Jake Crandall | Mary Funsten | Rebecca Villagracia | Alexander Lopez | Davod Rivera | Carmen Talavera | Gregory Hawthorne | Diego Kersh
Staff Writers
Alexander Albao | Jeffrey Berrios | Adriana Brady | Tarelle Butts | Liz Corona | Sophia DiDio | Katelin Easterson | Jenitcy Franco | Amelie Galzy | Jamie Garcia | Matthew Gonzalez-Valenzuela | Phoebe Huss | Eva Love Jopanda | Antoinee Devon Jones | Abiel Keli | Lilian Le |
Isaac Lee | Catherine Lighton | Denisse Lopez | Karen Lopez | Brianna Minor | Danny Moghaddas | Jenna Tibby | Jeremy Wolf
Faculty Advisors
Sharyn Obsatz | Journalism Adviser
Gerard Burkhart | Photo Adviser
Samantha Nuñez | Social Media Adviser
Front Page
On Wednesday, August 28, 2024, the Palestine Youth Movement (PYM) marched down Miner Street on the port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California. PYM gathered to protest Maersk. Maersk canceled the event before the protest. (Jake Crandall \ The Corsair)
Back Page
Jeremy Cline is a professional glass blowing artist who gave a demonstration to Santa Monica College students on September 9, 2024
(Mary Funsten \ The Corsair)
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Newborn Newsroom
Today marks the first production day for the staff members of ‘The Corsair’. The 90th year of the publication brings with it plenty of fresh faces and new obstacles. We entered the semester like a newborn entering the world, naked and screaming. Unlike a newborn, we all signed up for this.
While this unknown yields anxiety, it also creates a feeling of excitement. In spite of their trepidations, our new cast of journalists have arrived at every meeting with an enthusiasm and willingness to take on these challenges.
Being tasked to lead such a motley crew of young journalists is daunting, yet the bright eyed and bushy tailed new members of our team constantly inspire me to lead them. Their eagerness to learn and step outside of their comfort zone motivates me to come to the newsroom ready to assist them.
As with anything, there has been and will continue to be a learning curve, but it’s not rocket science. It’s just journalism, we’ll figure it out. And even if it was rocket science, I bet we could figure that out too.
Jeremy Wolf Editor-in-Chief
Maersk unveils new eco ship, marred by controversy
On Tuesday, Aug. 27th, A.P. Møller – Mærsk unveiled its new ship, the Aletta Maersk, at a naming ceremony in the Port of Los Angeles at an event in collaboration with Nike. A.P. Møller –Mærsk, commonly known as Maersk, is Danish-owned and the world’s largest shipping and logistics company. Chloe Kim, an American snowboarder, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and Nike athlete, was ordained as the ship’s godmother.
The Aletta Maersk is the first dual-fuel methanol-enabled container ship to arrive in the United States and across the Pacific Ocean, coming in at 1148 feet long and with a capacity of 16,592 TEU (1 TEU is equal to 28 tons or 24,000 Kilograms). The vessel can save 280 tons of CO2 per day compared to
its sister vessels. This is part of Maersk’s goal to reach net 0 emissions by 2040 by creating a new fleet of 25 eco-friendly dual-fuel engine vessels that use methanol.
These have already been ordered or produced by South Korean shipbuilding giants HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, and Chinese Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group.
Maersk has already christened five of these eco-friendly ships, including the Aletta Maersk. Maersk anticipates saving up to 1.5 million tons of C02 annually after replacing its sister ships with this new fleet. Currently, Maersk owns charters for up to 700 different ships but is working to sign new building orders and time-charter contracts for 50 to60 dual-fuel vessels. Currently, 3% of the world’s
total greenhouse gasses come from the shipping industry.
“The shipping industry is vast, complex, and difficult to decarbonize. Our new series of dual-fuel vessels is a start, but it’s not a sustainable solution. We need immediate, coordinated action across all industries. By 2030, we aim to transport 25% of our ocean cargo using low-emissions fuel. However, achieving this target requires systemic change. We urgently need regulation that makes green fuels viable and affordable,” Vincent Clerc, CEO of Maersk is quoted as saying in Offshore Energy Biz.
The event did not go without controversy when protesters under the label of Mask off Maersk from the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) temporarily blocked off access to a road leading into
the port. Mask Off Maersk is a campaign from the PYM with the expressed goals of “targeting weapons, logistics companies, the invisible profiteers, and facilitators of genocide.” Their demands for Maersk are as follows:
1. For Maersk to end the transportation of weapons and weapons components
2. To cut all contracts that fuel the genocide of the Palestinian people
3. To implement an arms embargo to end the genocide
The website of Mask Off Maersk alleges “Since October, Maersk has transported over $300 million of weapons components for the top 5 weapons manufacturers to the US for assembly. For example, Maersk transports the wings of Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jets to the US where these weapons are
On Wednesday, August 28, 2024, the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) a grassroots transnational Pro Palestine activist group marched down Miner street on the port of Los Angeles in San Pedro California. PYM gathered to protest Maersk, a Dutch shipping and logistics company’s public tours of the new methane-powered ship called the Alette Maersk, for their involvement in shipping weapons to Israel. Maersk canceled the event before the protest on August 28, 2024, after a protest temporarily shut down access to the port by blocking the road on August 27, 2024.(Corsair / Jake Crandall)
manufactured. After assembly, these weapons are sent to Israel from the US. In fact, 68% of Israel's weapons come from the US. The majority of these weapons are sent by the US Department of Defense which Maersk also has links to. Specifically, Maersk is part of the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA) and the Maritime Security Program (MSP) which transport weapons on behalf of the US Department of Defense. Maersk is both complicit in the transport of weapons components to the US, and the transport of weapons from the US to Israel, making it a critical link in the weapons supply chain. Logistics companies, with Maersk as the industry’s lead, are the invisible profiteers of weapons manufacturing, making the genocide of Palestinians a reality. Targeting Maersk directly disrupts the flow of weapons in the supply chain of death used to genocide Palestinians.”
The event originally set to take place on Aug. 28th would allow guests to tour parts of the ship like its living quarters and the bridge under the captain’s command. The event was canceled and those who had tickets were notified the morning of the 28th, while the Aletta Maersk had left port that morning bound for Tacoma. Additionally, security was present at the event site, while remnants of the ship’s ceremony could be seen behind locked gates on the pier.
Upon reaching out to Kevin Doell, a Media Manager at Maersk for North Amer-
ica, forthe reason for the cancellation of the event, he said, “We had recently learned that activist groups were planning protests in connection with our event at the Port of Los Angeles, where the public was invited aboard our vessel. The security assessment indicated a risk that the protests could escalate to a level that would disrupt the event and necessitate a police response. Therefore, after consultation with local authorities, we decided to cancel the event to avoid any escalation that could endanger visitors or protesters. We regret this situation, especially for the many visitors who had registered for the event.”
Several hundred protesters from the Palestinian Youth Movement gathered near the Port of Los Angeles in a parking lot adjacent to 22nd Street Landing Sport Fishing in San Pedro, California around 4 p.m. on Aug. 28th. Protesters gathered around as members from PYM gave congratulatory speeches behind banners that read “Mask off Maersk” and “LA demands: Maersk cut ties with genocide.” A performative art piece depicting a Maersk shipping container with fake dead bodies was set up at the gathering spot. Merlin, a member of the top 200 Billboard-charting now-disbanded boyband Brockhampton, was also seen joining the protest. A main speaker from the movement during the speeches said, “This is where we kicked Maersk out of LA.”
The protesters then pushed past a metal gate, stream-
ing onto the pier heading down Miner Street passing multiple port security officers towards Birth 46 where the tours of the ship were originally set to be held. As protesters began marching down the pier they began to chant, “Shut it down. Shut it down. No Zionism in this town. There's an arms embargo in this town,” as well as “We’re not stopping. Bombs are dropping.”
Abdullah Farouq, a member of Labor for Palestine and AUW, then gave a speech to the crowd criticizing Maersk for their involvement in shipping weapons to Israel, and their unsafe and unfair labor practices in their company. He called on the employees of these ships to join in solidarity, stating “Our solidarity means that if civilian mariners at Maersk push their employer to cut ties with the Department of Defense, we will be there with them. We invite every maritime worker who wants to stand up to the corporate greed that is driving Maersk’s complicity in genocide to break bread with us. Reach out to us in Los Angeles and across the country. Reach out to the Palestinian Youth Movement because we want to hear from you. Your fight is our fight.” In the Maersk 2023 annual report they state “In 2023, the company failed to live up to that commitment and, with deepest regret, four people lost their lives while on active duty for A.P. Møller-Mærsk, including two employees and two contractors.”
Protesters then headed back down the Pier to the intersection of Miner Street and East 22nd Street, temporarily taking over the intersection. A small police presence was seen locking off traffic on East 22nd Street before the protesters disbanded shortly after giving speeches. Upon questioning Thawra Khalid from the Palestinian Youth Movement, she said, “that the goal here today was that even though Maersk was enabling the genocide in Palestine, we will not sit back and allow them to commit war crimes, but instead call them out and unmask them in their attempts to hide the fact they are trying to be this new green initiative, but they have been not only committing genocide against the Palestinians but an eco-genocide.” Khalid also said, “How can a company claim to care about the planet when they are dropping bombs on it.”
In a response from Maersk marked as privileged and intended only for the recipients named, it said, “Maersk serves all types of customers, both companies and states, and we operate in all countries that are not sanctioned, including all countries in the Middle East. Maersk is committed to responsible business practices, adhering to international standards and regulations. This includes ensuring that we do not transport weapons or ammunition into conflict zones or to countries and areas currently involved in armed conflicts, or under an arms embargo.”
Diversity of Glass Art Celebrated in “Still Blowin’” Exhibition
On September 6, the Barrett Art Gallery’s glass art exhibition entitled “Still Blowin’ - 42 Years of Glass At SMC” came to a formal conclusion. Curated by renowned art professor Terri Bromberg, the exhibition celebrates the 42nd birthday of the glass program at Santa Monica College (SMC).
The subtle melancholia of the last day lingers in the gallery. One hundred works of art in 2400 square feet entails close quarters. Wall photographs and a silent movie offer behind-the-scenes glimpses of the Hot Shop. The only sound is the occasional burst of “Stayin’ Alive” whenever someone accidentally activates the motion sensor of Andy Ber-
ney’s “Disco Dishwasher.” On the last day of the exhibition, the walls are pristine, and the mood is solemn.
This atmosphere contrasts the heat-driven intensity of SMC Glass Lab, the place of conception for many of these works. Protected by safety goggles, artists spool molten glass onto blowpipes. Then they roll, snip, shape, tweeze, and pigment the glass. Classic blows of oxygen into the blowpipe inflate the glass bubbles. A high degree of collaboration is needed, but the difficulty of stewardship is evident. The furnaces are lit to 3000 degrees, and the heat infuses the room. Microscopic drops of glass hitting the floor erupt in fire. In
Phoebe Huss | Staff Writer
the classroom, strewn with offbeat sculptures and tubs of material, students scamper to snag individual lab timeslots and work on their own artworks. The high energy is palpable. Determination is a clear necessity for glass art accomplishment.
The gallery’s collection of glassware features a range of models, themes, and concepts. The exhibition’s layout posits no discrimination. In one corner, a pair of intertwined birds of paradise neighbors a glass bear relaxing in an outhouse. On their right, there is a luminant cast of a man’s bare torso. All curios, from flowers to microbes, are given equal shine.
Glass as a medium offers a unique uplifting quality. An alluring display by Todd Kobashi features “Minion ‘Koichi,” an homage to the film franchise’s mascot. The figure’s luminescent skin conveys perfection, not typically ascribed to the famous yellow cretin.
Other common icons found in the gallery are glorified when portrayed in glass, such as Susan Haskell’s “Pig in
Mud.” Haskell, a glass artist and educator, recalls selecting the piece because it exemplified the casting process, in which glass is shaped by cooling in a mold.
Other pieces utilize glass differently. The provocative “Oval Office Window” by Dave Kretschmer shows a presidential seal behind a bulleted pane of glass. Haskell airbrushed her feature “Three Women” onto glass instead of a typical canvas. “Painting on three different panes of glass gives an illusion of depth and movement,” Haskell said.
The only constant among all the artworks is their intricacy. Every item is equally precise and immaculate. Along with the numerous techniques displayed, the exhibition documents the personal interests and concerns of glass artists over generations. In this way, the exhibition showcases a well-rounded 42 years.
SMC is the only public resource offering glass instruction in Los Angeles County. Glass blowing is an ancient practice that continues to find inspired participants today.
Disco Dishwasher by Andy Berney on display at the exhibit "Still Blowin'42 Years of Glass at SMC" at the Santa Monica College Pete & Susan Barrett Gallery in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo/Mary Funsten)
Exhibition visitors view art work by more than 20 artist on Wednesday September 4, 2024 at a reception for the exhibit "Still Blowin' - 42 Years of Glass at SMC" at the Santa Monica College Pete & Susan Barrett Gallery in Santa Monica, Calif. Artist's glass work in the forground. (Photo/Mary Funsten)
Donald Hartman, Terri Bromberg and Walter Meyer stand next to a manikin in a welding outfit on Wednesday September 4, 2024 at the reception for the exhibit "Still Blowin' - 42 Years of Glass at SMC" at the Santa Monica College Pete & Susan Barrett Gallery in Santa Monica, Calif. Professor Hartman was instrumental in creating the glass blowing program at Santa Monica College. Terri Bromberg is the current glass blowing instructor and Walter Meyer is the chair of the art department at Santa Monica College. (Photo/Mary Funsten)
Folding Octaconal, and other works by Donald Hartman Donald Hartman at the exhibit "Still Blowin' - 42 Years of Glass at SMC" at the Santa Monica College Pete & Susan Barrett Gallery in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo/Mary Funsten)
Glass art work at the exhibit "Still Blowin' - 42 Years of Glass at SMC" on display until September 6, 2024 at the Santa Monica College Pete & Susan Barrett Gallery in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo/Mary Funsten)
Exhibition visitors view art work by more than 20 artist on Wednesday September 4, 2024 at a reception for the exhibit "Still Blowin' - 42 Years of Glass at SMC" at the Santa Monica College Pete & Susan Barrett Gallery in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo/Mary Funsten)
AFTER A FOUR SET FIGHT, CORSAIRS’ NIGHT ENDS IN DEFEAT
Corsairs lose their match against San Diego Mesas
The Santa Monica women’s volleyball team played the defending state champions, San Diego Mesa earlier this evening at Corsair Gym. With upbeat music blasting and excited fans rolling in, The Corsairs were pumped during their pregame warmups, ready to start the match. San Diego started the first set strong, up by 4 points (6-2). The Corsairs came back strong offensively with a spike by Nicole Lankton and a great volley by the team and a point by Nina Mandic. Even after an attempt to win the set, it ultimately went to San
Diego.
The Corsairs shined in the second set, after the set started with Mesa's serve going out of bounds. “We practically dominated the match,” Corsairs’ starter, Marina Alexander, said. “This is just hopeful more than anything. I think that shows what we can do.”
The Corsairs’ confidence was radiant and the crowd was roaring. Their teamwork was impeccable, with a block by Mylah Niksa and Reese Luke. At one point during the second set, the Corsairs were on a 6 point lead, winning 25-19 and tying sets with
San Diego.
The Mesas started the third set with a lead 2-1. The Corsairs tried to turn it around but the set was in the Mesa’s hands. Even with block attempts, The Corsairs couldn’t outscore San Diego. During this third set, San Diego had a 13 point lead, this highest lead of the entire match. San Diego won the set 1525.
The two teams going back and forth with set wins, tensions built in the fourth set. The entire set was neck in neck, both teams playing hard to secure the win.
(L-R) Santa Monica College’s outsider hitter Sadie Town high fives setter Stella Moritz after a point on Sept. 4, at the Corsair Gym in Santa Monica, Calif. San Diego Mesa College defeated Santa Monica College 3-1.
Rebecca Villagracia | The Corsair
Bri Minor | Staff Writer
Santa Monica College’s libero Annah Legaspi (7) celebrates after a point on Sept. 4, 2024 at the Corsair Gym in Santa Monica, Calif. San Diego Mesa College defeated Santa Monica College 3-1.
(Rebecca Villagracia | The Corsair)
Corsairs Men’s Soccer Defeats MiraCosta
Rebecca Villagracia | Photojournalist
Oceanside, Calif- The Santa Monica College men’s soccer team (3-1-1) defeated MiraCosta College (3-1) 2-1 on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024 at the MiraCosta Stadium in Oceanside.
Jefferson Parada (16), assisted by Javier Mendoza (11) and Gabe Mejia (9), scored the first goal of the game in the 60’. After an unassisted MiraCosta goal from Brandon Jeffers (5), Santa Monica’s Jay'ce Jones (12), responded with a goal in the 80’ with an assist from Javier Mendoza (11) and Philip Hephzibah (17).
The Corsairs will travel to Chaffey College on Friday, September 13 to take on the Panthers in a non-conference match.
Santa Monica's forward Jefferson Parada (16) celebrates his goal with his teammates as MiraCosta’s goalkeeper Bryan Casteneda (1) and forward Jack Vazquez (14) react on Sept. 6, 2024 at the MiraCosta Stadium in Oceanside, Calif. Santa Monica College men’s soccer defeated MiraCosta College 2-1. (Rebecca Villagracia | The Corsair)
Santa Monica's forward Philip Hephzibah (17) heads the ball on Sept. 6, 2024 at the MiraCosta Stadium in Oceanside, Calif. Santa Monica College men’s soccer defeated MiraCosta College 2-1. (Rebecca Villagracia | The Corsair)
Santa Monica's Javier Mendoza (11) controls the ball as MiraCosta’s midfielder Alexander Oregon (15) defends on Sept. 6, 2024 at the MiraCosta Stadium in Oceanside, Calif. Santa Monica College men’s soccer defeated MiraCosta College 2-1. (Rebecca Villagracia | The Corsair)
Santa Monica's forward Jefferson Parada (16) celebrates his goal with forward Philip Hephzibah (17) on Sept. 6, 2024 at the MiraCosta Stadium in Oceanside, Calif. Santa Monica College men’s soccer defeated MiraCosta College 2-1. (Rebecca Villagracia | The Corsair)
