Brenda De Angel wakes up in her shared bedroom in downtown Los Angeles, throws on a pair of jeans and a flannel, puts her hair up in a messy bun and walks out of the door, probably similar to other Santa Monica College students. On her hour-long bus ride to school, the 18-year-old whips out the book “Just Mercy” by...

Most Angelinos are familiar with only one kind of jungle: the urban jungle full of concrete, cars and cellphones. The constant sound of car horns and engines boom as you walk down the street. As a college student, one tends to be locked into this man-made world that seems to have no escape. However, there may be. Envision a land...

In recent years, many city-dwellers have taken to growing their own food. Community urban gardens have sprung up all over major cities, Los Angeles being one of them. And at our very own school, students have been busy cultivating our Organic Learning Garden. Club Grow is a student club that teaches people on campus about how to grow their own...

Stepping onto the floor of the Pierce College gym for the state semifinals, the reigning men's volleyball State Champion Santa Monica College Corsairs knew they were in for a tough battle against arguably the best team in the state this year, the Orange Coast College Pirates. The Corsairs have history against the Pirates. Two years ago, both teams met in...

There is this real sense of loneliness. It must be the combination of the endless, flat landscape and the equally infinite sky. All you can hear is the wind and the occasional thumping of your racing heart. Storm chasing is as exciting as it is frightening. Living in Southern California, it’s easy to forget what bad weather is like. During...

As the late April morning sun hid behind the gloomy, grey clouds that filled the sky, Prince Mumba lightly strolled onto the Santa Monica College Track with only a small bag in his hands. For a man just shy of 6-feet tall, Mumba doesn't draw much attention when he arrives for his morning ritual. Hidden behind his humble demeanor, Prince...

2016 has quietly broken the rule that movies aren’t supposed to get interesting until the first big tentpole movie release in May. But even though we’re still a week out from the official start of the cinema summer with the release of that one big superhero movie people seem to be buzzing about, Hollywood has already started to give us...

People perceive vegans as radical, self-congratulatory, and cult-ish. They think being a vegan means announcing it upon walking into every party, crying each time you pass a farm, and throwing pig's blood on celebrities who wear fur. There's a whole lot of unnecessary context added to what is, for many, just a dietary preference. My digestive system sees nothing but...

The extent of the conversation surrounding veganism tends to wallow around the shallow pools of animal cruelty. Sometimes the strength of the present intellect will allow the dialogue to venture into sustainability territory — which is a good start. However, we as a society almost always fail to recognize what the larger implications and long term effects would be if...

For the past several years, Santa Monica College has been nurturing a tradition of being environmentally savvy and sustainable through it's Center for Environmental & Urban Studies (CEUS), alternative transportation initiatives, and various outreach from many of the clubs on campus. Having organized 11 events already last year, the environmental groups within the college aimed to further spread their message...