California Community Colleges (CCC) filed a federal lawsuit this past Monday against the Department of Education and Secretary of Education Betsy Devos over the eligibility requirements of receiving emergency funds provided to educational institutions through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

As of 5 p.m. on March 31, Santa Monica College (SMC) announced to its faculty via email that all instructor-initiated dropped courses taking place on or after March 4 through the “Guaranteed Withdrawal deadline” will be recoded, in which the W will be removed from transcripts. SMC will perform a “catch-up batch job” today, April 1, to take care of any outstanding W’s on student transcripts resulting from student or instructor-initiated drops, according to the announcement.

The results for the 2020 Associated Students (A.S.) election were posted at 12 PM on Wednesday, March 27 on the A.S. Election page on the Santa Monica College website. There is yet to be an official announcement from the A.S. board.

The total voter turnout was 490 students. There was a 79% drop in voter turnout from the 2019 election cycle, in which there were 2,327 total votes.

Prior to the start of the Spring semester, the International Education Center (IEC) of Santa Monica College (SMC) received approximately 169 emails from Chinese students whose recent travels to China inhibited them from returning in time for their classes.

On Tuesday, March 3, voters in Santa Monica waited approximately two and a half hours outside Santa Monica College’s (SMC) poll center, hosted in the SMC Foundation building. Patrons stepped outside of line to sneak a look inside the voting center: a meek, half empty room, with only four volunteer workers attending to the masses, and stepped back in line.

The Santa Monica College (SMC) Film Club members, friends, and family blended together in a pizza-eating, film-loving crowd outside the Center for Media and Design (CMD) campus this past Thursday night. At 7 p.m., the CMD quad turned into a box office lobby for the SMC Film Festival with an auditorium awaiting the audience inside.

As the hosts of the event, Film Club presented a total of nine original productions of both its members and Film 33 students. As the crowd watched the films one by one, Professor Kanin and Professor Flood judged the films for the later presented awards. Film Club has long hosted the SMC Film Festival, but now sees an “all-time high” membership this year with over 150 members, according to club president Carlos Flores Jr.

Although a few clubs became official at the last Inter-Club Council meeting, systematic hurdles of the club induction process prevent many others from making it to the finish line.

The Inter-Club Council (ICC)-hosted Political Arena debate drew a large audience to the Santa Monica College (SMC) Cayton Center on Thursday, Nov. 14, with students filling almost every seat. At 11:15 a.m., all heads turned to ICC Chair Natalie Lim as she announced the debate topic over the loudspeaker: freedom of speech.

On June 15, 2012, the Obama administration announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which defers undocumented individuals under a certain criteria from deportation and offers those individuals eligibility for a work permit. In Sept. 2017, the Trump administration rescinded this program, claiming the Obama administration had implemented it under “unlawful and unconstitutional means,” spurring a “humanitarian crisis” in which DACA recipients go on to become part of “violent gangs”. A case before the Supreme Court now challenges the program and could lead to its elimination.

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.

The SMC Photography Department and SMC Foundation hosted the opening reception of the Alumni Exhibition Silent Auction on Saturday, Sept. 28. The exhibition, running from Sept. 29 through Oct. 25, comprises selected submissions of graduated alumni. The silent auction will remain open to bids until 5 p.m. on Oct. 25, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting food insecure SMC students.

Bikes, skateboards, and rollerblades cruised the shut-down streets of Downtown Santa Monica in celebration of the annual COAST Festival on Sunday, Sept. 15. The city closed sections of Ocean Avenue, Colorado Esplanade, and Main Street from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to provide a car-free space for people to ride freely.

On what seemed like just another weekend in Miracle Mile, a small neighborhood encompassing Los Angeles’ Museum Row, pedestrians entered the La Brea Tar Pits expecting an ordinary visit. Walking in further, various dancers, DJs, and artists filled the grassy field just outside the museum. This was no random gathering; It was the 17th annual installation of Tarfest.

From psychology students and film majors to parents, the Science Complex (SCI) 140 lecture hall overflowed with an audience eager to view the mental health documentary “Lift the Mask” on Sep. 5, days away from National Suicide Prevention Week.

Santa Monica’s annual free concert series Twilight on the Pier kicked off its 35th year on August 21, 2019. Former Vampire Weekend member Rostam headlined the opening night on the Santa Monica Pier, along with musical artists Dijon and Jen Awad.