Seventy-five years ago today, in-between games of a doubleheader between the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators, Lou Gehrig said 276 words. In those 276 words, he embodied all that is best in America. Eternally humble, he did not want “Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day,” eternally optimistic, he later took a job as a New York City Parole Commissioner and...

The embers of a rocket's red glare lit up the faces of approximately 2,000 people who gathered in Corsair Stadium Saturday night for the annual Celebrate America fireworks show. The annual event was a celebration of the values of liberty, equality and justice for all, set to a selection of patriotic brass tunes, a few pop hits and large explosions...

A violist was missing from the Broad Stage on Friday night. When the ensemble that was set to perform "Tide Pools" by Louis Stephenson stepped on to the stage, violist Gracie McAleer was not among them. McAleer, in dramatic fashion, walked onto the stage a few minutes later, receiving a warm welcome from her waiting audience. She drew a few...

On a grey morning on Santa Monica College's main campus, the American flag stood still under the clock tower. The people who fought for it gathered in front of it. SMC honored the veterans who attended last Thursday's ceremony, in advance of Memorial Day. The event recognized the sacrifices the veterans and families of those who attend SMC, made while...

Two men entered the ring at The Fabulous Form on Saturday night, carrying with them the weight of their countries. Viktor Postol brought with him the turmoil of his native Ukraine that forced the WBC Super Welterweight eliminator to be moved from his hometown of Kiev to the corner of Manchester and Prairie. Selcuk Aydin, who hails from Trazbon, Turkey,...

For Juan Manuel Marquez, there’s no place like The Forum. The 40-year-old boxing superstar cut his teeth at the corner of Manchester and Prairie, fighting 11 of his first 20 fights on American soil there, blossoming from an unknown to a featherweight contender. By the time boxing left Inglewood in 2001, he was a perfect 12-0 with nine wins by...

Quidditch, the sport from the "Harry Potter" book and movie franchise has been taken from the page to the pitch and the UCLA Quidditch brings the sport to Westwood. On first sight the game looks similar to what is presented in the film adaptation of J. K. Rowling's magical epic. Two teams with seven players take the pitch. Each team...

There is still one group of people for whom community goes beyond reddit discussions and blog comments and other forms of social media. A group of people who, in a world that pushes further towards the digitization of everything, value the physical copy of their medium that connects them to their past. Last Saturday was free comic book day across...

Last Thursday evening, internationalist solidarity manifested itself at Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade when a coalition of activists flash mobbed the local Adidas store to make shoppers aware of ongoing labor strife and the plight of sweatshop workers in China. The group of approximately two dozen protestors was composed of various students and local activists from the University of California,...

Amidst a crisp and warm Tuesday afternoon, the College Fair took over the main quad at Santa Monica College. Opportunistic students shuffled from booth to booth amid visions of a future in places such as Coral Gables, Florida, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Northridge, California. Students had the opportunity to interact with representatives from 200 universities and colleges ranging from major universities...