Long Beach City College hosted an ice cream social event with the police department, Long Beach police department airport K9, and motor officers who gave free ice cream at LAC in the E Quad on Thursday.
Associated Student Body (ASB) sponsored and organized the event in order to promote social interaction between the police and students.
Students had the opportunity to ask questions, express concerns on what matters to them, and engage in a little conversation while eating free ice cream.
Students and employees had many different flavors of ice cream to choose from.
LBCC student Alexis Giraldo felt that the event was necessary to the students on campus. “It’s a good way to show the students that the police are on campus and if anything they feel unsafe, police are always here to help,” Giraldo said. “Students should not be shy to ask for help because they (police officers) are here to interact with the students.”
LBCC student Cinthia Cuevas said, “It’s fun. They brought their dogs, have games for students, giving out free ice cream and information to students.”
Police officer Sisi Mao participated in the event in order to create a connection between students.
“We’re trying to connect with students on campus which was just started last year,” Mao said.
Long Beach Police Department community engagement division police officer Jason Lehman hopes that one day police do not have to rely on events in order to build a connection with students.
“This is one of the number of events we have on campus and we do it for a number of reasons,” Lehman said. “The first reason is to make sure that our community of LBCC not only trusts us but also knows who we are and have a better understanding of things in a trusted reporting.”
The event raised an awareness of being able to feel comfortable talking to police officers without having to feel terrified.
If students want to know more about the police officers and their upcoming events, they can contact them by calling 562-938-4807 or stop by LAC X building.