We are living in scary times. Today’s political climate has fallen off the deep end and we can’t seem to wrap our heads around the question of why. From mass shootings in schools, synagogues, churches, bars, and music festivals, to hate speech rhetoric involving antisemitism, vandalism and racism, what is going on with our society?

On December 28, 1922, a man was born that would change the world forever. Celia Lieber gave birth to Stanley Martin Lieber in New York City, although that name may not sound too familiar to you, the name Stan Lee probably does. Stan is the face and name of Marvel Comics, co-creator…

Before my career as an Santa Monica College (SMC) student, I received my BA in the 1980s, around the same time as Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his alleged victims. Attending a women's college - Mt. Holyoke, a school that recruits SMC students every semester - helped insulate my friends and me from the dangerous behavior Kavanaugh’s victims described - but not completely.

On October 28, Brazilians elected Jair Messias Bolsonaro as its 38th president with 55.13 percent of the total vote. Bolsonaro, a candidate of the Social Liberal Party (PSL), is the first president elected not from the Workers Party (PT) in 13 years.

The current political state of our country, and world, seems to constantly be erratically changing – and not for the better. All the power seems to be left in the hands of the orange man in the White House, or so it seems. The news is filled with atrocities and tragedies again and again, as if they will never end.

In the time since his election, President Trump has appointed an alleged sexual predator to the Supreme Court, cut taxes for billionaires (such as himself), launched attacks on the environment, all the while currying favor with right-wing extremists at home and abroad.

When we have L.A sheriffs talk about mass shootings as "the new normal," we may have become complacent when it comes to gun control. Tragedies like Sandy Hook and Parkland were meant to be the spark to ignite change, to make sure that no man, woman, child would lose their lives to crazy people with guns.

….And while there are a number of pro-Trump Republican candidates that frankly fall into this category, we would probably know by now if Trump had a sinister fascist agenda. After all, it took Mussolini, Hitler, and Franco mere months to lay the foundations of totalitarian states that would murder millions.

If there's one thing I've learned in my time in the Corsair newspaper and journalism classes, it's that news stories, above everything else, need to make people care. Whether it's about a small neighborhood or a major national event, the first thing you need to do is make people want to read your story. However, we might've reached a point where our news consumption is doing more harm than good.

Three years after Everest, Director Baltasar Kormakur’s latest movie is another real-life-based adventure tale. While the proceedings in Everest brings a team of six climbers to a fight for their lives, in Adrift, Tami Oldham (Shailene Woodley) gives hope for a better outcome when she successfully rebuilds mast and sail in a barely floating boat. All this effort is driven by the need to save her love, Richard Sharp (Sam Claflin).

As much progress as Americans have made in how they discuss sex, there are still areas that lack progress, such as sexual education. We've even progressed in how we treat violent media, even though we've taken some steps back in some cases. But I find it ridiculous how our country cannot properly set a standard for both.

President Trump is good for America. From a liberal-leaning female, this may seem an odd sentiment. I do not propose that he is a great President, I will leave that debate to time and history to write. I propose that he, during his campaign and presidency so far, has been a catalyst in creating a culture of engagement in policy and politics.

When Donald Trump was elected the 45th President in a shocking upset, experts and laymen the world over attempted to figure out what a Trump presidency would look like. Though liberals and the American political elite immediately launched into a histrionic fit of self-pity, with left-leaning newspapers printing stories with headlines…

The “Merc with a Mouth” is back. Just as he promised in the post-credit scene of his first movie, he’s brought along time-traveling X-Men -- including Cable, played by Josh Brolin who recently played Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. Newcomers can jump right into this movie without having seen the first, as the films are self-contained stories that, for the most part, stand on their own.

Writer Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman, the team behind 2007's Juno, have reunited for Tully, a powerful film about motherhood. Charlize Theron plays Marlo, an overworked, stressed-out mother of three with an absent husband (Ron Livingston) whose routine involves going to work, coming home to help the kids with their homework, and preferring to play on his Xbox rather than asking his wife how her day was.

As technology becomes an integral part of education, many students are left with the decision of how to balance technology with traditional methods of studying. One of these is choosing to take notes by typing on a laptop/tablet, or to hand write the notes on paper. There can be arguments made for both; however, studies have shown that it may be best to use good old pen and paper.

As a 21-year-old freelance journalist, I mostly cover local political developments. Whether I am attending the latest meeting of the Santa Monica City Council, or covering our very own Associated Student board, I am frequently struck both by how important the issues that appear in front of these bodies are, and by the alarming lack of public participation and oversight present at their deliberations.

Twenty-year-old Michelle Carter was infamously convicted in Massachusetts of involuntary manslaughter for sending a series of text messages that encouraged her boyfriend to commit suicide. Carter was convicted in June of 2017 in the case Commonwealth vs. Carter. While the morality of her actions can be discussed, the question is, what legal actions can be taken for what you speak or write?

10 years and nineteen films all converge with one snap of the fingers.

The United States of America, land of the free and the home of the brave, is currently at a crisis.