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.
Read MoreErnesto 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.”
Read MoreFrom 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.”
Read MoreAs 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.”
Read MoreOn the evening of Oct. 22, SMC celebrated its 90th Anniversary signaling that it is now less than a decade until the centennial. The guests ranged from students, faculty, administration, alumni and friends of the school.
Read MoreParking 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.
Read More“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.
Read MoreSanta 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.
Read MoreMandatory evacuation orders have been issued in the Pacific Palisades after a brush fire blazed up a Palisades hillside beginning at around 11 a.m. this morning. The fire, destroying trees and affecting approximately 200 homes near the 500 block of North Palisades Drive, has burned more than 30 acres.
Read MoreLongtime Porter Ranch resident Ari Demiral, his wife Christine, and their three children left their Porter Ranch home just after midnight on Friday, Oct. 11, nearly three hours after the Saddleridge fire began blazing through the San Fernando Valley. Demiral witnessed the fire making its way up and over the mountains separating Sylmar from Porter Ranch.
Read MoreRoughly 100,000 people were forced from their homes as the Saddleridge wildfire blazed across the San Fernando Valley over the weekend, impacting residents of Granada Hills, Sylmar and Porter Ranch.
Read MoreRoughly 100,000 people are forced from their homes as the Saddleridge wildfire blazes across the San Fernando Valley, impacting residents of Granada Hills, Sylmar and Porter Ranch.
Read MoreA wildfire broke out late last night in Sylmar. At approximately 9:00pm, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFP) reported that high winds were causing the fire to spread rapidly. Affected areas include Sylmar, Porter Ranch, and parts of Granada Hills.
As of 8:30am on Friday morning, approximately 4,700 acres have burned, 25,000 homes have been evacuated, and 100,000 people have been displayed, according to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Containment is at 0%.
Read MoreOn Thursday, Sept. 26, clubs from the Santa Monica College (SMC) community were on display with hopes of recruiting new members. Each club had their own unique formula to draw in as many students as they could at their respective tables.
Read MoreCalifornia Senate Bill 276, signed into law on Sept. 9, 2019, places tighter regulations on medical exemptions given for children’s vaccines. The bill cements a deadline of Jan. 1, 2021, for the State Department of Public Health (CDPH) to create a standardized form system through California’s Immunization Registry for approving and tracking exemptions.
Read MoreBeto O'Rourke, a 47-year old former three-term congressman representing El Paso Texas, now running for the 2020 democratic Presidential nomination, arrived at La Casa Del Mexicano, a historic hispanic landmark that has been around for 88 years, located in Boyle Heights. With a small turn out of supporters that came to the event on Saturday, O'Rourke used the moment to send a personal message to the crowd.
Read MoreDuring the latest Board of Trustees meeting, representatives from the Guided Pathways redesign team presented a report to the Board, updating them on the progress in implementing the new Pathways framework.
Read MoreDespite the small group of students dealing with the issue of having to use the loud and ever so crowded Santa Monica College (SMC) cafeteria as a temporary space, they aren't discouraged one bit. Once they settle in, everyone introduces themselves one by one, before admitting a personal problem that they all share – alcoholism.
Read MoreThe Center for Wellness and Wellbeing at Santa Monica College (SMC) recognizes September’s Suicide Prevention Month by offering a robust schedule of workshops, special events, and trainings that cover suicide prevention as well as other mental health topics, such as anxiety, depression, mindfulness, relationships, and stress management.
Read MoreRecent deaths and other heat-related injuries of hikers in the Santa Monica Mountains have highlighted the need for proper awareness and preparation. It's important to know the basics and have a plan in case of emergencies.
Two hikers have died and multiple others have suffered heat-related injuries in the Santa Monica Mountains over the past two months, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Read More
