The Corsair Issue 4 (Fall 2022)

News - pg. 3 Arts & Entertainment - pg. 4-5 Photo Story - pg. 6-7 Culture - pg. 8 Sports - pg. 9-10

EDITORIAL STAFF

Katheryne Menendez | Editor-in-Chief

Jackson Tammariello | Managing Editor

Marlene Herrera | News Editor

Michael Zavala | Culture Editor

Sosana Shelah | Opinion Editor

Anna Sophia Moltke | Photo Editor

Sasha Funes | Sports Editor

Aaliyah Sosa | Arts & Entertainment Editor

Ee Lin Tsen | Multimedia Editor

Anna Moricz | Multimedia Editor

Neil O'Loughlin | Design Editor

Cecil Alsanussi | Design Editor

Madison Piker | Social Media Editor

Brittney Ornelas | Social Media Editor

Timothy Lewis | Copy Editor

Anthony Clingerman | Copy Editor

Conor Heeley | Copy Editor

Andrea Marcy | Digital Editor

CORSAIR STAFF

| Caylo Seals | Tyler Simms | Nick McCall | Jamie Addison | Ethan Swope | Reis Novakovic | Dani lo Perez | Otis Vega | Corey Fishwick | Guadalupe Perez | Rebecca Hogan | Lucian Polk | Kerrington Dillon | Jakob Walther | Emma Krul | Eva-Love Jopanda | Deshawn Pouper | Khadija Bellaftouh | Saige Washington | Brian Saurin | MyDari Baker | Richard Mendez | Drew Andersen | Kandy Bar ba-Downs | Josh Hogan |

Sharyn Obsatz | Journalism Adviser Gerard Burkhart | Photo Adviser

Samantha Nuñez | Social Media Adviser

Moltke

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

One of my distinctive memories growing up was the news I would consume as a child. I remember stumbling into the living room while my parents were watching tele vision, and in the evenings they made the habit of watch ing the news. My parents exclusively watched media networks such as Telemundo and Univision, and at first glance, I assumed it was due to the fact that these shows were in their native tongue of Spanish. But as I grew older, I realized that there was another, perhaps more import ant reason why my parents exclusively turned to these networks: they were the only ones that would actively re port on issues in their community.

75 percent of newsroom employees are non-Hispanic white people, compared to being 65 percent of the gener al population of U.S. Workers according to Pew Research. This same study also found that 61 percent of newsroom employees are male, compared to 53 percent of general U.S. workers being male. This data is a stark reminder of the lack of diversity in the newsrooms that are responsi ble for telling the stories of a population that is increas ingly non-white and varies in race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and class.

Throughout my time at The Corsair, I have been able to meet all sorts of people from many types of back grounds. I have learned about them, their culture, and their perspectives. I am proud to see how diverse our newsroom is and to see the variety of our stories and per spectives. From cultural foods to festivals and holidays, to stores and shops owned by minority communities/ people in minority communities, we have reported on so many different people and events, many of which can go unreported. In this issue alone, we have stories on Native American artwork by Matika Wilbur, Black food and cul ture featured in the Taste of Soul, and Black and Indige nous protests in the wake of the City Council controversy.

In past articles, we have reported on The Compton Cow boys, a festival celebrating Korean culture, East Asian fashion designers featured in Los Angeles Fashion Week, LGBTQ+ artists like Denice Frohman, and various His panic Heritage Month events. Every time I see or read an article about a significant cultural event or a story about a group of people that is often overlooked, I not only feel proud about the story told, but I also always find myself learning something new. I am happy to see my staff hard at work telling the stories of groups that are often looked over in mainstream media and am excited to see what cultural pieces we will cover next.

Editor-in-Chief

Katheryne Menendez

Illustration by Katheryne Menendez

Michael Zavala | Culture Editor

Protests Emerge in Wake of City Council Controversy

Chants filled the streets of Glen dale in the late evening of Oct. 24 as InnerCity Struggle (ICS) and other organizers formed a rally and march. Community mem bers of Los Angeles gathered at the Ea gle Rock Field Office as they marched down to Kevin de Leon's home to meet with Black Live Matter L.A.(BLMLA).

“We don’t need his representation,” said the ICS Director, Henry Perez. ICS aims to send a message to de Leon as they find his type of representation is not best suited for their community. Perez would go on to say, “He said that he would be here in the long term. He lied to us then, he's lying to us now.”

Many children, adults, and others of different backgrounds came together to march. Greeted by the BLMLA en campment group as well as a few guest speakers, the march stopped as the speakers expressed how they felt De Leon’s refusal to resign.

“If you say you're gonna represent me, then I want you to leave your prej udice, your bigotry and your bias at the door,” said Roger Walls, a long-term resident of the community. “The peo ple don't want an apology anymore but would rather see De Leon resign as city council as he presents a false represen tation of their community.”

Marcha Por Justicia, another pro test held on Oct. 15, was organized by Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIELO), an Indigenous women-led or ganization fighting racism. The protes tors were handed signs, instruments, and culture garments in preparation for the two mile walk to City Hall.

The leaked audio came as a surprise to Oaxacan-born Edith Farree, who closed her business for the day to join others from their community

“We did not expect this and this is why we are doing this now. Oaxacans are my people,” Farree said.

Escorted by the Los Angeles Police Department, the crowd, headed by CIE LO organizers, poured onto Grand Ave. As the protestors made a left turn off 18th Street onto Main Street, a driver in a gray Mustang, who stopped to let the group pass by, rapidly honked his horn while pumping his fist out of the win dow in the air. This prompted the crowd to chant “si se puede” as they walked on, translating to “you can do it” in En glish.

People came out and watched from balconies as the protest made their way down Main street. Some even showed support by cheering the crowd on or in a few cases waved Mexican flags.

Protests have also erupted in front

of City Hall, where police detained several protesters that interrupted the weekly city council meetings.

Despite the widespread protests and calls from prominent elected offi cials for their resignation, both de León and Cedillo have refused to step down.

(Top) Jospeh Williams being grabbed at the back of his neck by an LAPD officer as he is being pushed out of the Los Angeles City Hall. Pro testers made their way inside to tape up flyers calling for the resignation of Kevin De Leon on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at Los Angeles, Calif.

(Bottom) As Banda Los Inseparables performed, indigenous community members danced at the Marcha Por Justicia. This march was organized by Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIE LO), which means Indigenous Communities in Leadership on Sunday, October 15, at Los Ange les Trade Technical College.

Anna Sophia Moltke The Corsair

Danilo Perez | The Corsair

Saige

BOOks!

How to Have a Literary Halloween

Emma Krul | Staff Writer

Duringthis season many take up reading as a leisurely pas time. However, with so many books out there, it can be hard to know what's worth reading. Luckily, the SMC community has come to rec ommend some books that are great for reading during this spooky season.

Many of the monsters beloved today were originally drawn up by authors in classic novels. You can’t go wrong with “Dracula” by Bram Stoker and “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelly. Stoker’s classic follows Jonathan Harker who travels to Transylvania for business with none other than Count Dracu la. After the business deal goes south, the Count follows Harker back to his hometown in England, and a haunting ensues. Shelly’s classic follows a sci entist named Victor Frankenstein who creates the Creature in an obsessive science experiment.

English professor Dr. Lawrence Driscoll believes the scare factor in these novels comes from more than just the obvious monsters who star in them.

“Dracula, like Frankenstein, both have a heightened sense of fear sim ply by being written with some clever frame narratives,” he says.

Dracula is an epistolary novel - told through letters and other documents, and even Frankenstein is partially told through letters written by Victor Fran kenstein. These story-telling devic es give the novels a heightened sense of reality. Driscoll says “Even though you’d think it could create a sense of distance and a feeling of being safe ly removed from the action, it actually enhances the sense that something real has/is taking place.” Driscoll likens the novels to “found footage” horror films, so “Blair Witch Project” fans should be sure to check these classics out.

SMC student Rayan Jahanshahi is drawn by the same Gothic nature; however, with a twist. Jahanshahi rec ommends “Absalom Absalom!” by Wil liam Faulkner, a novel he considers to be perfect. Faulkner’s Southern Gothic masterpiece wrestles with the conse quences of a man's immense desire for wealth.

“Even with its unconventional style it comes off to the reader, once ac quainted, as almost so natural that every other novel seems esoteric com pared to it,” Jahanshahi said. “The fact that it is also a bone-chilling tale of the evil of the South is coincidental, yet is perfect.”

For readers interested in horror, but not quite up to diving into these Goth ic classics, SMC student Arshia Arjo mandi has a recommendation. Fittingly dubbed the “King of Horror,” Stephen King is a prolific novelist whose scary premises are perfect for the Fall season. Arjomandi says “Pet Sematary” is her favorite, as it is known as King’s scar iest novel.

“Anyone that's ever struggled with mortality, whether it was their own or a loved one’s, is in for one hell of a ride with this,” Arjomandi said. She describes the book as one big existen tial crisis regarding death and grief, as “the fate of this once-beautiful family hammered home one painful message about life.”

For horror fans wanting something a little less fantastical, SMC student Mat Estrada would like to introduce the first crime novel he ever read: “Red Dragon” by Thomas Harris. Estrada traces the origins of his love of reading back to this psychological thriller which follows former FBI profiler Will Graham as he comes back for one final case. Estrada attributes his fascination with the book to its subject matter, particularly say ing “Will Graham delves into the mind of serial killers. Each case takes a huge toll on him to the point where he can no longer find joy and meaning in life knowing monsters exist in everyone, even himself.” True crime aficionados, take note.

For those looking for a lighter and quicker read, SMC student Naseabai Jahangard recommends “Squad” by Maggie Tokuda Hall. Jahangard ex plains the young adult graphic novel “begins similar to Mean Girls except the 3 mean girls have a spooky secret.” The story is filled with mystery and the su pernatural, making it a great Halloween read.

“I love ‘Squad’ because it’s ac

tion-packed and full of suspense on every page. With likable— mostly—re alistic characters and gorgeous, it’s the perfect short spooky read,” Jahangard said.

Halloween isn’t the only major date approaching, as Fall ushers in the UC transfer season as well. SMC student Jason Kang has some help for those going through this process in the form of recommending non-fiction work “Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process” by John McPhee. Kang says McPhee is a “... four-time finalist for the Pulit zer Prize.” Whether students are just focused on producing a killer transfer essay, or they dream of becoming the next Joan Didion or Zadie Smith, Kang says “It is worth the read for anyone who wants to become a better writer and gaze into the life of a fascinating individual who has inspired and con tinues to inspire many.”

Lastly, SMC student Mithra Ven katesh speaks of her favorite fantasy retelling that she feels is perfect for the Halloween season, “House of Salt and Sorrow” by Erin A. Craig. A darker re telling of the fairy tale “Twelve Dancing Princesses,” it follows the princesses being killed off one by one. Venkatesh says while the novel is not extremely scary, the novel is filled with “romance, passion, mystery, and scary elements making it the perfect Halloween book.”

Reading enables us to both escape to other worlds, and view our own with a different lens, and the SMC commu nity has graciously unearthed the next great read to enjoy this Halloween.

Illustration by Katheryne Menendez

Film Composer Set to Perform at Broad Stage

OnWednesday, Oct. 26, ac claimed film composer Harry Gregson-Williams will make an appearance in the next edition of Cue the Music. The event is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College (SMC) Performing Arts Center.

Cue the Music, previously recog nized as Cue & A before rebranding, is an ongoing original Broad Stage pro duction hosted by former President of Fox Music, Robert Kraft. With every edition, Kraft welcomes a seasoned composer to have a chat and dive into the magic behind their notes.

Gregson-Williams will join 14 musi cians comprised of a choir, string quar tet, and electric violinist in breaking down his scores paired with movie clips and engaging conversation.

The program notes for the upcoming show mention only a handful of Greg son-Williams’ esteemed work. Some of that work includes popular movies

like “Shrek,” “The Martian,” “Veroni ca Guerin,” “Gone Baby Gone,”“Man on Fire,” “Kingdom of Heaven,” “Spy Game,” and “Unstoppable”.

“I'll be explaining how I go about writing music for a certain scene. So we'll be seeing some of my working methods and how I solve challenges or what some of the challenges are that present themselves when you're scor ing a film. I hope I give a bit of insight into that,” he said.

In discussing his ambitions for the evening, Gregson-Williams also re flected on his musical journey thus far.

“I studied music since I was about six years old. I spent years teaching it, playing it, performing it, not writing it. My composing career really started af ter I had figured out that I was interest ed in film music.”

Gregson-Williams went on to ex plain where his interest in the craft was piqued — a chance meeting around ear ly 1995 in London with Hans Zimmer.

Zimmer is also a world-renowned film composer, known for his work in movies such as “Lion King,” “Incep

tion,” and the “Batman” trilogy.

“He had been visiting London and recording a score and he'd taken one room in a studio complex that I was working in. And I was beginning to learn about music for TV and music for film, and he showed up, and we just became fast friends,” he said.

Zimmer encouraged Gregson-Wil liams to accompany him to Los Ange les where he could further learn the art of film composing. For several years he worked closely with Zimmer, assisting him and collaborating on scores. He credits Zimmer for his profound knowl edge of the craft and explains when he felt ready and bold enough he stepped out on his own.

“At some stage one has to emerge and as I think he put it, move down the road a bit. So that's what I did,” he said.

Since then, Gregson-Williams has applied his musical knowledge to over a hundred films, television programs, and video games. At Cue the Music, his body of work will be broken down and celebrated by Kraft and audience members.

To Gregson-Williams, Kraft was not just a president, but a friend. “I've known Robert Kraft for a long time. Ac tually, I knew him in his manifestation as the president of music of Fox. When I started out as a composer in the mid dle ‘90s, one of the very first films I did, [was] a film called ‘Light It Up’,” the art ist recalled.

“I was told by Fox that the head of music will be coming to my stu dio. We've been friends ever since. He helped me through that score, gave me some advice, and I did a lot of films for Fox that followed,” Gregson-Williams said. “When Robert approached me about Cue the Music I didn't hesitate, and I'm really happy to share my pro cess with people.”

With the Broad Stage adjoining the SMC Performing Arts Center, students potentially with similar aspirations as the honored composer are expected to fill a number of seats at the next show ing of Cue the Music. It is his hope that the event will inspire them by stories of his own journey.

Aaliyah Sosa | Arts & Entertainment Editor

People waiting outside for the sunday performance of Mark Morris Dance Group "The Look of Love" at The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage on 11th Street and Santa Monica boulevard, Santa Monica, Calif. October 22, 2022.

Jorge Devotto Ordoñez | The Corsair

Art Department's Glass Pumpkins Blow Community Away

Withless than three months till the new year, the festive season has rolled around and many are on the hunt for that special gift for loved ones. Several students, staff, and com munity members around San ta Monica College (SMC), have found beautiful handmade gifts amongst the annual Glass Pump kin Sales held by the SMC Art De partment.

The SMC Art Department has been holding its annual Glass Pumpkin Sales for more than 10 years. This year’s sales took place throughout October, in three dif ferent locations: Oct. 9, at Pali sades-Malibu YMCA, Oct. 13, ad jacent to the Core Performance Center at SMC, and Oct. 15, at the Virginia Avenue Park Fall Festival.

Terri Bromberg, SMC Glass

Sculpture class instructor, was present at the Oct. 13 sale and shared how each pumpkin was special and one-of-a-kind.

“They’re all handmade, they’re all unique,” Bromberg said. “Each time one of the glass artists starts a pumpkin they decide what col ors to add, what kind of patterns, how much glass to gather, and there are so many possible com binations that they are all unique pieces.”

30% of all sales collected will be donated towards the SMC Art Department and the remaining balance goes back to the artists. The artists consist of students and staff who spend their time, effort and money in making the pumpkins.

“We give a scholarship to one student to go to Pilchuck Glass School. We pay for guest speak ers to come into the classroom

and give demonstrations,” Brom berg said. The instructor added that the funds also support the art program in buying tools and glass for students.

With the SMC College Fair simultaneously ongoing at the main quad, the Art Department’s sparkling stall attracted all kinds of buzz, from both community members and outsiders.

Linn Wile, a resident living near campus, found out about the sale through a flier and made a short walk over to check it out.

“It’s beautiful, wish the sun was shining and it would be even prettier,” Wile expressed while browsing through the multicol ored table of glass pumpkins.

SMC student Clover Levinson did some early Christmas shop ping, and picked up a shiny pair of blue earrings for her grand mother. Levinson explained that

it was the perfect fit for her artsy grandmother.

For SMC counselor Maria Martinez, coming to the Art De partment’s Glass Pumpkin Sales is an annual tradition. Martinez has been buying glass pumpkins ever since her son was in kinder garten.

“I come every year to buy pumpkins for my son’s teach ers,” Martinez said, revealing that they were gifts of appreciation. This year, Martinez’s son is in 7th grade and she plans on buying six pumpkins.

The SMC Art Department only offers glass-sculpting classes in the Fall and Spring semesters. They have had glass artists come from a variety of skill sets and ages, and some students are as young as 17, while others are in their sixties and seventies.

Santa Monica College student, Alexis Daniels blows a big puff of air into the pipe to shape her glass bowl. Daniels has been taking glass sculpting classes at SMC for the last 2 years and previously for ceramics.

Miles Freedman places the

Ee Lin Tsen | Multimedia Editor

ceramics. body of a mushroom into the furnace.

Student Dave Gaeta, assists Miles Freedman, Santa Monica College Glass Sculpting instructor, in carefully detaching Freedman's glass mushroom from the punty.

The glass-blowing class at Santa Monica College sold handmade and blown pumpkins during the college fair.

Art pieces on sale, handmade and blown by SMC staff and students. 30% of earned sales will be donated to SMC's art department, to help fund scholar ships and resources.

Maria Martinez, a counselor at Santa Monica College, looks for 6 glass pumpkins to gift her son's school teachers.

Ee Lin Tsen| The Corsair

Ee Lin Tsen| The Corsair

Ee Lin Tsen| The Corsair

Ee Lin Tsen| The Corsair

Jamie Addison| The Corsair

Ee Lin Tsen| The Corsair

Project 562: More Than Just Photography

based understanding of yourself."

Matika

Wilbur, a world-ac claimed photographer, displays her work 'Project 562' until Monday, May 15, 2023 at Santa Monica College's Pete and Susan Barrett Art Gallery. Project 562 consists of a collection of 76 por traits shot over ten years while visiting 562 federally recognized tribes around the Americas.

In 2012 Wilbur sold everything in her Seattle apartment allowing her to fund Project 562 within two weeks. In her journey to visit, connect and photo graph all 562+ Native American sover eign territories in the United States she seeks to introduce more people to the Native world by focusing on indigenous themes such as land-based identity, language, community, and education. Wilbur claimed in her presentation the purpose of this initiative is to change the collective consciousness of visi tors and reinvigorate their perceptions about indigenous cultures.

Wilbur discussed how the inspira tion for her project came from her vol unteer work in native schools on her reservation. She finds importance in teaching children on the reservation photography and music, despite the

art program in Washington being cur tailed. "In my classrooms, some pol icies that I like to institute is allowing students to test with the collective con sciousness," which Wilbur described as taking the test as a group rather than as an individual which she noticed helps the students rely on and work with each other. Wilbur highlights the need to de velop a curriculum that teaches Native children the history of their culture and ancestors. She claims her approach will result in better curriculum develop ment based on love and connection to what she refers to as the collective con sciousness.

Wilbur begins by correcting the assumption that Indigenous people are to be held to higher spiritual stan dards than the average person, adding, "It's not like we're all spiritual beings or something just because we are na tive." She went on to say that just like anybody, they are still affected by re al-life problems like inflation and high gas prices. "We are still trying to have a human experience with all the regular human emotions," Wilbur said. When asked what we as a society can learn from Indigenous culture, the photog rapher continued by saying, "Baked into [Native] traditional pedagogies are ways to develop a relationship with land and that starts with creating a place-

Visual arts professor Emily Silver recalls how the SMC Art and Photo Department collaboration between herself, SMC Art History professor Walter Meyer, and Matika Wilbur came to be. In a conversation with the head of the Photography Department Josh Sanseri, Silver asked, "What if we had a photo exhibition that spoke to both the fine art students and the photo stu dents?" In response, Sanseri recom mended she view Matika Wilbur's work.

Silver said the native photographer and herself instantly connected upon a call. Silver and Meyer’s students from the Art and Photography Department built walls to serve as murals in the exhibi tion.

Wilbur's wide range of work pos sesses a message that is so powerful that Professor Silver foresees more cooperation with the Native photogra pher, such as a Santa Monica College residency, a film festival, murals, and lectures on Indigenous culture.

L.A. Gets a Taste of Soul

OnOct 15, 2022 the Taste of Soul Festival was held on Crenshaw Boulevard, be tween Stocker Street and Obama Boulevard. Created by Danny Blakewell in 2005, it is known as Los Angeles' biggest street festival. Every

year, Taste of Soul celebrates different Black cultures, food, and local vendors.

Although it was paused for 3 years, it came back stronger than ever, with over 300 vendors, booths and 5 live stages. There were many booths for the com munity that shared different resources

from medical screenings, financial sup port, and public transportation to col lege recruitment booths.

In preparation for the big day, An drew Escobar, the producer of two stages, said “we try to find performers that relate to the audience or are peo ple that we can remember from back in the day.” Local organizations including the L.A. City Council, police depart ment and fire department have week ly meetings starting around June each year. Escobar said that his favorite part of the festival is music and even has a significant memory of a time Stevie Wonder volunteered to perform as he was visiting the festival.

During the event there were also lo cal High School bands and drill teams that performed. Juquari Baskin, the Dorsey High Drill Team choreographer said, “I think it may be even more im portant for high school students to come and get involved to see the dif ferent opportunities they might have.” With there being more than 300 ven dors, booths, and some big universities, students are able to inform themselves about the admission and application process to attend colleges.

“The festival gives local black owned businesses the chance to come to get support from the community as well as entrepreneurs trying to find opportu nities to branch out as well as find re

sources for the communities,” he said. This was the third year that Baskins at tended the festival.

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti made a spe cial guest appearance coming on stage as his last time attending Taste of Soul as Mayor. Garcetti has been supporting Taste of Soul from the very beginning, back in 2005.

“This is as big as I can remember it, people are ready to party, but also ready to celebrate,” Garcetti said. “After a week like this week, where we saw such hate ful things come out of so-called leaders' mouths, this is a good reminder of who we actually are.” Garcetti referred to the recent controversy between L.A. coun cil members Kevin de León, Nury Mar tinez, Gil Cedillo and Ron Herrera.

During a live performance, Garcetti and Blakewell introduced mayoral can didate Karen Bass to the audience as a special guest. When asked about the importance of the festival, she said that it is important for younger generations, which was why she also brought her grandchildren to the festival.

Taste of Soul was more than just an other excuse to get a tasty bite of food, but a way to connect with the com munity of LA. Taste of Soul has been around for 17 years and will continue to go on as it is always brought back by the community. The next festival will take place Oct. 21, 2023 on Crenshaw Blvd.

Cecil Alsanussi | Design Editor

Student drummer from Crenshaw High School walking through the Taste Of Soul Festival on 15th of Oc tober 2022.

Andrea Marcy | Digital Editor

Andrea Marcy The Corsair

Michael Zavala | Culture Editor

Matika Wilbur speaks and showcases her work at her exhibit "Changing The Way We See Native America."

Tyler Simms The Corsair

Men’s Water Polo Lose Second Game of Tournament

Sasha Funes | Sports Editor

OnFriday, Oct. 21, the San ta Monica College (SMC) Corsairs men’s water polo team played their second match of the day against the San Di ego Mesa College Olympians. Though the Corsairs seemed to keep pace with the Olympians for most of the game, even outperforming them in the fourth quarter, it ultimately wasn’t enough for the win and the Corsairs lost 19-16.

San Diego got the first point of the game just under a minute in, and SMC utility Carlos Ramirez tied it, assisted by driver Mikhai Davis, about 30 sec onds later. San Diego was able to score again and maintain the lead, while Ramirez would go on to assist fellow utility Dylan Hughes and score once more in the quarter. All three at some point were ejected from the quarter, along with Driver Kristian Miranda and Utility James Cavanaugh. The quarter would end at 5-3, San Diego leading.

Ramirez and Davis would each get a goal in the second quarter, Ramirez unassisted and Davis assisted by Utility Zaliyah Quant. San Diego strengthened their lead adding five more points in the quarter as SMC fouled frequently against the Olympians. The Olympi

ans continued strong into the third quarter, adding seven more points while SMC gained some ground and got five points, two each from Miranda and Ramirez and one from Utility Leo Farias, but three ejections, closing out the third quarter at 17-10.

SMC displayed a strong defensive performance in the fourth quarter as they were able to hold San Diego to just two points in the quarter. Davis shined in the quarter with three goals, and Ramirez, Quant, and Utility Jack son Wheeler would each get a goal of their own. Hughes would receive one more ejection in the game, totaling nine total ejections for SMC. The solid performance would unfortunately not be enough and the Corsairs would lose, making them 8-14 on the season and 0-5 at home.

The Corsairs next games will span over two days as it’s the Dia de Los Muertos Tournament at Southwestern College. Two games will be played on Friday, Oct. 28, the first will be against Cypress College at 11:20 a.m., and the second at 2:50 p.m. against Fullerton College. The following day they’ll play San Diego Miramar College at 9 a.m. and Grossmont College at 1:40 p.m.

Corsairs Lost 19-16

Ethan Swope | The Corsair

Above, Santa Monica College goalie Nolan McBride (1A) defends the goal.

Below, San Diego Mesa goalie Domi nic Bravo (1B) defends the goal from Santa Monica College player Carlos Ramires (21)

Comeback Queens Back at it Again

TheSanta Monica College (SMC) Cor sairs women’s volleyball team played against the Citrus College Owls at home on Wednesday, Oct. 19. SMC entered the game with a 13-4 season record and a solidified second place spot in the Western State Confer ence (WSC) South with a 4-1 record. The Owls held a 6-12 overall record and a 2-3 WSC record prior to the game. On paper the Corsairs looked like the clear winner, but the game proved that to be difficult.

Citrus scored the game's first point through an SMC attacking error. From there the game was back and forth between Citrus taking a mi nor lead and SMC tying it up. The Corsairs broke a 6-6 tie through an attacking error by the Owls and were able to take the lead from there. Kills, service errors, attack errors and a few aces helped the Corsairs hold onto their substantial first set lead, closing it out at 25-18.

SMC started the scoring off in the second set and it seemed to be going well for them as they quickly got to a five point lead. The Owls had oth er plans though and rallied enough to tie the set at seven points apiece and take the lead from there. They at some point held a six point lead over the Corsairs but just as the Owls, SMC battled back and tied the set at 22 points apiece. They were able to get one more point but ultimately Citrus secured the second set 25-23.

The third set started off similar to the sec

ond with the Corsairs taking the early lead. Both teams exchanged leads a few times before the Owls were able to keep it and secure the set 2522. Kills, service errors, and attack errors fueled the Corsairs offense in the fourth set to get a strong and early lead. They never allowed the Owls to get close so the Corsairs successfully closed out the fourth set at 25-12.

The final set, shortened to 15 points, saw the Corsairs with an early 5-0 lead. Citrus wasn’t go ing to let SMC take the game so easily, however, and they managed to tie the set at nine points apiece. They tied the set once more at ten, but failed to take the lead and SMC seized the fifth

set 15-13, and the game 3-2.

Middle Blocker Maiella Riva reflected post game on the win. Riva acknowledged a change in blocks and passes helped propel them to their comeback win, and how she herself could’ve made a difference with some blocks and touches she didn’t execute correctly. She knew the game shouldn’t have been as difficult as it was, but she was proud of the team for the win and the im provement they’ve made throughout the season as a whole.

“I’ve come a long way. The whole team has come a long way. Our coach is awesome, Chris tian is the best,” Riva said. “I’ve learned so much in such a short amount of time."

Middle Blocker Rain Martinez reflected on the win as well. Same as Riva, she knew the game shouldn’t have gone on as long as it did. Commu nication and being more aggressive were things she acknowledged could’ve been improved throughout the game to make it easier. She was excited with the win overall and ready to keep practicing new tactics to improve her gameplay and keep seeing improvement with the team as a whole.

The Women’s Volleyball team’s record is now 14-5 overall and 5-2 in the WSC South. Their next game game will be a home game on Wednesday, Oct. 26 against the West Los Angeles College Wildcats. Last time they faced off the Corsairs got the upper hand in a 3-2 victory.

Members of the Santa Monica College Corsairs Women's Volleyball team celebrate scoring another point, while members of the Citrus College Owls don't, during the women's volleyball match on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022, at Corsair Gym in Santa Monica, Calif. The Corsairs won 3-2.

Santa Monica College Corsairs' Zarha Stanton (right) hits the ball past Citrus College Owls' Sabrina Evangelista and Kalin Greene.

Sasha Funes | Sports Editor

Nicholas McCall The Corsair