Dedicated to Santa Monica College and its story & people. Join us in our courageous fight to SAVE SMC!
 |
|
SANTA MONICA COLLEGE OVERVIEW
SAVE SMC FEATURED ARTICLES
(Santa Monica Community College District Overview)
Table of Contents:
Lawsuits |
Accountability |
Campus Police |
Anti-Semitism |
CSEA Complaints |
Faculty Rally | Bundy Campus | Game Club | SMC Foundation | Health Fees | Public Records | Student Rights | Governator | Family Guy | Sex Scandals | Campaign Contributions | SMC Map | SMC GENERAL INFORMATION
The High Price of Litigation
[See: LIST OF SMC LAWSUITS]
SMC's lawsuits are a sad testament to
its unwillingness to adhere to our rights. SMC has
violated free speech clauses, due process, faculty contracts, and
other state and federal laws, including those against harassment
and discrimination. SMC's litigation machine is well-oiled by several
large law firms that bill out at hundreds of dollars an hour, some for
decades on end. How much does all this litigation ultimately cost the taxpayer?
Read More ... [TOP]
A Demand for Fiscal and Moral Accountability
[Go to: MISSION STATEMENT]
As a public institution, Santa Monica
College must be both fiscally and morally accountable to its
people. The college must disclose its records under the California
Public Records Act and its must keep its meetings open under the
Ralph M. Brown Act. However, SMC has done neither as it
continues to retaliate against those who wish to hold it accountable.
The Los Angeles District Attorney has recently cited the college for
violations of the Brown Act.
Read More ... [TOP]
SMCPD CAMPUS POLICE MISCONDUCT AGAINST SMC STUDENTS
Santa Monica College's Police Misconduct
[Go to: NEWS COVERAGE]
The SMCPD, acting in tandem with campus disciplinary Judith
Penchansky and Chief of Police Eileen Miller, has been cited
by the 2004 accreditation board for its unjustified high rate
of overbroad and ambiguous disruptive student charges. SMC
has refused to disclose the public records. Campus
officers no longer serve and protect the students, but intimidate
and harass them. See how SMC student Jeff Higley's rights were violated.
Read More ... [TOP]
Judith Penchansky's and SMCPD's Abuse of Power
[Go to: SMEAR CAMPAIGN]
This is not the first or last time SMCPD Officer Michael Champagne has
been used as Judith Penchansky's hand puppet to intimidate students she wishes to wrongly
eradicate from the campus. As we've seen in the video footage, Champagne threatened SMC
student Jeff Higley with arrest for his videotaping attempts. The SMCPD-Office of Judicial
Affairs tag team of harassment has gone on for several years as is evident in the three
distinct incidents against three SMC students.
Read More ... [TOP]
SMC Fiscal and Enrollment Recovery Problems
[Go to: A.S. LAWSUIT]
SMC has been plagued for many years with intertwined fiscal and enrollment recovery problems.
According to the SMC Board of Trustees Minutes for September 13, 2006, enrollment
is down by 3.5 percent compared to Fall 2005. Back in 1998, when student elected representatives
of SMC's Associated Students started delving into the finances of the school, the administration retaliated
by using the SMCPD to wrongfully arrest them. SMC still uses its campus police to this day to silence critics.
Read More ... [TOP]
SMC Conceals Vital Public Records
[Go to: NEW CPRA LAWSUIT]
SMC has used every stonewalling tactic under the sun to prevent
disclosure of vital public records under the
California Public Records Act
from campus police intimidation to endless delays.
On August 2006, SMCPD officer Willie Malone blatantly stated:
"They're not complying with the law right now." SMC fiscal
employee Pat Green informed students to "turn your asses around
now and get out or I call the police." What is SMC hiding?
Read More ... [TOP]
HATE CRIMES, VIOLENCE, AND SEXUAL ASSAULT AGAINST SMC STUDENTS
Sexual Assault on the SMC Campus
[Go to: Prof. Javelosa's Underage MySpace Friends]
In 1981, SMC Physical Science Professor Donald V. Cockburn admitted to
sexually assaulting 18 year-old Duria Suncar on her job interview with him. Cockburn allegedly
had a history of sexual misconduct that was described as "fortified by abundant uncontradicted evidence."
Even Cockburn admitted his behavior was "deplorable." Instead of immediately firing Cockburn, SMC
employed an outside psychologist to "rehabilitate" him. The California
Appellate Court was appalled, ruling Cockburn's termination was justified.
Read More ... [TOP]
Santa Monica College's Anti-Semitism
[Go to: FREE SPEECH PARODY]
Anti-Semitism is a problem that has been
rampant throughout history.
SMC used all kinds of underhanded anti-semitic tactics to prevent me as a Jewish student
from finishing my Holocaust project, from attempted arrest, harassment, discrimination,
and a
mock disciplinary hearing on Holocaust Remembrance Day. While all this transpired,
Jim Keeshen was living it up with his Nazi paraphernalia
shopping spree on eBay.
Read More ... [TOP]
SMC Game Club Exposed
[Go to: GAME CLUB BRIEF HISTORY]
SMC Game Club member Brian Puschell
stated in his MySpace account: "I kill [virtual] people for fun."
Was he planning to take his violence to a new dangerous level when
he advocated throwing a military coup against the SMC Associated
Students? The Gaming Club tells a shocking tale of sexual discrimination,
violence, and potential identity theft of students' information. Why
were faculty advisors David Javelosa and Howard Stahl failing to monitor this campus club?
Read More ... [TOP]
SMC Professor Jim Keeshen's Hate Speech Against the Disabled
[Go to: THREATS]
On March 1, 2006, SMC Professor Jim Keeshen made a hate speech to his students, claiming that
autism is a "mental disease." He also threatened to retaliate against any students, including
having them kicked out of school, if they spoke out against him. One of his students was disabled.
People with disabilities are in a protected class that is not to be discriminated against. To this
date, the school has done nothing to reprimand Professor Keeshen nor to apologize for his
inappopriate and malicious comments.
Read More ... [TOP]
CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AGAINST SMC FACULTY, STAFF & STUDENTS
SMC's Suspension of Disbelief
[Go to: WRONGFUL SUSPENSION DATABASE]
Santa Monica College has
used every conceivable means to prevent disclosure
of public records and to silence my criticism of its lack of
accountability on my SAVE SMC blog. I have endured harassment,
campus police intimidation, extortion, and a massive smear campaign.
I was suspended for two entire years without any due process and in
violation of SMC's policies, the California Education Code and
the U.S. Constitution.
Read More ... [TOP]
SMC's Sand Bucket Mentality
[Go to: CSEA COMPLAINT]
The Joint Respect and Professionalism Task Force Committee accused SMC's management
of having a sand bucket mentality.
Under "what needs to change" topics include the following: employee morale, ethical
violations, favoritism, vindictive managers, and ego adjustment of managers.
Management allegedly recruited departmental "spies", threatened staff's jobs,
and treated staff as if they were second and third class citizens.
Read More ... [TOP]
SMC Faculty March and Rally
[Go to: CSEA SURVEY COMMENTS]
Armed with bullhorns, picket signs, and whistles, the Santa Monica College
faculty cried their slogan: A Fair Contract Now.
Faculty Association President, Lantz Simpson, stated that they has not seen
a new contract for over twenty months. Mr. Simpson added that the contract
issues should have been "settled over a year ago," but that the Board of
Trustees "sat on their hands." For over a year and a half, SMC has
"refused" to settle this contract.
Read More ... [TOP]
SMC Re-arranges Deck Chairs on the Titanic
[Go to: UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES]
SMC has experienced a mass exodus of administrators, including
the swift and silent departure of Vice-President of Planning
and Development, Robert Sammis.
Both the Classified Senate and the SMC Faculty Association
constantly criticized Sammis for allegedly unfair labor practices
and were pleased with his dismissal from the college. Sammis also
had a history of stonewalling compliance with the California Public Records Act.
Read More ... [TOP]
Springtime for Penchansky and SMC
[Go to: OUR YouTube VIDEOS PAGE]
Known as the Honor Code, AR 4412 would allow an Honor
Council to have unlimited and unchecked powers to discipline and potentially suspend
and expel students found in violation of the slightest infraction.
Dean Judith Penchansky would have an army of law firms
at her disposal, yet you, as a student, would not be afforded any legal representation
whatsoever. The Honor Council proceedings would be held in secret and would deny the
accused student basic due process under the law. Watch our YouTube video.
Read More ... [TOP]
QUESTIONABLE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS
Former SMC President Piedad Robertson's Paid Propaganda
[Go to: DISCLOSURES]
Margaret Quiñones, then Chair of the SMC Board of Trustees, would also owe former SMC President Piedad Robertson a word or two of praise. After all, Robertson contributed to Quiñones' 2004 Board of Trustees re-election campaign. Richard J. Riordan, the California Secretary of Education, would also have to praise Robertson in order to justify her appointment to his special advisory team. Of course, Quiñones rewards Robertson's campaign contributions with Riordan by giving Robertson a $25,000 salary increase.
Read More ... [TOP]
Dr. Susan Aminoff, SMC Board of Trustees Vice-Chair, claims that the board was
merely a "rubber stamp for the administration" and that then SMC President Piedad
Robertson "gave faculty a rough ride." Robertson's position as secretary of education under Richard Riordan
allowed her to expand her "anti-faculty posture" on a statewide level.
SMC Board Member Margaret Quinones opposed Aminoff as she was funded by Robertson
and other SMC administrators as her campaign contributions reveal.
Read More ... [TOP]
QUESTIONABLE FINANCES AND HIDDEN FUNDS
State Controller Catches SMC's Hands in Cookie Jar
[Go to: AUDIT REPORT]
The Division of Audits for the State Controller's Office
revealed that SMC had claimed $364,407 for its mandated
Health Fee Elimination Program.
The audit disclosed that the entire amount is unallowable,
because the district claimed unallowable costs and understated
revenue. The State paid the district $31,295, which the district
should return. The audit disclosed non-compliance of
mandated cost accounting procedures to Thomas J. Donner.
Read More ... [TOP]
Bundy Campus Environmental Impact Concerns
[Go to: BUNDY EIR REPORT]
SMCCD issued a Notice of Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report
(EIR) for its satellite Bundy Campus. According to the SMC CEQA Initial
Study Checklist, the following areas of concern, which were rated as a
potentially significant impact, include
air quality, aesthetics, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology/water
quality, noise, public services, transportation/circulation, utilities, and
neighborhood effects.
Read More ... [TOP]
SMC's Financial Death Spiral
[Go to: FISCAL & ENROLLMENT RECOVERY PROBLEMS]
SMCFA President Lantz Simpson writes: "The college has failed to return its enrollment
back to the level of 2003. This means the college has permanently contracted with a $2
million net loss in state revenue for next year. This also means that the college
teeters on the edge of a death spiral of funding cuts, lay offs, and further
enrollment drops. Only a massive transfusion of more equalization money or a
brand new funding system can save SMC now." Meanwhile, $3 million in funds are allegedly being hidden.
Read More ... [TOP]
SMC Foundation Robs Peter to Pay Paul
[Go to: NEPOTISM IN HIRING]
Renzo Zecchetto Architects
received $1,526,562 for its work in the
Madison Theater Project,
spearheaded by Dale Franzen, using SMC
alumnus Dustin Hoffman as SMC's mouthpiece. All this was paid out
through the Santa Monica College Foundation, of which Zeccetto was
a member of its President's Circle. Why did SMC cut its Architecture
program, claiming it had no money, while exorbinantly bankrolling its
golden child of architecture?
Read More ... [TOP]
SMC SEX SCANDALS AND STUDENT PROTESTS
The Governator: Judgment Day at SMC
[Go to: GOLDEN DREAM BY THE SEA]
As California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
pumped "$6 billion more dollars into the state treasury," will he now
be able to pump fiscal accountability, enrollment recovery, and a
climate of trust and mutual respect back into the SMC community?
Will those answers be forthcoming from SMC's alumnus or will the
college suffer Judgment Day under the former Terminator's hands?
Read the Governator's 2005 SMC commencement speech.
Read More ... [TOP]
David Javelosa is a full-time professor
of interactive media at Santa Monica College's Academy of Entertainment and
Technology. He used the school's server to upload secret webpages of himself,
his son, and his new age music, clogging up both bandwidth and space. Under
the assumed name of David Microwave, he
advertised himself and his site to his underaged friends on MySpace.
Does this 52 year-old man have no shame?
Read More ... [TOP]
|
SAVE SMC DIRECTORY INDEX: SAVE SMC BLOG ARTICLESADVANCED SEARCH: AET DATABASE LEGAL SEARCH: LITIGATION DATABASE SEARCH: FAMILY GUY DATABASE VIDEOGAME NEWS: PHOENIX GENESIS VIEW: SAVE SMC MYSPACE PROFILE 
The SAVE SMC Blog and Website are not affiliated with nor endorsed by Santa Monica College.
Des Manttari is a current student at SMC's Academy of Entertainment and Technology (AET),
studying video game development and animation. She has been a teaching assistant for
the AET courses: Storytelling and History of Animation. Ms. Mantttari was a former legal
publisher and paralegal for many years.
SAVE SMC - Politics Legal News Media Blog Video Games Animation Academy Entertainment Technology Santa Monica College California Public Records Act Phoenix Genesis Weblog
THE SAVE SMC WEBSITE
SAVE SMC [PHP Beta Version] SAVE SMC Home SMC Overview AET Overview SMC AET Key Profiles SAVE SMC Search Guide AET Advanced Search  Our Mission Statement News and Updates Watch Our Videos Play with Our Cyberpet Big Fun with Furby
SAVE SMC AET PDF DOCS
SAVE SMC AET CHARTS
READ OUR BLOGS
PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS
SAVE SMC KEY LEGAL DOCS
CPRA KEY LEGAL PLEADINGS
JIM KEESHEN PRODUCTIONS COMMENTS
more "In contrast, Santa Monica and West Valley-Mission are districts that have not worked cooperatively with faculty to get through these stressful times. Both districts met the challenge of the mid-year cuts with the same slash and burn approach taken by Contra Costa. Both were threatened with a loss of base student enrollment that ultimately results in a loss of base funding. Santa Monica faculty launched an all out campaign in opposition to President Piedad Robertson’s plan to gut the district’s vocational programs.
She later gained statewide
influence as a member of Governor Schwarzenegger’s
transition team, and many feared that her ill-conceived
policies might infect the entire system. Her unexpected
resignation to take an out-of-state consulting job may, in the
end, turn out to ensure the district’s salvation as it scrambles
to regain lost enrollment. Although it looks like the district
will come up short of full enrollment restoration, there is a
greater sense of optimism at Santa Monica thanks to both
the change of administration and the Faculty Association’s
success in helping to elect two new trustees."
-- California Community College Independents (CCCI), Volume 14, Number 1 (Spring 2005)
"Under the polite heading of "misrepresentation," but as part of a general pattern of "Failure to Bargain in Good Faith", the Administration has been sending out incorrect information directly to faculty members, under the heading of 'Negotiations Updates.' Both Piedad Robertson and Robert Sammis have written documents that contain falsifications, and state positions that are OPPOSITE to the positions presented at the bargaining table. Eventually, the Faculty Association will probably prevail in the Unfair charges...but the PERB decision will come too late to undo the damage caused in these negotiations. (Note: PERB in Massachusetts decided in favor of the union when similar charges were filed against Piedad Robertson while she was Education czar there-but the decision came out after she'd already been hired by SMC.)"
-- Professor Teri Bernstein,
SMC Faculty Association Bulletin (November 1998) QUOTES
more
"Those of you who tend to believe everything you read may wish to peruse a copy of 'Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics' by Michael Wheeler."
-- Peter B. Geltner, SMC Dean of Institutional Research [The Standard Deviant: Edition 2, January 16, 1998]
"Dr. Robertson, you have blackmailed and extorted the students of [SMC] into funding your questionably legal account. You have threatened the students of this college with severe vindictive retaliation if we do what I believe is right and stop giving you a blank check to wine and dine employees of the district and buy yourself future favors with the money of starving students. Before I let you use another cent of the student's money, I want legal advice about your actions surrounding this account."
-- Ryan Flegal, President, SMC Associated Students [Letter to SMC President Piedad Robertson, December 10, 1997]
"The unbridled creation of new Administrative and consulting positions (many of which have been filled by Friends of Piedad) is the multi-million dollar problem!"
-- Teri Bernstein, SMC Professor [SMCFA FAB]
"I graduated from Santa Monica College with my AA degree on June 12. ... The whole event was rather depressing, and a portent of things to come."
-- Anonymous [June 19, 2001]
"We have an autocracy which runs this university. ... There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes
so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've
got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've
got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless
you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!"
-- Mario Savio's Famous Speech [UC Berkeley Sit-In, December 3, 1964] Free Speech Movement Demonstration
"It would be nice if we could look to our colleges and universities as the bearers of progress, but at this rate it seems an unlikely prospect. If we are to truly promote an atmosphere of intellectual openness, respectful political debate and the free flow of ideas on campus, then we must stem the tide of thuggery, bullying and intolerance that threatens to subsume future generations. Otherwise, we cede the day to mob rule. "
-- Cinnamon Stillwell [Mob Rule on College Campuses, November 29, 2006]
Tiki Coladas Web Comics
SAVE SMC Blog and Website 
|
