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The Channels

News
Opinion
A & E
Features
Sports
Videos
Community
Staff
About
Contact

More

The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

Search this site

The Channels

News
Opinion
A & E
Features
Sports
Videos
Community
Staff
About
Contact

More

The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

Search this site

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thechannels

The official student-run news outlet of Santa Barbara City College.

Hundreds of people gathered on the West Campus Gre

Hundreds of people gathered on the West Campus Great Meadow at City College in Santa Barbara, California, for the 39th annual Kite Festival on April 13. The event brought together families, students and kite enthusiasts of all ages. Colorful kites filled the sky from morning into the afternoon. The festival celebrated creativity, community and springtime along the Santa Barbara coast.

Go to www.thechannels.org to see more.

📸 Photo Coverage by: Robert Wilson, Staff Photographer

On April 12, City College Vaqueros baseball went u

On April 12, City College Vaqueros baseball went up against the Pierce College’s Brahmas in an intense baseball match. The game started in Pierce College’s favor but swiftly turned into a close back-and-forth contest, with neither team being able to keep the lead for long. The Vaqueros locked in their victory scoring two runs in the eighth inning, ending the home game with a score of 9-8.

Go to www.thechannels.org to see more.

📸 Photo Coverage by: Michael Lopez, Staff Photographer

The Aerospace and Rocket Club is building City Col

The Aerospace and Rocket Club is building City College’s first-ever rocket.

On April 4 the club started its construction. Jazminna Smirni, the club president is the initiator of this project.

In between answering questions and giving a hand to her fellow club members, Smirni found time to share more information on her club and their project.

“I went into this pretty blind,” Smirni said. “But it’s been flourishing.”

Smirni started her club in March 2024 with no preliminary knowledge of rocket science, but a desire to build and learn. After hearing from a fellow student about another school’s rocket club, Smirni became inspired and decided to give life to her new hobby.

“In the right space you can literally do amazing things,” Smirni said. “It is insane what passion, wifi and a little time after school will get you.”

Read www.thechannels.org for more.

✍️ by: Vénus Barelier, Staff Writer
📸 by: Robert Wilson, Staff Photographer

The City College Atkinson Gallery showcased the cr

The City College Atkinson Gallery showcased the creative talent of art students featuring a diverse range of works that highlight their artistic growth.

The art department and Atkinson Gallery presented the Annual Student Exhibition on the East Campus in the Humanities Building Room 202. The event took place on April 10 and started at 3 p.m. The winners were announced at 3:15 p.m. and the event ended at 4 p.m. Both first and second-year students presented their artwork to show off. Some students have their art out just for show and others tried to win scholarships that they applied to.

Many different forms of artwork can be showcased from drawings, paintings, pottery, sculpture, furniture design, block prints and animated videos. Students weren’t the only ones in attendance at the showcase, friends and families also came to support and check out the amazing artwork of the talented artists.

Read www.thechannels.org to learn more.

✍️ by: Jenna Hagedorn, Staff Writer
📸 by: Mirian Gil Solis, Staff Photographer

Tracy Kofford, director of City College’s dance

Tracy Kofford, director of City College’s dance company, alongside four students will attend Florence, Italy this summer from June 16 to July 5.

The workshop has three different levels of students that will be attending. There is a high school level for seniors and a pre-professional level so the age range is around 18 to 25. There are also teacher workshops. Three workshops are all going on at the same time in the three-week period.

The students are currently preparing by having classes with Kofford twice a week. In Italy, they will then dance from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. everyday.

“I am looking forward to the interactions with different students and also faculty and to see what’s happening in the dance world outside of our bubble here in the United States,” Kofford said.

Read more at www.thechannels.org

✍️ by: Julia Catharina Schmidt, Staff Writer
📸 by: Mirian Gil Solis, Staff Photographer

A poison apple has been far from Rachel Zegler’s

A poison apple has been far from Rachel Zegler’s mind amid the backlash she has received for being a Latina woman playing Disney’s first live-action “Snow White” and the controversy surrounding her vocality towards her support for Palestine.

From fairest of them all to online outrage Zegler has been under fire for quite some time after being announced to play Disney’s Snow White back in June 2021, but is the criticism justified due to Disney’s live-action burn out or has the discourse turned into an unfair wicked witch hunt?

Zegler first stepped on the scene when she portrayed Maria in Steven Spielburg’s remake of Jerrome Robin’s 1961 film “West Side Story”. Not long after Zegler continued to make her mark on the entertainment industry by successfully landing the role of Lucy Gray Baird in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” and Anthea in “Shazam: Fury of the Gods”.

Read more at www.thechannels.org

✍️ by: Chandler Johnson, Staff Writer
Illustration by: Sylvia Stewart, Editor-in-Chief

As part of the nationwide Hands Off protest, thous

As part of the nationwide Hands Off protest, thousands filled De La Guerra Plaza at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 5. Organized by local activist groups Indivisible Santa Barbara and Women’s March, protestors stood in solidarity against the government dismantlement set in motion by President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.

The Hands Off protests are a series of ongoing demonstrations launched across the United States on April 5 displaying public resistance against the second administration of President Donald Trump.

Go to www.thechannels.org for more.

📸 photo coverage by: Michael Lopez, Staff Photographer

On April 2 Juan Felipe Herrera took to City Colleg

On April 2 Juan Felipe Herrera took to City College in the Garvin Theater to talk about poetry during National Poetry Month and how it can help amplify your voice.

National Poetry Month was established by the Academy of American Poets in 1996 to recognize poetry in culture and education during the month of April.

Herrera, an educator, activist, and poet, stood among students and faculty members to give insights into his long-term background with poetry.

“A poem begins with an awareness of each other, it begins with unity, it begins with friendship, it begins with simply exchanging and being human beings and accepting each other,” Herrera said. “ There would be no poetry without our real selves.”

Go to www.thechannels.org to learn more.

✍️ by: Chandler Johnson, Staff Writer
📸 by: Robert Wilson, Staff Photographer

In Isla Vista, crashing waves and ocean breezes co

In Isla Vista, crashing waves and ocean breezes collide with blue skies to create a community filled with outdoor activities, but there is one glaring problem, a lack of shade. That’s why the Isla Vista Community Service District (IVCSD) and Your Children’s Trees are working together to supply free trees for property owners.

“We have very low canopy coverage for the amount of people who are living in Isla Vista,” said Jenna Norton, public works and sustainability director for IVCSD. “Typically it’s low-income underrepresented communities that are lacking trees.”

The recommended tree canopy in communities is 25% to 30%, while Isla Vista’s tree canopy currently covers 15% of the surrounding neighborhoods. The pilot program kickstarted in March after receiving a $5,500 grant to distribute 50 15-gallon trees. The juvenile trees are sourced from local tree nurseries, depending on what tree the property owner is interested in.

Go to www.thechannels.org to read more.

✍️ by: Raquel Smith, Staff Writer
📸 photo illustration by: Sylvia Stewart, Editor-in-Chief

Making waves for the Central Coast’s “blue eco

Making waves for the Central Coast’s “blue economy”, a $200,000 Catalyst Pre Development Phase Grant underway as of Feb. 25 is poised to create thousands of jobs and expand City College’s bioscience and career technical education opportunities.

City College, the SBCC Foundation, the Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara, and local partners have teamed up to launch “The Ocean Collective: A Consortium to Develop a Diverse and Climate-Resilient Blue Economy for the Central Coast”. This effort builds on momentum from August 2024, when City College hosted a Blue Economy Symposium to foster sustainable ocean careers and announced the launch of Santa Barbara Ocean Collective.

In partnership between Uplift Central Coast Coalition and California’s Jobs First program, the Catalyst Grant aims to fund diverse industries along the central coast. With a total of $9 million in total for Catalyst funding, City College received a portion of their budget reserved for accelerator projects, which have moved beyond the initial idea phase and are beginning to take shape.

Read more at www.thechannels.org to learn more.

✍️ by: Aneka Edwards, Staff Writer
📸 by: Kahlo Friel-Asay, Staff Photographer

What our staff writer Julia has to say about Delto

What our staff writer Julia has to say about Deltopia: To go or not to go.

Opinion piece ✍️by: Julia Catharina Schmidt, staff writer

Stay safe out there this weekend.

To read more visit www.thechannels.org

A new teacher at City College and full-time facult

A new teacher at City College and full-time faculty member of the ceramics department, Karen Tepaz, shared her stories and passions for teaching ceramics.

With her love for pottery and wheel throwing, she invites students in on her ways of mastering technical skills as well as her personal techniques, allowing them to gain the experience necessary to not only pursue ceramics as a hobby, but to have the ability and knowledge to further pursue ceramics as a career.

Her journey began when she was required to take an art elective for her major in College. Having never taken an art class at the time, she chose ceramics as a “fun class”.

“I just totally fell in love with it, and I kind of havent stopped working since 2002.” Tepaz said.

Being able to understand students’ curiosity and creativity, and to make her students’ imaginations come to fruition is something that is very important to her. Tepaz spoke about how she creates a very open space for creativity and ensures all of her students’ voices and ideas are heard.

Read more at www.thechannels.org

✍️ by: Zuri Stewart, Staff Writer
📸 by: Robert Wilson, Staff Photographer

With yoga mats and beach towels sprawled across th

With yoga mats and beach towels sprawled across the grass and telescopes propped at the night sky, City College students gazed up to see the total lunar eclipse at the Mission Rose Garden on Thursday, March 13.

City College’s Astronomy Club, in collaboration with the Biology Club and Yoga Club, hosted a lunar eclipse tea party where students of all majors could come to socialize and learn about astronomy while watching a rare astrological event.

The total lunar eclipse, commonly known as the rare blood moon, started at 9 p.m. and ended around 3 a.m. and was most visible around midnight. It occurs every few years when the moon is covered by the Earth’s shadow, giving it a deep red color.

Read more at www.thechannels.org to learn more

✍️ by: Hilary Litton, Copy Editor and Zuri Stewart, Staff Writer
📸 by: Michael Lopez, Staff Photographer

On Feb. 14 the United States Department of Educati

On Feb. 14 the United States Department of Education sent out a “Dear Colleague” letter to all State Education Departments.

The letter detailed the views of a new Department of Education under the Trump administration.

Two points stand out from the letter. The first point is that in the eyes of the Department of Education, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs are unconstitutional and promote discrimination.

“Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them—particularly during the last four years—under the banner of ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’, smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline,” as directly quoted in the letter.

Read more at www.thechannels.org to stay educated.

✍️ by Hiro Sato, features editor
Illustratons by: Sylvia Stewart, editor-in-chief

From birds to tarantulas, the Biology Club at City

From birds to tarantulas, the Biology Club at City Colleges offers a wide variety of hands-on activities guiding students to dive deeper into our planet’s wildlife.

Run by two co-presidents Caroline Hatcher and Alexandre Beale, the club gathers 122 members this semester and regularly throws events such as bake sales and outdoor activities. The latest event was a “Bird Walk” at the Douglas Family Preserve on Friday, Feb. 28.

The Biology Club aims to bring the community together by uniting people with similar niche interests and creating a safe space to ask for help. They organize events on and off campus to spread their love of biology and strengthen the feeling of community.

Read more about the Biology Club at www.thechannels.org

✍️ by: Vénus Barelier, staff writer
📸 by: Hilary Litton, copy editor

In honor of the women who have gotten our society

In honor of the women who have gotten our society to where it is today, we annually observe the month of March as Women’s History Month (WHM). This year, The Channels sat down to talk with four women working on City College’s campus and asked them to share a bit of their stories.

Raíces director Melissa Menendez, Marine Diving Technology director Emma Horanic, Assistant Superintendent and Vice President of Academic Affairs María Villagómez and cafeteria cook Miriam Martinez took some time to share details about their lives, careers and hardships in hopes of inspiring other women to be their best selves.

Read the Q&A at www.thechannels.org

✍️ by: Mars Newton, staff writer
📸 by: Robert Wilson, staff photographer

The Channels attended the 2025 National College Me

The Channels attended the 2025 National College Media Conference in Long Beach last weekend.

We took home a total of 13 awards.

We thank you for all of the support! More news on awards to come.

Notable moments from today’s keynote speech! #AC

Notable moments from today’s keynote speech! #ACP2025

On March 7th, 2025 student journalist gathered at

On March 7th, 2025 student journalist gathered at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach, California to hear a keynote speech featuring Pepperdine University student newsroom to discuss their experience covering the Franklin Fire and the Palisades Fire. #ACP25

When Aneka gets to join the keynote speech

When Aneka gets to join the keynote speech 👀 #ACP25 #TheGraphic #pepperdineuniversity #longbeach

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Voices: “What is a story you tell that no one believes?”

Michaela Vehslage and Jacob Frank

February 24, 2020

Desiree Erdmann

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