Home Blog Page 117

“The Woman King” screening aspires to show women’s empowerment through film

Jordyn Wieck
-
0
“The Woman King” screening aspires to show women’s empowerment through film

Roughly 20 Long Beach City College students took the opportunity to mingle in the Nordic Lounge  located in the E building of the LBCC Liberal Arts Campus to see the famous action drama ‘The Woman King’ on March 30. 

These students arrived at a dimly lit Nordic Lounge, arranged to look like a tent filled with lounge chairs and couches in order to mimic the feel of a movie theater. 

“It’s important to show this movie because it is empowering during women’s history month and to LBCC students,” said student, Moroni Faleono, after watching the movie.

Faleono agrees with the empowerment and the strong sentiment that The Woman King portrays, having this screening in celebration of Women’s History Month.

The Woman King is a historical action drama that shines a light on the untold traditional African tales and the force of female empowerment. 

The story focuses on an all women military group that fought off enemy tribes during the 17th-19th century with immense symbolism and a strong message of womanhood. 

This was screened to not only entertain students but to educate them on women dominated films which show the injustice of gender expectations along with the fight and grit women go through to survive in all capacities of life. 

The Woman king takes the cake as it shows the uncomfortable situations women are put in to overcome their trauma.

Snacks like Costco pizza, popcorn, candy and various flavors of sodas were available for students to grab and binge as they watched the movie. The movie was streamed from netflix on a projector and set up by student activities advisor Kim Hamon.

The carefree atmosphere was relaxing and stress free as students unwinded as a proper way to end the week with spring break quickly approaching.

“This is to destress our nordic lounge area here, this is a place where students can take a break from class, come in and we have a pool table and were really trying to make it a place for them to say  ‘hey we also can change it to a theater and have a place for them to come without leaving campus,” said Roberson.

“As a woman I think it’s empowerment and it’s really nice to represent and see women on the screen taking on a lead role. I think it just kicks off our month and lets our students know- especially our women’s students know and having them come in and just see us playing this movie and really bring it back to culture,” Roberson added

As a woman herself, Roberson was proud to put on this event and to see the representation of women starring lead roles and the culture that woman king shows.

LBCC celebrated Cesar Chavez Day with presentation from LCLAA

Damien Cortez
-
0
LBCC celebrated Cesar Chavez Day with presentation from LCLAA

Before the start of Spring Break, on March 30, Cesar Chavez day was celebrated at LBCC for the second year on campus.

The Social Justice department celebrated Chavez by putting together a presentation, partnered with the Labor Council For Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), an organization that helps unionize Latinx working families. 

In its efforts to combat work discrimination and equal pay for labor workers and students that come from working families. The repercussions that extensive labor does to the mind and body, and how we can help communities move into a different lifestyle.

The event was able to share to its members and non members about immigration reform, how to protect voting rights and other issues that affect labor workers such as agricultural farm workers.

In addition, they provided food such as bagels and coffee for those who attended. 

Cesar Chavez, a famous labor activist, was a farm worker before he died at the age of 66.  His story shares the exploitation of labor workers by farm owners and the laws.

Injustice pushed Chavez to educate himself and other workers to organize for demand of better working conditions and higher wages for agricultural labor workers. 

Labor strikes were active during the time of 1917. During its season, labor workers were not counted as regular people because of their socioeconomic status and immigration status, leading workers to leave their positions and find a way to avoid being exploited by the farm owners. 

Women in the fields whose voices were ignored and had less rights than their male counterparts and had to find or form their own groups. 

Many workers had little to no education. The division of labor and illiteracy made a huge gap in field work. Laws and unions in place have opened up doors for people who did not have a chance to a normal life that most people have today like a home, a bed and a family.

Members of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement stand for a photo before the Cesar Chavez event held in the Social Justice Intercultural Center at LAC lower level of Building E on March 30 2023. (Emily D’Amico)

The grape strikes in Delano caught the attention of the people. The start and the end of the harvest season of the fruits many love hold such power to the life of the farm workers and the families that exist. 

Language barriers, laws, money and class have drawn lines that separates people. 

“His family followed the fields, the harvest in different areas.” Rudy Montalvo, a speaker at the event, is a member of the LCLAA and a former labor worker who explained. He pushed for equity in the workplace with other Latinx activists, such as Dolores Huerta who is still active today. 

Organization speaker Xochitl Cobarruvias explained her role as a server in the union. She helps oversee working families and individuals, with laws and the demographics being different and many issues as well as solutions exist.

As time has progressed labor laws have been implemented and modified to fit communities outside of the Chicano-Latino community. 

Filipinx activists who existed and striked with the Chavez campaign and other labor union groups from the start helped pave the way for other racial minorities to join the labor movement we see or hear about today. 

With California being largely democratic, it has not been too difficult to adapt the changes to better the lives of the working class people. However organizations and individuals continue to shine the light on the still existing lower-working-class population that we often don’t pay much attention to. 

The organization LCLAA plans to expand their members to be able to help more immigrant communities thrive. “We have gathered over 300 signatures”, said union member Rudy Montalvo.

In their collaboration with LBCC and their future plans to include more students of color, faculty and organizations, will pave a way to more opportunities for students from working communities.

Thunder Thursday: Kicking off the Grand Prix

vikingnews
-
0
Thunder Thursday: Kicking off the Grand Prix

Thunder Thursday, the Long Beach Grand Prix kick off event, brought in fans across the country to the Pike Outlets Thursday night. People lined up hours before the 6:00 start time just to see the set-up.

There were a plethora of things to see and do from motorcycle stunts, to meet and greets with the drivers.

One of the attractions consisted of a NTT INDYCAR Series pit stop competition. There were four teams represented in the competition by car number, name, pit team, and driver.  

Josef Newgarden and his pit team Penske representing #6 Hitachi won the competition and grand prize of $2,500.

Other participants included Graham Rahal, Helio Castroneves, and Agustin Canapino as well as their teams and pit crews.

The Firestone mascot, Firebird pumped up the audience, and tossed out free merchandise to the crowd. 

A motocross stunt team, The Freestyle Kings, performed wild stunts and tricks leaving the crowd in a frenzy.

The promenade was filled with a specialty of exotic cars and a lineup of some of the IMSA race cars. Everybody had a chance to check out the cars and take a picture with them.

Marcus Benavides from L.A. Prep, a specialized niche company that offer vehicle support services said, “This is one of the biggest events we have here in southern California and we help with everything that has to do with the cars, we transport them all here, display them and make them all shiny and nice.”

One of the most popular events of the night was the meet and greet. Fans lined up waiting to get autographs signed by the Porsche and ISMA race car drivers.

“I love all things racing but my favorite is the IMSA races and I came out here today to see and get Gordan Taylor’s autograph and to see him drive his Corvette this weekend, ” said Justin Weston, a super fan of racing.

There were also interactive photo booths, live music, a beer garden, food and free merchandise.

Thunder Thursday is just the start of the four day Grand Prix experience.

Grand Prix food guide: King Taco is a must try

Davis Ramage
-
0
Grand Prix food guide: King Taco is a must try

Among the many food truck options at The Grand Prix, one seemed to stand out from the rest, King Taco. 

With all these food trucks selling food ranging from pizza to chicken and waffles, why is King Taco the only one with lines of ten or more people willing to wait? King Taco offered outstanding food at affordable prices and fast-moving lines, which is exactly what you are looking for at The Grand Prix. 

Another one of the fan favorites at the Grand Prix was called Fair Favorites. Isaac, a Grand Prix goer, smiled when I asked him if his food was good, he said it was good and that he would recommend it to his friends as he devoured his large plate of fries from Fair Favorites.

Reggie Snyder, a fan at The Grand Prix, said, “This hot dog and grilled cheese is great and easy to eat while walking around and it came out quick.”  Reggie made her purchase for herself and her son at SaltNPepperTruck.com.

Grand Prix fans Christian, Dema, David, and Gio all got beef burritos at King Taco as well as an order of loaded beef nachos to share. They said, “King Taco is a Long Beach staple and you need to try it.” They also said that King Taco sponsors the race and other racing events and they appreciate that. They don’t just come to the Grand Prix for the race but for King Taco too.

“The food is good at King Taco, it comes out quickly and I really like it,” said Jonathan Pedroza. However, if he were to rate it on authenticity since it is lacking his mom behind the counter, it would only get a 6.5. 

Grand Prix fan Kirk got a hamburger at Smashburgers and his brother got chicken tenders.  Amber (their mother) got a hamburger and fries, which was good, but she said “I can’t recommend it at this price.”

Chris, a fan, got fries and a hot dog from Casa Burger and said “It was pretty good and I would recommend it to my friends.” 

Chris has heard the buzz about the fan-favorite food truck at The Grand Prix and will be visiting King Taco later though. 

“The Lemon fresh icee from Dole was really good, not too sweet and it was not cheap but was worth it,” said Mimi as she and her friend Breanna enjoyed their icees.  

I was standing next to a King Taco, and there were 3 people in line, I looked down for 20 seconds and looked up and there were ten people in line.  But the line moved very fast.

All in all, King Taco is by far the most popular food truck at the Grand Prix due to its delicious food, fast lines, and affordable prices. In fact, when I looked around, that was the predominant food being consumed.

Errors prove costly for the Vikings in a 5-2 loss to ELAC

Davis Ramage
-
0
Errors prove costly for the Vikings in a 5-2 loss to ELAC

The Vikings struggled on the defensive end leading to a 5-2 loss to East Los Angeles College in the second game of the series on Tuesday.

After a scoreless first inning, Vikings starting pitcher Jon Lopez lost the feel for the strike zone. He walked five players in his four innings of work.

With two runners on, Huskies’ catcher Daniel Vierra’s ground ball brought in two runs on a throwing error from LBCC second baseman Evan Vazquez.

The game remained 2-0 until the top of the 5th when a double towards right field from freshman Alex Solis brought in another Husky run. Sophomore reliever James Paul came into the game and got a double play to limit the damage.

A single at the bottom of the 5th by Vikings first baseman William Schwab, and a couple of walks by catcher Malik Clayton and outfielder Xander McLaurin, loaded the bases for the Vikings.

Banuelos was able to bare down and strike out freshman Ryan Geck to hold the shutout for the Huskies.

At the top of the sixth, the Huskies rallied and loaded the bases on a HBP and two walks. Freshman Jorge Amador came in to relieve Paul with one out. A wild pitch increased the Huskies’ lead to 4-0, but the freshman got two outs to stop the bleeding.

The Husky backstop Michael Easter tacked on one more with a double to center scoring ELAC’s final run of the game in the 7th.

The Vikings would not go down without a fight. After a walk and hits by outfielders Xander McLauren and Raul Garcia, LBCC had the bases loaded with no outs. Freshman shortstop Olin Snakeborg rolled over to third leading to a 5-6-3 double play giving the Vikings a run. A double by William Schwab cut the deficit to 5-2, but that was as close as LBCC would get.

Along with three errors, the Vikings left 10 men on base. In the 5-2 loss they outhit the Huskies 8-6.

“I feel like the other pitcher took control of the game and we just didn’t put up good swings and that’s pretty much it. We’re gonna rebound on Saturday by staying through the ball,” said Raul Garcia.

Even after a tough loss, the Vikings are set on improving their errors and working as a team to make sure to win the series.

“Today we can for sure improve on you know just baring down as a defense and kind of just playing catch and just playing the game of baseball. Everyone just needs to be on the same page and just throw strikes. We’re a good team so we’ll be alright,” said freshman outfielder AJ Quezada.

This loss puts Long Beach in third in their conference with a 12-5 record (16-17 overall). They hope to win the series with the rubber match on Saturday.

They are set to play the conference-leading El Camino Warriors at home on Tuesday the 18th.

Back to Baseball: Veteran single father returns to his first love after serving

Davis Ramage
-
0
Back to Baseball: Veteran single father returns to his first love after serving

Returning to college baseball after a seven-year hiatus can be impractical, and returning as a veteran and single father of two can be nearly impossible. Fortunately, that is not the case for Vikings’ outfielder AJ Quezada. 

Since his childhood days at Dodger Stadium with his father, the love for baseball became instilled in his life. When high school baseball came to a close, Quezada set out to continue playing the sport he describes as his first love in college. 

Athletic scholarships from years and dedication to baseball granted him the opportunity to attend the University of Antelope Valley. 

It was only a month into pursuing higher education that his goals and aspirations had to come to a conclusion. He came to discover that he was going to be a father with his previous partner. “I kind of moved back home, tried to figure out things at home…things just didn’t work out so that’s when I ended up going to the Navy,” Quezada revealed. 

Enlisting in the United States Navy for four years allowed for stability and security in his life, which was necessary for his new reality. Quezada was transparent about the difficulties that came with leaving behind his loved ones, including his son.

However, the military allowed him to expand his scope of the world, taking him to places like Chile, Argentina, Brazil and multiple places around the U.S. where he worked as a culinary specialist. Quezada worked daily, putting in 16-hour shifts until the end of his enlistment contract. 

It was during these four years that he came to father another child, a baby girl. Quezada does not fail to mention how significant this was for him, saying “My daughter came out of my time in the military, so I’m for sure grateful for that.”

Quezada returned to civilian life as a single father of two who needed to continue to provide for himself and his family. With the support of veteran services and surrounding loved ones, the possibility to further his education and return to the sport he loved became a possibility.

He doubted the decision to become a student again, thinking it may be selfish to do so. “I was just talking myself down a lot,” Quezada said. The mothers of his children were amongst his top supporters, encouraging him to attend school. They validated that returning to college was the correct choice, telling him that his children know he is doing this for himself and their future. 

Utilizing the Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program, VRRAP, Quezada was able to get housing and tuition assistance to enroll in LBCC. The program caters to veterans who seek education and training programs for in-demand jobs.

“I came back (to college) for the sport and then, of course, the benefits of school,” Quezada said.

Working towards an Associate’s degree in kinesiology and being a part of the LBCC baseball team are only a few of Quezada’s current goals and responsibilities. Before being able to return, he didn’t think he’d ever play baseball again. “I never thought I’d be playing again and that’s the honest truth,” he stated.

It was a long seven years before he became a part of a school team again. Being older than he was before, Quezada feels as if he needs to catch up with everybody else but is certain that he is capable of doing so. His determination is apparent. 

With the playoffs coming up and the Vikings poised to make a deep run, there is no doubt the end of the season will do anything to prevent Quezada from playing.

Today, Quezada maintains a stable relationship with his family, friends and teammates and has returned to his first love, baseball. He hopes to pass down his love for the sport to his own children as his father did for him.

Singer ‘Sideshow Stereo’ discusses his musical journey on Kitchen Sink

Casper Torres
-
0

Kitchen Sink is a brand new concert and interview series taking place at Long Beach City College where performers from all genres will play their songs and do an interview.

The first performer to be featured on this interview series is a singer-songwriter known as Sideshow Stereo. His interview took place on March 17 in the P building of the LBCC Liberal Arts Campus. 

Sideshow Stereo, whose real name is Joshua Dela Rama, came to LBCC to perform some of his original songs. His set included titles such as “Sunshine,” “Sweet Sensations,” “Spaceship,” and “I Can’t Move Any Slower.”

After the performance, the in-depth interview focused on the performer and how he got his start in music. 

 “I came up with it (Sideshow Stereo) around 2018, my name prior to it was Tie-Dye Mannequins which doesn’t roll off the tongue. So I had to replace that immediately,” said Dela Rama.

 Even the Tie-dye Mannequins stage name also had a predecessor that came before. Another name Joshua Dela Rama had back in middle school was Drift-wood which was based on the milk carton brand that his school would get for student lunches. 

 “I went with Sideshow Stereo because I just kind of like the image of a, like in a carnival. There’s just a booth of a random stereo playing like just indie rock and that’s the whole exhibit just no one managing it, just a stereo playing crappy indie rock,” Rama explained.

Sideshow Stereo started playing guitar when he was 10 back in 2007.

“My dad taught me. My dad was in a band when we were in the Philippines. He had a garageband with his friends and he was also the lead singer and lead guitarist and he was also the main songwriter. So I thought that it was really cool that he kinda passed that on to me,”  Dela Rama recounted.

His song “Sunshine” is largely a nod to his strong support system, his friends and family.

“They come to virtually all of my shows and they make my shows as fun as they are because they bring the energy and they bring alot of happiness and joy. Whenever I see them walk into a room, wherever I’m playing, I always have a giant stupid smile on my face…. So yeah, Sunshine is a shoutout to my friends and family,”  Dela Rama said on the track.

Besides his dad, other musical influences include artists such as John Mayer, Daniel Caesar, Green Day, Blink 182 and Clairo, giving him a well rounded sound that is a blend of indie-singer-songwriter with just a dash of pop punk. 

“I think Daniel Caesar as well would be cool. I think him and I mesh a lot in terms of sound. As I mentioned Clairo would be cool and honestly green day to go on tour with green day would be sick, honestly my childhood heroes, I have like two posters of them in my room,”  Dela Rama mentioned.

In addition to “Sunshine,” Dela Rama also performed “Sweet Sensations,” a track that is considered to be  the first ballad that he ever wrote. 

“Sunshine” is out on Spotify and is part of his three song ep titled, Be My Sunshine, Baby. His other song “Sweet Sensations” is currently in the process of being recorded. 

Dela Rama’s Kitchen Sink performance and interview is currently available on the LBCC Viking News website under Kitchen Sink Concerts.

Campus food services moving forward

Bianca Urzua
-
0
Campus food services moving forward

At a meeting to discuss the future of on-campus dining options, Long Beach City College brought in design company Webb Foodservice Design to explain what new options would look like.

Having been in business for 31 years, Webb Foodservice has completed more than 850 projects, 426 of which provided oversight for community college food service projects.

Robin Hungerford of Webb Foodservice Design is working closely with LBCC to develop plans going forward and to resolve the current food vendor issue.

“The approach to the contract is different than it was 5-6 years ago, when S&B foods was the only vendor to respond,” Hungerford said. 

Previously, the cafeteria was the only component of the contract where food could be provided. The contract is now being structured to contain public events on campus, various food areas, cafeteria and stadium events.  

Given Hungerford’s expertise and the response they are already getting, this Request For Proposal (RFP) should get a much better response.

Hungerford explained her 13 year year past with higher education food services of the University of California, as well as 7 years running food service before that. It was during her career as senior director of dining & hospitality service at UCR that they won the coveted culinary Loyal E. Horton Dining award.

Raymond “Chip” West, Vice President of Administrative and Business Services asked all interested participants to give their feedback on food service desires, as well as provide updates on available food options. 

Renderings for the future coffee bar, food hall and outdoor dining were shared. They are fast tracking and expect to open a new coffee kiosk in January 2024.

Additionally, West shared they are building infrastructure to accommodate robot food deliveries, similar to other campuses.

West met with S and B in his third week at LBCC, where they told him they would no long be servicing the college.

“They were pulling their contract. They had been losing money at both campuses for a very long time and they were in a financial crisis and could not sustain their operation anymore,” he said.  

“We started a band aid approach, and it has not been great, despite their many efforts, tried food trucks, tried mom and pop businesses, looked at contracting with larger services to bring food in. it’s difficult, due to 50% classes online there is not the number of people on campus that there were,” reported West. 

 “If you know of a vendor willing to come onsite that has insurance, have them contact my office,” West said.

To date, getting affordable food trucks has been challenging as the foot traffic hasn’t been there to make it worth the vendors trip and the prices have not been appealing to the customers.

Long Beach hosts resource fair for Trans Community on Trans Day of Visibility

Bianca Urzua
-
0
Long Beach hosts resource fair for Trans Community on Trans Day of Visibility

This year’s Trans Day of Visibility was a ground for solidarity as Ruthie Wing proudly wore a shirt that said “Proud to be his Mother” with “his” being in bold font in the colors of the trans flag.

Her son Jermey Collins had a matching shirt that said, “this is what Trans looks like” with trans in the same color as “his” on Wing’s Shirt.

“He told me everything I didn’t know at the time,” Wing said.

Ruthie Wing had no prior knowledge of trans people before her son Jeremy Collins came out to her as a trans man in 2016.  However, this did not stop her from instantly and continuing to be his #1 supporter while striving to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community as a whole.

 “It’s a lot of self care to get your mind off it,” Collins said.

Specifically, meditation is a strategy Collins commonly employs in order to relieve some of the stress that comes with living in a transphobic society.

“They can use this as ammunition to attack us,” Alexa Ramriez, a Trans participant at the resource fair said.

The ammunition in question is the gender identity of a mass shooter who killed 6 people in Nashville Tennessee the week prior to the 31st being used to justify the continued discrimination of the Trans community.

On top of living in a society that doesn’t always accept Ramierz as she is, neither of her parents entirely supported her when she first discovered her identity at the age of 5.

“My mother wanted me to have a male puberty, while (my father), he tried to force his ways on me and I didnt stand for that,” Ramierz recounted.

In an effort to show support for the trans community on Trans Day of Visibility, APLA Health partnered with the LGBTQ+ Center of Long Beach to hold a resource fair from 2 to 6 p.m. on March 31 at Bixby Park in Long Beach

Trans Day of Visibility happens every March 31st as an annual event designed to celebrate the Transgender community as well as highlight the many struggles they face within an openly transphobic society.

This year’s trans day of visibility happened in the midst of a particularly hostile political climate.

This is evidenced by the over 400 pieces of U.S. legislation written to restrict the basic rights of trans introduced to the nation in 2023 alone.

The primary organizer for Friday’s resource fair was Melissa Marquette who is also the Trans Wellness Program Manager for APLA Health. 

Marquette mentioned how even she is a little bit scared by the spike of anti-trans rhetoric rising in prominence within recent months.

APLA health is a non profit organization founded in the early 1980’s in order to help combat the AIDS epidemic which had an immense impact on the LGBTQ+ community at the time. They have since expanded to providing healthcare designed for the needs of the trans community.

“Queer people just finding services out of any authoritarian or typical path is already really intimidating and a lot of people have fears of discrimination so they don’t seek help,” Serena Serena Scott, Outreach and prevention coordinator and part of LGBTQIA+ Community Engagement, said in a follow up interview.

A non-exhaustive list of these services include HIV Testing, hormone therapy, along with referrals and references for surgeries regarding gender reassignment.

HIV testing was also being offered by Beinstar, the Center and The Long Beach health and human services Health Department. The Health Department took it a step further by providing pop up stations for Covid vaccinations, and Monkey Pox Vaccinations at the fair.

Unlike the other organizations offering testing, Beinstar had a specific focus on LGBTQ+ community members who may also be Latinx immigrants as they face different obstacles to access the same resources.

“It’s difficult due to language barriers and lack of papers,” Brenda Del Rio Gonzalez , the program Manager of Bienestar said.

On a more interpersonal health side of resources, Haven hills is a domestic violence shelter that has a specific department for LGBTQ+ members as over 50 percent of trans people report to have faced domestic violence over the course of their lifetime.

LBCC professors host edible DNA stand for Women’s History Month

Jordyn Wieck
-
0
LBCC professors host edible DNA stand for Women’s History Month

Two LBCC Professors hosted a Rosalind Franklin DNA table and used it to build edible DNA structures and demonstrate DNA extraction with frozen strawberries in commemoration for one of their personal historical heroes on Tuesday morning.

Rosland Franklin was a British chemist who played a key role in the discovery of the structure of DNA. Franklin shot the first ever images of a DNA molecule showing helical structure.

Unfortunately, Franklin’s miraculous discovery was stolen by fellow colleagues James Weston and Frances Crick who were later awarded the Nobel prize for the discovery of DNA molecules. 

“I wanted to highlight a woman who made an important discovery in science, Rosalnd Franklin. In honor of her, we wanted to do a fun activity where students can actually extract and see DNA and model it,” said LBCC chemistry professor Lizeth Perez. 

Franklin’s legacy left an impact on Perez and inspired her to educate students around campus of the unjust past of the woman chemist who was cheated and degraded. 

LBCC professor Erika Calle-Poppe had much to say of her disappointment in the education system concerning the lack of acknowledgement of women scientists as well as her excitement for change. 

“My whole science career they said Watson and Crick discovered the DNA model. But now Rosaland Franklin’s name is getting out there. I think this should be shown in much more textbooks.” said Calle-Poppe. 

This table stood decorated with colorful neon signs of DNA molecules on Long Beach City College’s Liberal Arts Campus from 11 a.m to 1 p.m. and was run by Chemistry Professor Lizeth Perez and Microbiology professor Erika Calle-Poppe.

The edible DNA structures that were created over the course of the event were made out of licorice and mini pastel-colored marshmallows. These treats were used to assemble  and mimic modules of the DNA double helix as well as to describe the complexities of DNA in a fun manner 

LBCC students, Jennifer Herrera (left and Grace Reynolds (right), held up DNA structures they built out of marshmallows and licorice. this happened on March 28 during an event for Women’s History Month hosted at Long Beach City College Liberal Arts Campus in Long Beach(Lauren Benson)
Kassandra Gutierrez (Left) and Melenni Guerrero (Right) demonstrate how to extract DNA from strawberries at a Women’s History Event held at LBCC. This happened during an event for Women’s History Month hosted at Long Beach City College Liberal Arts Campus in Long Beach (Lauren Benson)

Each candy had its purpose in the making of the double helix model. Since DNA has two strands the licorice was used to mimic that as well as the colorful marshmallows represented base pairs which represent four nitrogenous bases, Adenine, Thymine, cytosine, and guanine that hold the two strands together. 

While there were very few students attending this stand this  did not stop the strong willed professors from making double helix models out of candy and extracting strawberries DNA by putting them into a bag and crushing the strawberries which in turn releases the DNA and opens the cells. 

“The reason why we use strawberries is because strawberries actually have a lot of DNA. So in human cells  we have two sets of chromosomes, so our DNA is rounded up into structures called chromosomes. Strawberries have 8 sets of chromosomes in them, so we can extract more DNA in strawberries compared to any other fruit.” said Chemistry professor Lizeth Perez.

“Since its women’s  history month no one really talks about her discovery and why she was important and how those two white men took credit for her work. I feel like people should really know who actually discovered it.” said Melenni Gurrero who was one of the few LBCC students present at the stand. 

Guerrero mentioned how she had a great time helping the professors with the fun activities and that she had much to say about Roisalnd Franklin’s discovery and why it’s essential for every student to know the importance of her legacy.

1...116117118...262Page 117 of 262