The Long Beach City College PCC campus welcomed children and adults from the community on the campus where they dressed up and played games at their Halloween Carnival.
The event was on Friday October 25, where many children and their guardians enjoyed an afternoon of games, candy and musical chairs.
“We’ve been hosting this event at PCC for about 15 years,” said LBCC Student Activities Advisor Derek Oriee.
Campus clubs and organizations hosted and put together their own game and candy booths that included the Metal Fabrication club, Veterans Club, The Order of Tong Club, Justice Scholars, and Alpha Gamma Sigma, among others.
Chris Ramirez attended LBCC in 1988 and decided to return and mentor students apart of the Order of Tong club. The Order of Tong club is a men’s organization at the campus.
Ramirez explained how he first acquired his philanthropic passion from being a student at LBCC and being a Tong.
“Well, one, it’s good because it gives the kids a safe environment. And two, it’s a way for students to give back,” said Ramirez.
Metal Fabrication club member Bryan Alvarado said that LBCC hosting events that welcome the community is a way for the college and the community to become and stay connected.
“It’s great to stay interactive in the community, to see everybody else and how they interact with each other. It’s great to see everybody happy once in a while,” said Alvarado.
“There was a kid with a scarecrow costume, he had a sickle, a mask, a hat. He had everything and I was like, ‘oh crap.’ It scared me to death,” exclaimed first-year student Aaron Hernandez.
Hernandez is a candidate for the Order of Thor club and mentioned how he believes LBCC is a community driven college.
“It’s important to have community people [on campus] just because it shows the kind of spirit we have at LBCC. This is what LBCC is all about: people coming together, doing things for other people.”
LBCC fosters community involvement to the extent that alumni come back and help out with events like these.
The event was a huge success with a substantial amount of kids dressing up as their favorite characters and other costumes.