F F W R I T E R S

Yair Avila, Vanessa Barajas, Christian Carrillo, Peter Cheng, Chelsea Cobbs, Faye Crosswhite,

Henry Crumblish, Sarkis Ekmekian, Melina Flores, Dylan Futrell, Chavi Gourarie, Erica Gunn, Robert

Gutierrez, Justin Hinton, Tea Jovanovic, Luana Kasahara, Brigette Martinez, Zoryana Melesh,

Samantha Perez, Mai Sims, Susanna Svensson, Christinia Sziatinszsky, Cinthia Vera, Israel Villacota,

Sophia Villegas, Nadine Weiland

P H O T O G R A P H E R SJose Balderas, Daniela Berzuini, Jeff Cote, Sydney

Forneret, Marine Gaste, Adrian Galicia, Carrie Jesenovec, Ian-Thomas Kagihara, Asta Karalis, Linda

Konde, Guy Mokia, Michael Price

F A C U L T Y A D V I S O R SS a u l R u b i n

G e r a r d B u r k h a r t

A D I N Q U I R I E S( 3 1 0 ) 4 3 4 - 4 0 3 3

c o r s a i r . a d c o n s u l t a n t @ g m a i l . c o m

Jeff Cote CorsairThe Topanga Ridge Repeater antenna tower, photographed with a 30 second exposure using a painting-with-light technique sources on April 9. The antena is located northeast of Saddle Peak in the Santa Monica Mountains.

STUDENTS! IF YOU HAVE PHOTOS, FEELINGS OR OPINIONS ON WHAT WE PUBLISH, WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. E-MAIL, TWEET, OR FACEBOOK US. WE'RE LISTENING! [email protected] @THE_CORSAIR

Retraction:>Last week, our cover story titled, "Future of Contract Ed Uncertain" included an error. The Faculty Association has not offi cially taken a position on Contract Ed,

but instead urged the Board of Trustees to "stay the implimentation of Contract Ed until it can be vetted through the shared governance process.">In last issue's article about Dolores Huerta's speaking engagement at SMC, the Corsair neglected to mention additional sponsors for the lecture. They were the

Global Council, The Associates, and The English Department.


WEDNESDAY APRIL 25, 2012 - SANTA MONICA COLLEGE NEWS|3

About 30 students gathered at a Student Organizing Committee general assembly Tuesday morning to plan the upcoming May 1 protests against Santa Monica College’s controversial “Advance Your Dreams” contract education program.It is the continuation of the movement organized by the SOC that led to 30 students being pepper-sprayed by campus police before a Board of Trustees meeting April 3. The fallout prompted the Board to

cancel the self-funded Contract Ed program for the summer, but critics vowed to continue demonstrating and protesting until the measure is scrapped permanently. Protest ideas presented at Tuesday’s

meeting ranged from campus wide walkouts to allying with unions and marching downtown. Vocal member Mikhail Pronilover

proposed a campus “camp out” starting the night of Monday April 30, a proposal the group approved. The SOC stated that it plans to rally

and picket on campus beginning Tuesday at 7 a.m. They will then join with the

Occupy movement’s “May Day” protest, a country wide strike that aims to, “shut down commerce worldwide and show the 1 percent we will not be taken for granted,” according to their website. “We need to be building alliances with

Occupy downtown,” Student Trustee Joshua Scuteri said at the assembly. “They’re extremely helpful to our cause.”Pronilover said that the group will

then return to SMC and once again demonstrate at the Board of Trustees meeting scheduled for that evening.Constitutional Law Professor Lenoard

Isenstein, who also blogs for public radio station KPFK, attended the meeting to offer his support but ruffl ed feathers when he asked to fi lm the meeting for his website. Isenstein said, “The leadership of this

group attempted to censor this,” he said and SOC’s Pronilover responded that his comments were, “way out of order.” The SOC nevertheless allowed him to fi lm, and later apologized, stating that it wasn’t their intent to censor the blogger.Isenstiein was still not happy. “They’re trying to make decisions without doing their homework,” he continued. “They’re ignorant. The SOC doesn’t

know the history of this school.”Outgoing Associated Students President

Harrison Wills also appeared and spoke at the meeting. “We need to educate everyone about how the corporate mainstream media is trying to distort our cause,” he said. He was joined by Parker Jean, a candidate for AS President running on the “Paradigm Shift” slate, whom Wills endorsed Tuesday. The meeting lumbered through

proposals for more than an hour, hindered by what some critics described as the group’s lack of offi cial structure.When an attending member asked

about creating “some organization” for the SOC, Pronilover defl ected. “That is irrelevant to my proposal. You can make a separate proposal.”Members leading the discussion then

apologized for the “kinks” in Tuesday’s meeting adding that “democracy isn’t easy.”“It’s messy,” Scuteri said. “But I know

we have been effective in postponing [Contract Ed]. It’s only a failure if we don’t continue the struggle to try and stop it.”

Student Organizing Committee meets in preparation for May 1 protests

Andy RiesmeyerNews Editor

Emilia ReyesStaff Writer

California Gov. Jerry Brown’s November tax initiative to increase sales tax by 0.5 percent and income tax 1 to 2 percent for those earning $250,000 and above aims to raise state revenue and more funding for schools. It is something that Santa Monica College is not only counting on, but depending on. Otherwise, SMC could deplete its reserve fund and possibly have a negative reserve for years to come. According to Robert Isomoto, Vice President of

Business and Administration at SMC, this year’s reserved fund account began with an amount of $23 million with an estimated expenditure of $11 million, leaving a projected $12 to 14 million by the end of the year.“We only have one pot of money and whatever we

have left over is what we call our reserves,” Isomoto says “If the tax initiative doesn’t pass then it may go way down and that is very bad.”According to Isomoto, SMC uses $5.5 million of the

reserves for operating costs. These costs have been increasing due to more expensive faculty contracts, an increase in insurance premiums and a decline in state funding. “The reserved funds will not be negative this year,”

Isomoto says. “We’ll end the year with 5% left, but next year we will not have that.” The new faculty contracts cost more money because

teachers with the longest tenure are due to receive a pay raise of roughly 2 percent in addition to the 1.25 percent raise which the entire SMC staff has already received. According to Isomoto, this would be most of the faculty. The school is expected to save money on certain

things like health insurance for example because of benefi ts given up voluntary by the faculty. Isomoto says that in past years the state funded all

classes and SMC was paid for every attending student. In those times, the school was able to accumulate a larger reserve fund, but the funds have been depleting since state budget cuts began in 2008.“The state has already said they would not fund

activity courses, those that do not lead to a degree,”

Isomoto said, adding “We’re being told to teach only so many students, so if we don’t cut our expenses we eat into our reserves.”Last year, SMC added money to the reserves because

they spent less in contracts and the school had some revenue in non-resident tuition, Isomoto said. Administrators said the situation would continue to

worsen if the November tax initiative is not passed, resulting in another $5 million in cuts. “We defi nitely will cut more classes if it doesn’t pass”,

Isomoto says. During a Board of Trustees meeting earlier this year,

a vote regarding the tax initiative was not unanimous with two board members voting against it. Trustee Susan Aminoff had originally voted against it—however, in an interview with the Corsair on Monday said she had changed her mind.Concerns have surfaced claiming Contract Ed was the

only salvation to the reserve defi cit. However, Trustee Aminoff said that it is an entirely separate issue.“Supplemental classes do not draw a parallel with

the reserved funds,” she said. “They were a way for students to meet their goals in a timely way.”Judge David Finkel, the other trustee member to

vote against the tax initiative, was not available for an interview.If the initiative passes, the school could no longer

face cuts starting as early as November. “It will stop the bleeding,” said Isomoto. “We’re not gaining any funding this year if the

taxes pass, but the Governor has promised that in the following years he would give us 4 percent more starting in 2013.”It is up to the college to decide what classes would

be cut if the state continues to fund only some classes should the tax initiative fail to pass.“We will continue to discuss innovative ways in which

we can meet the demand,” Aminoff said. “These are challenging times for all community colleges which is why we don’t have the luxury to sit around and do nothing.”

SMC’s reserve fund in

dire straits, school

may face more cuts

Jose Luis Balderas CorsairVocal SOC member Mikahail Pronlover (left) speaks at Tuesday's meeting about plans for more protests against Contract Ed including walkouts.


WEDNESDAY APRIL 25, 2012 - SANTA MONICA COLLEGE 4|NEWS

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Earth week in full bloomSanta Monica College is increasingly

known for its efforts in sustainability to help reduce the Earth’s ecological footprint. Since Monday, April 23, SMC has been celebrating Earth Week on the main campus, offering students the opportunity to participate in numerous festivities throughout the week.“We’ve been celebrating Earth Week and

Earth Day for several years now,” says Bruce Smith, SMC’s public information offi cer. According to Smith, SMC has a

commitment to sustainability and was named winner of Santa Monica’s 2009 Sustainable Quality Awards for its environmental practices and programs, including recycling and eco-friendly transportation. Held by the EcoAction club and the Center

for Environmental Studies, Earth Week will consist of environmental friendly activities

that coincide with their chosen theme of sustainable transportation. “I can tell you that the college community,

including our Board of Trustees, is deeply committed to sustainability,” says Smith. “This includes the creation of our organic learning garden, which opened last fall.”Earth Week will give students the chance to

learn more about incorporating sustainability while on campus and in their personal lives. “The purpose of Earth Week is to raise

awareness about the current environmental crisis, educate students about their role, and engage the community in solutions for the future,” says Genevieve Bertone, SMC EcoAction Club adviser. All events during the week are free and open to the public.On Monday, a screening of the fi lm “Your

Environmental Road Trip” was held in the HSS Lecture Hall 165. A question-and-answer session followed the screening with the director via Skype. Van Jones, a recognized expert on green-

collar jobs and former special advisor for President Barack Obama, gave a lecture titled “Green Jobs and Beyond,” on Tuesday, April 24. Wednesday is “EcoHero Awards” Day,

which will honor selected students and faculty who have helped keep SMC a green

campus. There will be a luncheon dedicated to the SMC student recycling team and Tom Corpus, the Grounds Department manager. Under the leadership of Corpus,

the department has implemented the Organic Learning Garden. A sustainable transportation themed festival is planned for Thursday. This Earth Day festival will include ecology themed music and art, and free food. There will also be a treasure hunt for the chance to win raffl e prizes, one of which includes a safety gear and a new mountain bike donated by Helen’s Cycles, a bicycle shop in Santa Monica. SMC President and Superintendent Dr

.Chui L Tsang will conclude Thursday’s event with a presentation at the Quad about the “Any Line, Any Time” program, a successful initiative allowing students to access Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus for free. The Earth Week celebration will conclude on Friday with a community bus ride for a local beach cleanup with Heal the Bay, an environmental advocacy group dedicated to cleaning up the Santa Monica Bay. Volunteers will board the Big Blue Bus to Santa Monica College’s adopted beach, Tower 18.“This is truly going to be one of the best

earth weeks yet,” says Bertone.

Christina SziatinszskyStaff Writer

4/23"Your Environmental Road Trip”

Screening 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in HSS 165 Will include a Q-&-A with the

fi lm’s director.4/24

“Green Jobs and Beyond” Lecture by Van Jones

11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. @ SMC Theatre Arts Main Stage

4/25EcoHero Awards Luncheon:

honoring SMC grounds department

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. @ the Organic Learning Garden

4/26 Earth Day Festival/Sustainable

Transportation Celebration11 a.m. to 1 p.m. @ the Quad

4/27Community Bus Ride and Beach

Cleanup with Heal the Bay10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• • • • •

The SMC community will come together in a day of service and

cleanup of a local beach. Volunteers will meet at the SMC

Center for Environmental and Urban Studies and take the bus to the cleanup site.

Two SMC health related programs teach students "useful trades"As Californians are struggling with today’s

economic twists and turns, and as jobs are seemingly becoming more scarce, Santa Monica College is offering two health fi eld related programs in an effort to alleviate the strain and help qualifi ed people get into the workforce.SMC is launching a two-year Medical

Laboratory Technician program beginning in fall 2012 that will be like the Health Information Technology Training program led by the Computer Science & Information Systems Department.According to SMC’s website, the MLT

program will train students to become “skilled individuals who are responsible for conducting laboratory tests accurately and effi ciently in order to facilitate accurate diagnosis and high quality patient care.” Dawn Murphy, Medical Lab Technician

and Allied Health Initiative Project Manager at SMC, says the program will last 22 months. “It’s actually three semesters of lecture and

laboratory work on campus,” Murphy says. “The fi nal semester will be in the fi eld.”In addition to becoming skilled technicians,

MLT students hope that hospital partners St. John’s, Kaiser Permamente and Cedars Sinai will help provide job placement in fi elds of study.To add to the lure of this specialized

training, students have been told that salaries as high as $60,000 could be possible.“This is something we’ve been told by

employers,” said Murphy, “but it’s hard to substantiate.”The college’s website shows fi gures from

2009 stating that a Medical Lab Technician with an associate’s degree and a license had a median yearly salary of $39,700; Salary.com shows that today’s MLT median yearly salary to be $46,087.The MLT program, which is limited to 24

students due to seat limitations in SMC’s lab, has “15 applicants so far, but seats are still available,” said Murphy. She also claims there is “open access if you have the class-related prerequisites.”

While the program is new for California, it has been in existence in other states for some time. According to ExploreHealthCareers.org, MLT’s must have gained an associate’s degree, while the more recognizable related profession of Clinical Laboratory Scientists are baccalaureate-degreed.A state grant for Allied Health Enhancement

has aided the program, providing around $50,000 for the last two years. Murphy said the money has helped with everything from curriculum development to the website.The Health Information Technology

program, which was a six-month online program, will end in August 2012, after training roughly 300 students in areas such as Health Management Information Services, and Introduction to Project Management.The program’s objective is to educate in a fi eld where health-related information such as a patient’s medical history or personal information needs to be stored safely and securely via computer access among doctors and insurance companies.With the implementation of President

George W. Bush’s Health Information Technology Plan in 2004, the need for qualifi ed HIT healthcare employees is on the rise. “By computerizing health records, we can

avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce costs, and improve care,” Bush said in his January 2004 State of the Union Address.According to the HIT program at SMC, the

class was funded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and by a grant to the Los Rios Community College District.Murphy claims that these professions are an

area where there is still a need. “Technicians are starting to retire,” she says.Not only are technicians starting to retire

and exit the workforce, but the Baby Boomer generation, a massive group of Americans, will be also be retiring soon.According to Eendoftheamericandream.

com, “Beginning January 1st, 2011, every single day more than 10,000 Baby Boomers will reach the age of 65. That is going to keep happening every single day for the next 19 years.”

Justin HintonStaff Writer

EARTH WEEK EVENTS


WEDNESDAY APRIL 25, 2012 - SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

April 17 came and went, and those who still had not completed their taxes were without a doubt, having a stress-infused day, trying to meet this year’s fi ling deadline. Although the IRS has already received most taxes, we still have all these numbers fl owing through our minds. This is the time of year to really reevaluate what we pay in taxes, what our future tax plans are, and whether what we pay today differs at all to what we paid in previous eras. President Obama recently

signed into law several tax increases, such as taxes on cigarettes, pharmaceuticals, medical services, and tax penalties on people without insurance.However, during a town hall

speech televised on CNBC on September 20 2010, President Obama said, “our tax rates are lower than they were under Ronald Reagan, and they’re much lower than they were under Dwight Eisenhower.” That claim alone raised a lot of red fl ags and sent people searching to fi nd out if that is true.

Today, the top tax rate is 35 percent on incomes at $373,650 or over. According to the Tax Foundation, under Eisenhower’s presidency the top tax rate averaged 90 percent; much higher than today’s rate. During Reagan’s presidency, the top rate was lower than it is now under Obama for one year, but for the other seven years it was higher.As great as the numbers sound on

the surface, more than two-thirds of all taxes paid by Americans are not through income taxes. Why look just at these tax rates alone? It offers an incomplete look as it ignores payroll, sales, and property taxes, any of which could have been much lower in previous presidencies than they are today. However it is done, tax breaks

would give people more economic power by enabling them to spend more of their income, which would lead to more jobs, more business investments, and ultimately more gross domestic product growth. If the greatest political powers recognized that tax cuts would actually improve the economy with its domino affect, then the country would be back on track to digging itself out of this deep recession.

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P

Winding down from tax seasonLissette Gomez

Staff Writer

Whether you call it “Advance Your Dreams” or “Contract Ed”, the Board of Trustees' original plan for the summer session is far from ideal. But so is the entire economy surrounding education, particularly in California.

Contract Ed is a pretty terrible way of dealing with the budget cuts, creating a system of privilege favoring rich students by giving them an option that isn’t readily available to poorer students and doesn’t truly address the problem at hand. The entire plan has one redeeming feature:It’s the best we’ve got.

At Contract Ed prices, the one class I have left and will be taking in the summer will be more than $1,000 in tuition and books. That’s not money I really have, and the reason I turned down several university acceptances and came to SMC in the fi rst place was to save money. I will be shackled by debt just from

undergraduate studies, and my family often struggles to keep a roof over our head, let alone educate me and my two siblings.

But I also have been stuck at SMC, just one class and fi ve credits away from graduating and transferring to a university to fi nish my education. If I have to work overtime or take out a loan to pay, I will – but with universities increasingly refusing to allow students to start in the spring semester, I cannot aff ord to not have all my credits by the time school starts in the fall.

If I do not fi nish the class in the summer, I will be stuck in Santa Monica College for another year; and after four years here, I need to get out and continue my languishing education.

-Alex Drugal is a fourth-year SMC student who would much rather work overtime for a month than be stuck here another year.

Letters to the Editor:The best we've got

Illustration by Jhosef Hern


WEDNESDAY APRIL 25, 2012 - SANTA MONICA COLLEGE 6|PHOTOSTORY

SHAPING OLYMPIC DREAMS

The Santa Monica Track Club is celebrating its 40-year anniversary since it was fi rst founded in 1972 by legendary coach and manager Joe Douglas; and even after four decades, Douglas is still recruiting promising new talent to train with him at Santa Monica College.

“I want to be the fastest 400 meter girl that Joe has ever had,” said Charlotte Johanson a sprinter from Stockholm, Sweden.

Douglas is a legend in the track and fi eld community and has been the coach of many well-known track stars, including icon Carl Lewis.

The track at SMC has been the training ground for these Olympic hopefuls for the past few years, and has also been the starting point for these up-and-comers as they get ready for their qualifi cations this summer.

This year, four international athletes from Zambia, Sweden, Uganda and the United States are training at SMC as part of the track club with one goal in mind; to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games held in London.

“Prince Mumba of Zambia, and Richard Jones of the United States, are two very talented athletes,” said Douglas. “But you’ve got to remember that too many hurdles are going to come up.”

It is a constant challenge for the athletes to maintain their health and take care of themselves.

“If they get sick or something happens, that creates a problem, and we have to come back from that,” said Douglas. “They both have the talent. Now we’ll see if we can develop that talent.”

Mumba has already qualifi ed for the Olympic trials, and will be representing Zambia at the 2012 Olympic Games. Mumba fi rst attended the Olympic games in 2004, but he didn’t reach the fi nals, and in 2008 an injury kept him from competing in Beijing.

Mumba is hoping that his third attempt training under Douglas will be the charm.

Mumba keeps his timing goal for this year “tattooed” on his left arm in ink, with goals to run a 1:43 in the 800 meter and make the finals at the Olympics.

“Just like coach says, winning does not defi ne success, but doing your best,” said Mumba. “I'm going to do my best to attain my goals.”

Athlete Richard Jones is the only American to be part of the track club’s Olympic hopeful team.

Jones will try to qualify in the upcoming U.S. Olympic Team Trials that will be held late June 2012 in Eugene, Oregon.

Jones, originally from Benicia, California, attended junior college at Central Arizona College before getting a scholarship to Louisiana State University where he later won various 800 meter races.

“He’s a once in a lifetime coach,” said Jones, who believes that Douglas can help him reach the Olympics. “His vision for my career is pretty far out. Coach Douglas sees things in my career that even I haven’t seen.”

Johanson, the sprinter from Sweden, wants to prove that an athlete can excel both in the academics and athletics by attending UCLA law school while training. “You have to be very structured,” added Johanson, who will try to qualify in the Stanford Invitational on April 29, along with the SMTC’s distance runner Tonny Okello from Uganda.

For Okello, it is easier to follow faster runners rather then lead in front.“I am hoping that this year they're going to place me in the fastest

section,” said Okello, who holds a current time of 28:33 in the 10,000 meter which should place him in section 1 of the race.

To improve his stamina and resistance, Okello sometimes runs for 18 miles, starting from Santa Monica, going to UCLA, and back to the Santa Monica pier.

“I am trying to qualify; that is why I am working so hard,” said Okello.His athletes have described Coach Douglas as not only a legendary

coach who has trained some of the biggest names in athletics sports history, but also a tough and good man.

“If they run their best, I'm going to be super happy,” said Douglas. “But wouldn't it be great to have somebody in Santa Monica win another medal? Nothing would make me happier to see Prince [Mumba] and Richard [Jones] get a medal.”

COACH DOUGLAS HAS BEEN TRAINING RUNNERS FOR FORTY YEARS

Photography by Michael Yanow CorsairCoach Joe Ross Douglas (right) speaks with Charlotte Johanson of Sweden during practice on April 18. Under the direction of Douglas, runners from the Santa Monica Track Club have set 38

world records, and won 29 Olympic medals in track and fi eld since the founding in 1972.

Marisa BojiucStaff Writer


WEDNESDAY APRIL 25, 2012 - SANTA MONICA COLLEGE PHOTOSTORY|7

"He’s a once in a lifetime coach,” said Jones. “His vision for my career is pretty far out.

Coach Douglas sees things in my career that I haven’t seen."

--Richard Jones, American Runner

L to R: Richard Jones, Prince Mumba, Tonny Okello, and Charlette Johanson of the Santa Monica Track Club during practice on April 18.

Coach Joe Ross Douglas stands on the track watching members of the Santa Monica Track Club during practice.

Charlotte Johanson's feet are battered and torn with blisters. Johanson will race in the 400 and 800 meter Olympic time trials to represent Sweden in the 2012 Olympics.

Maria Rogers, a member of the Santa Monica Track Club, trains during a workout. Rogers is quoted saying she "lives to run," and "inspires others to be active."


WEDNESDAY APRIL 25, 2012 - SANTA MONICA COLLEGE 8| HEALTH + LIFESTYLE

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SET YOUR GOALS AND ACHIEVE THEM

Vanessa BarajasStaff Writer

Grapefruit not so great with some medications

Zach Johnson ContributorGrapefruit may interact with some prescription medications by blocking enzymes that help metabolize many drugs.

Grapefruit has always been viewed as a healthful food. It has been touted as a weight-loss miracle and an excellent source of vitamin C and potassium. But before washing down certain medications with a glass of grapefruit juice, one should be aware that the interaction of the fruit with the drug may cause adverse effects.According to the Food and Drug

Administration, grapefruit interferes with the actions of both prescription and over-the-counter drugs.The effect of grapefruit depends

on the type of medication being consumed, as it can either increase levels of absorption of the medication, or limit its effectiveness.Recent FDA reports of drugs that

interact with grapefruit include cholesterol medications such as Lipitor, anti-depressant medications such as Zoloft, and antihistamine medications such as Allegra.According to The Harvard Medical

School Family Health Guide, certain anti-anxiety benzodiazepines such as Valium also interact with the fruit, as do some calcium channel blockers used to treat high blood pressure.Grapefruit has the potential to affect

the body even if the fruit or juice has been consumed days before or after the medications, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.The National Center for Biotechnology

Information reports that in the body,

grapefruit blocks CYP3A4, an enzyme involved in drug metabolism that helps break down substances in the small intestine. When this enzyme is blocked, the

absorption of certain drugs into the bloodstream is increased, which can ultimately lead to dangerously high drug concentrations and increased overdose risk, the FDA reports.

Santa Monica College nursing professor and registered nurse Vini Angel claims that there are vital concerns regarding the effects of grapefruit in the body, especially for organ transplant recipients.“[For] an organ transplant recipient taking

cyclosporine to prevent organ rejection, grapefruit and grapefruit juice must be avoided because it increases absorption, which increases the risk of drug toxicity,”

says Angel.Doctors are not certain which chemical

compound in grapefruit is responsible for interacting with medications, but many believe that it may be a component called furanocoumarin, according to a report from Harvard Medical School. Tangelos and Seville oranges, commonly used to make orange marmalade, also contain furanocoumarin.The report states that not much

grapefruit is needed to cause a reaction in the body. A single glass of grapefruit juice can produce a 47 percent reduction of the intestinal enzyme that regulates absorption, which can increase overdose risk.With other medications, grapefruit

may have the exact opposite effect, blocking the transporter proteins necessary for absorption,w thus lowering the amount absorbed. The FDA reports that grapefruit blocks transporters in anti-allergy medications such as Allegra, which can reduce effectiveness.

Not all medications are affected by grapefruit, so the FDA recommends consulting with a local pharmacist or healthcare provider to fi nd out whether a prescription is contraindicated.“Registered nurses also teach patients

about drug-food interactions and which foods they should avoid,” says Angel.



Lynda Konde CorsairTom McNeal, author of “To Be Sung Underwater,” speaks about the process of writing his novel at the second lecture of the Spring Literary Series at Santa Monica College on April 17.

HEALTH + LIFESTYLE|9

Seven years ago, author Lisa Napoli met a man at a party who invited her to volunteer in Bhutan. This chance meeting would change her life forever. While living in Bhutan, Napoli worked at

the nation’s fi rst privately operated radio station. She fell in love with the country, which did not have roads, electricity or schools until about 40 years ago, she said. With a meager population of 650,000,

Bhutan has fewer citizens than the Los Angeles Unifi ed School District has students, according to Napoli. Nestled between China and India in

the Himalayan Mountains, Bhutan has only recently begun the process of modernization, representing a microcosm of the universal struggle between globalization and independent culture.Discussing her experiences in Bhutan

and her recently published novel “Radio Shangri-La,” Napoli kicked off the Global Connections Lecture Series at Santa Monica College on April 19. “All I knew about Bhutan was that it

didn’t have television until 1999, which, to me, made it completely the happiest place on Earth,” Napoli said of her preconceived notions. “I think television is a menacing, crazy force—even though I’ve worked in it.”

In 2006, Business Week named Bhutan one of the happiest places in the world, due in part to a strong sense of camaraderie among its people.“The country has beautiful scenery

and a largely unspoiled culture, thanks to strict governmental limits on tourism, development and immigration,” according to the publication.Though the same family has been ruling

Bhutan since the inception of its monarchy 100 years ago, it was not until the coronation of the current and fourth king in the dynasty, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, that the small nation began modernizing.Despite their strong ties to traditionalism

and religion, the Bhutanese followed his lead.“The family has been able to rule the

country in a way that people seem to think is very benevolent,” Napoli said. “[The fourth king] shepherded the country into the modern age.”Speaking of the king’s mindset on

globalization, Napoli added that “he wanted it to come in carefully and deliberately, so they could control it as much as possible.” “In Buddhism, it’s called the middle path,

taking sort of the middle way, and that was his commitment, gross national happiness,” Napoli said.

Though it may seem like a diffi cult concept to measure, the Centre for Bhutan Studies notes “nine domains” from which a nation can assess its Gross National Happiness. Among the domains are psychological

well-being, standard of living, good governance, health, education, community vitality, cultural diversity and resilience, time use, and ecological diversity.Despite the king’s commitment to GNH,

however, with modernization comes change, for better and worse. More of Bhutan’s youth are now leaving

home in search of higher education. The country’s native language, Zanka, is quickly becoming a lost dialect, as all schoolchildren are now taught in English. Furthermore, the people of Bhutan have

recently fallen into a fi nancial crisis, Napoli explained, as the introduction of banking and loans has faltered with citizens who know very little about fi nancial acuity. “What I didn’t know, and what I learned,

was that Bhutan was about to embark upon another radical time of change,” said Napoli. “It breaks my heart to see the breakdown of traditional society in Bhutan the way it breaks my heart to see it here, too.”

Measuring

wealth in

happiness,

not dollars

As Judith Whitman refl ects on her life, she cannot help but wonder if she has made the right choices. She is 44 years old, married to a good man, and together they have a beautiful, smart teenage daughter. She is successful in her career as a fi lm editor in Los Angeles. Yet, she still thinks about Willy Blunt, a young man she met as a teenager in Nebraska. When she went away to college, she promised to come back to him. She never did.Judith is the protagonist of award-

winning author Tom McNeal’s most recent novel, “To Be Sung Underwater.” Released in June of last year, the novel has earned praise from both The New York Times and Los Angeles Times.“She has what I call a ‘swerve,’ and

becomes a little bit troubled with her life,” McNeal said of his main character.McNeal was the second author to speak at

the Santa Monica College Spring Literary Series, sponsored by the SMC Associates and the English department.“Most of you are faced with some pretty

important decisions right now,” said Susan Sterr, chair of the English department, as she introduced McNeal to the audience last Tuesday. “You feel the weight of those decisions because you know that the choice you make is going to create another whole set of circumstances that will shape your life.”Like Sterr mentioned, many SMC

students are in fl ux, constantly making choices regarding their careers and personal lives that could impact their entire futures.“The story follows a woman who seems

driven to discover what difference another choice might have made in her life,” Sterr said.McNeal is a Wallace Stegner Fellow and

Jones Lecturer at Stanford University. He received the James A. Michener Memorial Prize for his fi rst novel, “Goodnight, Nebraska.” Born and raised in Santa Ana, Calif., he spent parts of his summers in Nebraska at a farm where his mother grew up. Most of his work features Nebraska as

an important character.“[My mother] is a great storyteller,

so I was raised with these stories about living in Nebraska,” McNeal said. “When I fi nally thought that I was ready to write fi ction, I wanted to write it with a Nebraska setting.”To write about Nebraska, McNeal

felt he had to experience more than just summers there. Prior to writing “Goodnight, Nebraska,” he moved to a farm outside a small town called Hay Springs, population 680, in attempt to learn as much about Nebraskan life as possible.“I just threw myself into it,”

McNeal said. “I drove the team bus for the high school, I substitute-taught in a one-room schoolhouse for a week, I taught high school the next year, and by gathering those details and meeting those people, I felt like I could provide the kind of context and detail that would make it all credible for the readers.”Tom McNeal has also co-written

four young adult novels and a picture book—all set in Nebraska—with his wife Laura. Though he admits that Nebraska may be a “hard sell,” he makes every effort to make it interesting for the reader.“In my fi ction, again and again, I fi nd myself wanting to know what my primary characters see when they look over their shoulders,” McNeal said. “I want to know where they came from, and usually that means fi guring out the relationships that preceded them.”

Susanna SvenssonStaff Writer

Author Tom McNeal lectures on love, life and Nebraska

Faye CrosswhiteStaff Writer



Chicago, Ill., 1928 - a year in which corruption runs wild and the city's dozen newspaper outlets will do anything to get the inside story.The Santa Monica College Theatre

Arts Department presents ‘The Front Page,’ directed by Dr. Janie Jones, and written over 80 years ago by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur.The curtains open on grouchy,

ill-mannered newspaper reporters in the pressroom of the Criminal Courts building in Chicago. Awaiting the hanging of Earl Williams, an alleged revolutionary and convicted murderer, the pressmen wisecrack at each other’s expense and speculate over Hildy Johnson’s job status at the Examiner.Hildy Johnson (Christopher

Brisson) is the star reporter of the Examiner, but is dead-set on leaving the paper to get married and move to New York City. When Earl Williams escapes from

prison, Johnson is faced with the difficult decision of going after the biggest story of his career, or getting on the train to the Big Apple.The first thing that is evident is

the play’s accelerated dialogue. The witty banter and harsh wisecracks provide hearty laughs throughout. Praise to the cast’s ability to memorize their lines and deliver them in a true 1920s fashion. Though the execution is

commendable, the clarity of the dialogue is lost at the speed that it is delivered, leaving the audience in a mild state of confusion.One thing that is not lost, however,

is the fashion direction of the play. The costumes are not only appropriate for the time setting, but beautiful. Costume Coordinator, Kristie Rutledge shows a deep understanding of 1920s fashion, and dresses the cast in spectacular wardrobe. Particularly notable is a gorgeous

pink, blush dress worn by Peggy (Sarah Oliver) - Johnson’s fiancée.

The dress is stunning and enough to make anyone wish 1920s’ fashion would make a comeback.It’s marvelous to see how the cast

of ‘The Front Page’ manages to make dated characters their own. Originally, writers Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur intended for their words to be spoken by a cast full of men, but SMC’s Theatre Arts Department employs the talents of a predominantly female cast.Breanna Wittman and Casey

Masamitsu play reporters for the City Press and the Journal, and articulate their lines with uninhibited cleverness and wit. Not to be upstaged by the ladies, the male players also provide notable performances.James Burelle portrays the

Examiner’s managing editor, Walter Burns, and executes the role impeccably. Burelle balances impoliteness, a sharp business mind, and an excellent sense of humor, providing the biggest laughs, late in the play.

Brandon Blum’s role as Bensinger, a reporter for the Tribune, is comedic gold. Blum's performance as an agoraphobic, weakling of the bunch, is a supporting role, yet like Burelle, he too draws immense laughter from the audience.While the costumes and

performances are admirable, the major flaw of the production lies in the timing. There are too many slow moments during the play, and even though the dialogue is delivered at nearly 100 words per minute, audience members are yawning and even dozing off at times. Overall, the cast and plot of The

Front Page is entertaining, but not enough to hold viewers' attention for two and a half hours. The play was written years ago with a different audience in mind; no doubt a twenty-first century audience demands a faster pace.'The Front Page' begins April 20,

with shows on April 21, 27 and 28 at 8 p.m., and on April 22, 28 and 29 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 each.

10|ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

CORSAIR CALENDAREnvironmental Toxicity and Its Hidden

Impact on Your HealthFree lecture held by one of Southern

California’s leading integrative and anti-aging medicine experts, David Allen, M.D. Allen will

present surprising ways chemicals, radiation and other toxic elements in the environment

may be negatively impacting your health. April 25 @ 7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.

Santa Monica Public Library Main Branch 601 Santa Monica Blvd.

Free Admission•

Interlochen Arts Academy 50th Anniversary Jazz Tour

Interlochen Arts Academy is celebrating 50 years in arts education with a jazz concert and student fi lm showcase. Alumni Peter

Erskine and Bob Mintzer will be amongst the performers.

April 25 @ 7:30 p.m.The Broad StageFree Admission

•The Millennials: The Most Consequential

Generation?SMC political science professor, Christine Shultz is holding a lecture on the Millennial

Generation. Shultz is chair of SMC’s Philosophy and Social Science Dept., and an expert on the eff ect of mass media on

presidential politics. A reception is scheduled to follow the lectureApril 27 @ 7 p.m.

SMC HSS 165 Free Admission

•SMC Applied Music Program

Directed by Dr. Yulia Krasny, and presented by SMC Music Department’s Applied Music

Program. April 27 @ 7:30 p.m.

The Broad Stage$10

Samantha PerezStaff Writer

‘The Front Page’ takes SMC's Studio Stage

Six million Jews were killed during World War II, as part of Adolf Hitler’s 'Final Solution,' a ruthless program executed by the Nazi party to systematically persecute and murder Jews because they were seen as inferior to the Aryan race.In honor of the victims, SMC participated

in the annual Yom HaShoah, the Holocaust Remembrance Day, which paid tribute to the people who perished in the Holocaust. On April 19, through the sponsorship of the Communications Department, fi lm studies professor, Josh Karin, presented the documentary entitled 'The Last Days.'Directed by James Moll, and executive

produced by Steven Spielberg, 'The Last Days' won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1999.The documentary was produced by the

Shoah Visual History Foundation, which was established by Spielberg in 1994. The original aim of the foundation was to fi lm survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust, in order to capture their stories and their accounts for future generations. According to the foundation’s website, they conducted 52,000 interviews between 1994-1999. Carried out in several stages by the Nazis,

the genocide included not just Jews, but other groups such as homosexuals, disabled people, Romanians, Slavic people, Polish and any political or religious opponents

to the party’s ideals. As a result, the total number of Holocaust victims fell between 11 and 17 million people. “We attempt to fi ght against ignorance

with education, and against disbelief with proof,“ said Kanin, before the screening of the documentary. The documentary followed the story of fi ve Hungarian Jews, and their fi ght for survival during the Holocaust. A detailed account, which shows every stage of their lives - the story starts before the Holocaust, moves to their persecution and deportation, to their lives during the war, and fi nally surviving. “You were a hunted animal 24 hours

every day,“ said Tom Lantos, one of the survivors in the fi lm. Lantos was a democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1981, until his death in 2008, and was the only Holocaust survivor to have served in the United States Congress. According to the fi lm, a total of 450,000

Hungarian Jews were killed in World War II, which was around 70 percent of the total Jewish population in Hungary at the time. The documentary left a profound

emotional impact on the audience, and when Kanin asked how the fi lm made people feel, the auditorium responded with words like 'horrifi ed' and 'heartbroken.' English department professor Carol Davis

co-hosted the post-screening discussion

with Kanin. “It is a truism that if one does not study

history, it will reoccur, but the study of history is crucial. As survivors die out, the link to the Holocaust through fi rst-hand stories disappears," explained Davis. Davis taught courses in Holocaust

literature at St. Petersburg Jewish University in Russia, and worked with the Holocaust center in Moscow on developing Holocaust curriculum for Russian schools.“I think that Holocaust education has

changed quite a bit for the better since I was a child," said Davis. “One of the good things in American education, is how many schools have come to incorporate Holocaust curriculum from very young grades, in ways that are appropriate for different age groups." Kanin explained that the Holocaust

Remembrance Day is a fairly new holiday in the Jewish calendar. There are no set rules or rituals, but the day is usually fi lled with candle lighting, speakers, poems, and prayers. “Most educators, including myself, agree

that the Holocaust provides one of the most extensive documented_ subjects for pedagogical examination of basic human issues,“ said Kanin. “The Holocaust study assists us in developing an understanding of the ramifi cations of prejudice, racism and stereotyping in any society.“

'The Last Days' screening at SMCNadine WeilandStaff Writer

On Saturday, April 21, the grand opening of ArtLA's new headquarters at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica presented a medley of vastly different mediums of art.ArtLA.com was founded in order to promote

new talent and to help to understand and utilize the business aspect of art. Since its start, the site has offered a forum for artists, along with tools for building their own business. Currently, they have over 75,000 subscribers, including collectors, interior designers, and many others.Heidi Gray, co-founder and CFO of ArtLA,

offered a different marketing approach and education for the artists. “Most of the artists don’t look at this as a business, and my job is to get them to think that it is,” she said.The organization is currently holding an

international contest for art students interested in pursuing their carrier. Gray has designed the contest in order to help artists start their careers by awarding the winner with a $10,000 cash

prize, a ‘Presidential Package’ on ArtLA.com, an exhibition at the Bergamot Station gallery, an Apple MacBook Pro, Adobe Creative Suite 5.5, Epson Stylus Photo R2000, and a Blick Art Materials gift certifi cate worth $500.Every student that participates in the

competition will automatically be added to the ArtLA database. The top fi ve artists will be picked through public voting, and the winner will be chosen by the gallery's owners, since “they are the people that will be buying the art,” said Gray.Santa Monica College currently holds

second place on the competition’s member list. There are 25 SMC students taking part in the competition, in categories ranging from photography, painting, sculpture, drawing , and others. Anyone interested in participating can fi nd more information and submit their work through ArtLA.com before the June 10 deadline.“Artists that want to sell their work may

get discouraged or make a wrong move

while dealing with merchandising, shipping, pricing and promotions. Things like tax benefi ts, copyrights, and building personality through positive feedback and charity may be challenging for beginners,” explained Gray.“ArtLA has been an amazing support,” said

artist Shinya Muto, who got to showcase his most recent body of work, an LED decorative panel series. His work consisted of carefully and creatively constructed LED lights under Japanese Mochi paper, displaying unique images of nature and plants, specifi cally Japanese fl owers.Muto, like many other artists, didn’t have a

problem with producing very distinctive and creative art, but struggled when it came to making a living from his craft. “I had started from scratch, and I had no idea how to market or ship my pieces, nor how to determine pricing for them.” The gallery opening hosted to an interesting

group of collectors, artists, art professors, and people who simply enjoy art.

Entering the venue, visitors were presented with the works of self-taught painter Bryten Goss, whose work included an extraordinary piece that took several years to complete-- entitled “Women Riding Pigs.” Other works included: neon rarities, pop-

culture memorabilia from the 1950s and '60s, and pieces by artists such as John Ridings Lee Jr. and Robert Burgman. The opening also featured a new full-time artist, Mike Engle, who abandoned his long-time profession as a real estate developer in order to pursue his passion for the arts.Engle’s body of work (presented at the show)

included different geometrical wooden shapes covered with canvas, creating visually appealing, texturized artwork. Engle has been a member of ArtLA for only a few months, but is very pleased with the organization. “They are very nice people and are always ready to help,” said Engle, as a group of people surrounded him, admiring and congratulating him on his work.

ArtLA’s Santa Monica gallery grand openingTea JovanovicStaff Writer



Arlene Harrison ContributorCriss Rodriguez of the Santa Monica College Corsairs Women's Tennis Team tosses the ball at the WSC Individual Tournament at Ventura College last Friday. Rodriguez defeats her opponent Megan Thomas of the Santa Barbara City College Vaqueros Women's Tennis Team, 6-2, 6-3.

SPORTS|11

Athlete of the Week: Criss Rodriguez

Sophia VillegasStaff Writer

Cuban Born Tennis Star Player shines in her pursuit of the American Dream

Tennis star Criss Rodriguez, a Santa Monica College sophomore who is studying sports psychology, is ready to lead her team to a doubles championship at the Southern California Regional Playoffs, but she hasn’t forgotten the road that led her there.“One of my greatest sports memories was when we

won the state championship,” said Rodriguez about being the 2011 state doubles champion. “It was a very emotional moment for the team. All the hard work had fi nally paid off.” Born in Havana, Cuba, Rodriguez is the only child

of professional tennis player Roberto Rodriguez and tennis coach Anayansi Velazquez. Her parents met while playing tennis in Cuba, but divorced when Rodriguez was only two years old, leaving her in Cuba with Velazquez, while her father went on to pursue his tennis dreams. Roberto Rodriguez played for the Cuban National

tennis team in the late ’80s, and continued his tournament play in tennis upon his move to California. He eventually became the top-ranked tennis player in California during the years 1998 to 2003.Criss Rodriguez picked up her fi rst racket at the age

of four. As Rodriguez was growing up, Velazquez would

bring her along to her tennis-coaching sessions because she had no one to watch her daughter. “My mother was a big part of the reason of why I

love tennis,” said Rodriguez. “I would have never grown to love it, if it wasn’t for her.” In 2004, Rodriguez was the youngest person to be

selected for the Cuban national team. At the age of 12, she earned a spot to compete in the Federation Cup. “It was a great experience to be the only one selected

from my state in Cuba,” said Rodriguez. “Although I was the youngest one, I didn’t get to play. But it was a great honor to represent my country.” One year later, Rodriguez and Velazquez, who

had then remarried, capitalized on an opportunity to leave Cuba after having been selected in a visa lottery to move to the United States. Rodriguez moved to Miami, Fla. with her mother,

stepfather and stepbrother. After only a year, Rodriguez decided to move to

California to live with her father. It was diffi cult for Rodriguez to readjust after

leaving her family in Florida, and having to learn to embrace a new language and culture. One of the things that really inspired her was a

book by Paulo Coelho called “The Alchemist” that her father had given to her when she fi rst moved to California. “My father gave me this book when I fi rst moved in

with him, and I was going through big changes in my life,” said Rodriguez. “It taught me to never to give up on my dreams.” “One of my favorite quotes from the book is

‘remember that wherever your heart is; there you will fi nd your treasure.’” Her father became a big infl uence in her life, fi lling

in as a mentor and coach, and teaching her all the skills she needed to excel as a tennis player. In 2010, Rodriguez decided to attend SMC, and

landed a spot on the women’s tennis team. Rodriguez was named to the Intercollegiate Tennis

Association’s All America team for both singles and doubles, and led her team to the California State Championship.Rodriguez and her partner Krystal Hansard were

ranked sixth overall in the state, and fi nished as the number one doubles team in California in 2011.Rodriguez is captain of the 2012 team, and the only

returning senior from last year’s state championship team.This year, Rodriguez and her partner Juliana

Nelkin are ranked fourth in the doubles category of

the Western State Conference. Rodriguez is also ranked fi fth in the

singles division in California.

Even though this year’s team did not make the playoffs, Rodriguez

and partner Julia Nelkin qualifi ed for the Southern California

Regional Playoffs that are to be held in Palm Desert, Calif. on May

3-5.

If they win, they will advance to the state tournament in San Diego

scheduled for May 11-12.


WEDNESDAY APRIL 25, 2012 - SANTA MONICA COLLEGE 12|SPORTS

Santa Monica College diving coach Eduard “Tuna” Gorodetsky, 39, passed away last week at home. According to head swim coach Steve Contarsy, Gorodetsky was facing some health problems with diabetes and alcohol.Gorodetsky passed while sleeping on early Tuesday morning, April 17, 2012.The memorial happened this past Monday, April 23, and the entire SMC swim team was present to honor him and say their last goodbyes. According to Contarsy, Gorodetsky came from LA Trade Tech College and entered the Santa Monica College program in the fall of 2000. During the fall semester he played water polo. Later, he volunteered to be the electronics specialist, and ran the time system.

He also volunteered to be the assistant for the men and women water polo team. By 2006, he became the dive coach. In 2009, he coached Sara Ritz, who won the three meter at the diving State Championships.

“He lived for two things: his parents and Santa Monica College,” said Contarsy. “Everything he wanted to do, everything that he existed for was being around these young people, helping them, making them better, and being on the deck at Santa Monica College. That’s all he wanted to do. I don’t know how many more years, even if he hadn’t passed, we would have been together as a staff, but I think he wanted do it for the rest of his life. “It’s pretty hard to lose a member of your staff. You don’t want to have to say goodbye to a coach, to one of your staff. Defi nitely it’s devastating for the family. We are a family, and the quad is a family, a tiny family. Santa Monica College has always had that familiar feeling. So we lost one of our family members.”

Luana KasaharaStaff Writer

Beloved diving coach “Tuna” dies

Photo Courtesy of Patty Salgado

Documents

Volume 103 Issue 09