Santa Monica College

Santa Monica College was literaly an extension of my high school. Nearly all of my friends began thier college careers by attending SMC and most transferred to a four year university. I attended in the 1980's on a part-time basis. My brothers and sister also went to school here. Although I also attended Trade Tech, Mt. San Antonio, and LACC, Sata Monica College was my very favorite. Only Mt. Sac could hold a candle to it. Santa Monica College and the California Community College system in general are a land of second chances. In many countries, you are what you is and it is nearly impossible to continue anything other than trade school once you have flunked certain exams. I applaud their liberal and compassionate admissions policies. The faculty here are the most qualified that I have seen at any two year college. Many of them were also teaching at UCLA. The level of coursework is more challenging than Trade-Tech and some other colleges. Essentially, the workload for the classes that I took at SMC were similar to my undergrad classes at Cal Poly Pomona. You will need to pay attention, study, and if you do not, they will not hesitate to fail you. Some of my teachers went above and beyond the call of their job descriptions and really pointed me in the right direction. Socially, SMC was a lifesaver for me. Immediately after enroling, I made a ton of friends here. People were far more approachable and exhibited less gang behavior than the kids in high school. It made for a lot of good times. I saw Courtney Love's bush when Hole played here in the late 1980's. I also saw MDC and the Adolescents play on campus. I still know people from my Speech 101 class and that was a long time ago. The price is right! Why anyone would attend a private vocational school when they can attend SMC for peanuts is beyond me. When I read that some yellow-bellied, lilly-livered, chickenshit coward stormed in here and ruined so many lives, I was devastated. The fact that it took place at SMC where people are trying to improve themselves and stay out of trouble makes it exponentially more disturbing. While there is no emperical model that can predict who goes on a shooting rampage, you can't tell me that someone did not know how dangerous that little piece of shit was. I am mortified that person did nothing.