Santa Monica College Celebrates Free Speech on Campus

Please Note: This is a parody article, including any photographs, and not to be taken seriously. It is neither endorsed nor affiliated with Santa Monica Community College District. Phoenix Genesis and SAVE SMC do not in any way endorse any Nazi, Fascist, or Klu Klux Klan organization or group nor are we part of any or intend to be in the future. Any reference to such is done as mere satire. As all satire, there are hints of truth throughout. To the best of my knowledge, there is no such SMC White Power Club on campus and hopefully none will be installed in the future.

As a public institution, Santa Monica College is bound to guarantee its students their right of free speech and expression under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which includes robust guarantees of protection for satirical expression such as the caricature of SMC administrators as KKK Neo-Nazi members. The First Amendment protects highly offensive material, including satire and profanity. We do not intend to offer such material maliciously or to offend anyone, but to prove a point about the gross violation of our student rights at SMC by public employees acting under the auspices of the Office of Judicial Affairs and its legal counsel.

With that said, please enjoy our parody article.

-- Des Manttari,
Editor-in-Chief,
Phoenix Genesis

(c) 2006: Phoenix Genesis/MBS LP

SANTA MONICA COLLEGE CELEBRATES FREE SPEECH ON CAMPUS

Not wanting Santa Monica College to be deemed a campus wide censorship zone, SMC has graciously offered its students a small grassy area near the Clocktower on main campus as its designated free speech area. However, Denya Hearn in the Office of Student Life must approve all intended student club events. To celebrate SMC's new free speech area, Vice President of Planning and Development Robert Sammis and Assistant Dean of Judicial Affairs Judith Penchansky were present to welcome a newly installed club, the SMC White Power Club. According to Ms. Hearn: "The mission of the White Power Club is to promote white supremacy on campus."


Robert Sammis (left) and Judith Penchansky (right) salute the SMC White Power Club.

According to Mr. Sammis, "The White Power Club did an amazing job of organizing and fundraising for their free speech event on campus. The highlight of the event was a speech delivered by the Grand Wizard of the KKK." When a student inquired to Mr. Sammis about the free speech areas on the handful of satellite campuses, Sammis quickly remarked, "Oh, there aren't any. We have a shuttle service linking the Academy of Entertainment and Technology and other satellite campuses to the main campus. Students therefore have access to the main campus free speech area. Since we don't get many students who exercise this right, we don't need more than one free speech area."

However, the Jewish and African American student groups on campus objected to the White Power club event. After Penchansky threatened disciplinary measures for harassment against the White Power Club, these other groups quietly backed down. Sammis sent an official letter in his capacity as legal counsel, emphasizing the provisions of SMC's Student Bill of Rights, "In student activities, the district guarantees the right of students to organize, to exercise freedom of speech, to participate in the student and institution government and to prepare and distribute student publications. Students and student organizations should be free to examine and to discuss all questions of interest to them and to express opinions publicly and privately. They should always be free to support causes by orderly means which do not disrupt the essential operation of the institution."

When questioned about what exactly constituted "disruption of the essential operation of the institution," Sammis replied with confidence, "Pesky students who think they are entitled to view public records belonging to the college. That's clearly disruptive. We have to vigilantly protect those records from disclosure to the public. After all, we can't have students monitoring the administration. They have to understand their place as students and let the administrators run the school as they see fit. Fortunately, the SMCPD is always on hand to take care of this problem." This was confirmed by SMC employee Pat Green who added: "When SMC students Des Manttari and Dustin Curran came snooping around for public records, I clearly and firmly told them, 'Let me tell something right now. I'm gonna tell you something. You either turn your asses around now and get out or I call the police. What choice do you want?' I feel it's always important to give students choices in these matters and not be too dictatorial."

Judith Penchansky was equally exhilarated by the SMC White Power event. Ms. Penchansky opened the celebration by lighting the swastikas herself. Penchansky exclaimed, "We used SMC student Des Manttari's award winning Holocaust novel, 'The Roar of the Beast' to fuel the flames. Since we suspended Manttari, a Jewish student, for disrupting the AET computer lab by working on her Holocaust awareness project in April 2005, we shouldn't have any problems with her finding out. In any event, if she shows up, we've got enough campus police fire power behind us to deal with any potential problems."

Penchansky is in charge of the SMC student code of conduct. Recently, the code has been under fire for its vague, ambiguous, and overbroad definitions of disruption and harassment. Penchansky didn't want to miss out on an opportunity to help students understand provisions of the student conduct code. While the SMC White Power Club delivered a riveting tribute to their beloved Adolf Hitler, exercising their First Amendment rights to profanity and vulgarity, Penchansky gathered a handful of select SMC staff, students, and faculty to provide personal examples of provision A of the Student Conduct Code that prohibits "habitual profanity or vulgarity."

SMC student Thomas J. Baker glowingly supported Ms. Penchansky in her capacity as campus disciplinarian. According to Mr. Baker, "SMC student Des Manttari disrupted our SMC Game Club meeting on March 24th by suggesting the meeting be called to order. I firmly told her, 'This isn’t a f--king open-air discussion for you to air your grievances and whatever personal matters you have. We don’t care about your problems.' Fortunately, Ms. Penchansky backed me one hundred percent. She instantly knew how to handle the situation by suggesting we trump up some criminal allegations against Manttari. Fortunately, my friends came through for me. That Penchansky, she's a lifesaver."

Penchansky quickly chimed in, "Students enrolling in the college assume an obligation to conduct themselves in a manner compatible with the college’s function as an educational institution. We just can't have students running around criticizing our administration. That is clearly inappropriate and disruptive."

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