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In a league of their own, an introduction to LBCC’s e-sports program

Soderek San
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In a league of their own, an introduction to LBCC’s e-sports program

Going into the final match of the night against the third placed team in their league, the score tied 1-1, the seventh-seed inaugural LBCC League of Legends e-sports team achieved a clutch victory over their opponent, making the playoffs in their first season.

“I feel nervous, even after we win,” LBCC esports player Fernando Gatica said after achieving victory in the third and final match of Wednesday evening.

But where does the new esports program come from?

The program begins and ends with director of esports Gabe Giangualano, a soccer player turned teacher turned esports coach, who started the program at St. John Bosco a couple years before starting up the LBCC esports program this year.

Director of esports, Coach Gabe Giangualano stands at his desk inside room 229 of St. John Bosco High School. Giangualano brings many boardgames into the lab in order to help train his players’s problem solving abilities. (Matthew Walker)

“Over the period of three years, you start with a kid and then you watch them grow and you actually watch them develop into a very good esports player,” coach Giangualano said, “and so by the time a player is done with me, is moving onto the next stage, I want to have someplace they can go to play at the next tier.”

With this mindset, coach Giangualano reached out to LBCC’s Athletic Director Randy Totorp to share his vision for the program, and the rest is history.

“We basically hit the ground running,” LBCC League of Legends coach Derek Barraza said. “We got approval in July or August and we had to start try-outs the same week.”

To describe League of Legends, it is a 5v5 online battle arena game where each player chooses their own champion out of a list of over 140.

The LBCC e-sports program is divided into four teams, each of which play their own game, including League of Legends, Valorant, Rainbow Six Siege (Siege), and even Rocket League, a game about cars playing soccer.

Each champion fulfills one of five roles, each of which a member of the team is assigned, with roles including “Tanks,” “Support,” “Junglers,” “ADCs” (Attack-Damage Carries) and “APCs” (Ability-Power Carries).

Coach Derek Barraza watches his League of Legends team play inside room 229 of St. John Bosco High School. The match was the second of three games against Harper College Hawks JV. (Matthew Walker)

Coach Barraza refuted a number of misconceptions about esports.

“People think that it’s just guys sitting around playing video games and eating Doritos in their basement without seeing the light of day, but that’s not the case,” Barraza said.

He continued, “We’ve got players on the team that are athletes in other sports, they are academics, they’re scholars, they come from all walks of life.”

Coach Giangualano encourages players to train their minds, even filling the room with various board games to give players the chance to flex their critical thinking muscles in creative ways.

Though a sharp mind is very important to esports success, the training of the physical is also essential. 

“All four of our teams have different training regiments,” coach Giangualano said. “We have weekend workouts where the entire program gets together and we go do track and weight room together, it helps release endorphins and sharpen our skills.”

With the program being so new, there is no standing lab on campus to accommodate the technological needs of a competitive esports team.

Entrance to the esports lab at St. John Bosco High School. Since there is no current esport lab at LBCC, LBCC players commute to St. John Bosco for use of the lab’s high end computers, or play from home. (Matthew Walker)

The players instead have to commute to St. John Bosco High School. Plans to break ground on an esports facility at LBCC have been made, but nothing is fully confirmed as of yet.

Being a community college program battling against four-year institutions, there are some unique challenges, such as not having as much player consistency with an average 2 year turnaround on players.

But unlike more traditional sports, an advantage of esports is the ability to play remotely, with a number of the players choosing to play from home instead of traveling to the St. John Bosco esports lab.

Even with this being the inaugural semester of the program combined with a short two-day tryout period, each of the four teams have made it to their own respective playoffs.

With these short turnarounds, players on the LBCC team have to work hard in order to stay competitive with these more established teams.

LBCC student Fernando Gatica celebrates victory after his team won the game-deciding match of League of Legends. The match was an upset, with the seventh-ranked LBCC defeating the third ranked team. (Matthew Walker)

Four League of Legends players, all of which wore their own red and white sports jerseys, were on the St. John Bosco campus on Wednesday for their match against Harper College Hawks JV. 

This included LBCC players Fernando Gatica, Vicente Gonzalez, Jared Lewis, and Samuel Martinez, though more players participated in the game remotely.

Gatica, who has played League of Legends since 2012 and currently fulfills the team’s Support role, spoke on challenges at the beginning of the semester.

“We had a week of tryouts and it was so sudden that we missed the first week of preseason,” Gatica said. “We only had one week to test the waters as a team before the season started.”

With any kind of extracurricular activity, such as being on a sports team or participating in a club, there comes a need for sacrifice when those activities clash with one’s own school work. 

Gonzalez, who just started playing League of Legends during the pandemic, spoke on one such instance of that clash of priorities.

“There are some weeks where I’ll have exams and a bunch of quizzes and lab reports I have to do, but also practice,” Gonzalez said. “Sometimes I will divide my time that I should be using for school work to practice instead.”

As the season has gone on, both the communication and comradery of the players have improved according to Lewis, who plays the ADC role on the team. 

“We’ve grown a lot since the first days, which especially shows in our teamwork right now,” Lewis said. “Our strategies and just our play-making has shifted from playing for ourselves to more playing for each other as a team.”

Martinez, who plays the Jungler role for LBCC, spoke on how critical effective communication is.

“Communication is essential,” Martinez said. “You cannot win a game without being able to communicate effectively.”

St. John Bosoco’s esports lab also acts as the practice grounds for the high school team, with some LBCC players doubling as their coaches.

LBCC student Samuel Martinez plays in his team’s first of three League of Legends games against Harper College Hawks JV. Martinez plays the role of a “jungler”, a role which focuses on acquiring experience and gold by killing non-player monsters. (Matthew Walker)

Brandon Walker and Elijah Giangualano are both Valorant players for the LBCC team and coaches for the St. John Bosco High School team, and both former soccer players.

When asked about what it takes to be an esports player, both tackled misconceptions surrounding the program.

“It’s just like gaming the way professional soccer is just soccer, it’s on a whole different level,” Walker said. “You can choose to take it seriously.”

“And those people who take it seriously, put in the hours and it shows,” Elijah Giangualano added.

“If you want to go pro and you’re not taking it seriously, there’s no chance,” Walker finished.

Paul Giangualano, a coach for the high school League of Legends team focuses on breaking bad habits, developed when players first learned the game.

“It takes a lot of time, and patience,” Paul Giangualano said. “A lot of my players are just starting, so having the patience to teach them the right way to do things rather than the way they’re so used to is vital.”

LBCC students Brandon Walker, left, and Elijah Giangualano on computers, both students are players on the LBCC Valorant team, but also coach the high school team at St. John Boscos (Matthew Walker)

League of Legends has a degree of infamy regarding the toxicity of its fanbase and players. In order to deal with this toxicity, players that begin to exhibit rudeness towards others are usually benched.

“I absolutely despise it,” Paul Giangualano said. “If you’re toxic on a Monday before a game, I will sit you.”

The league also takes toxicity seriously, with rules being in place to allow the reporting of negative comments, which can lead to the complete forfeit of a game and a hit to the team’s reputation.

“Any sort of “BMing” (bad mannering) could result in the other team reporting you and now you have to forfeit the match, which is just disrespectful and goes into the terms of service of the leagues.”  

The program’s next big event will be the Grim Cup, a live event occurring Nov. 19 – 20 to be held on stage in the auditorium at St. John Bosco. 

Coach Gabe Giangualano hopes for the event to allow the players to feel energized by the crowd experience, much like that of a traditional sports game, which he feels they currently lack.

The program also live streams their games on twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/lbcc_esports 

When asked whether the esports program is a club or a sport, both coaches gave the same response. 

“It is a sport, and it’s not easy.”

A hard-fought performance by LBCC sees them defeated by Mt. SAC during penalty shootout in the SCC Tournament final Friday

Matthew Walker
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A hard-fought performance by LBCC sees them defeated by Mt. SAC during penalty shootout in the SCC Tournament final Friday

LBCC women’s soccer team loses in a penalty shootout, resulting in a final score of 5-4 after finishing full time scoreless to Mt. San Antonio College in the South Coast Conference Tournament final on Friday at El Camino College.

Even though the Vikings’ goalkeeper Vivian Toomey saved the Mounties’ third shot during the, LBCC was defeated after missing their sixth penalty kick.

The Vikings had eight shots in total, testing the keeper once, with the Mounties taking 10 shots and having Toomey make four saves.

Both sides committed 30 fouls in total, with two yellow cards being handed out to either team.

Going into the match, the Vikings were on a 6-game-winning streak after defeating El Camino 3-0 in the semi-finals on Tuesday. Mt. SAC was on a 16-game winning streak with their win over Rio Hondo in the other semi-final matchup.

Earlier in the conference season, LBCC lost 1-0 at Mt. SAC with the game being dominated by the home team.

“Last time we played this team, we came out nervous and gave them more opportunities than they even got close to today. We did a really good job of playing them differently and we had the line share of opportunities,” LBCC Coach Eduardo Nunes said. “We played them way better than last time and that’s what I want out of this.”

Vikings forward Genesis Lopez (right) races Mounties defender Kayla Allen (left) into the penalty box. LBCC were defeated on penalty kicks 5-4 to Mt. SAC in the SCC Tournament final. (Marco Haynes)

Early on in the game, the Vikings were close in the 2nd minute to opening the score line as forward Genesis Lopez hit the crossbar from a header.

In the 11th and 12th minutes, Viking forwards Evelyn Sandoval and Genesis Lopez each had their shot attempts go wide of the goal.

For the rest of the first half, both teams could not break each other’s defense. LBCC came close to scoring with Diana Leon being played a through ball behind the Mounties’ defense that ended up being called off for offside.

The second half was a mirror to how the first half finished, as neither team could score.

LBCC midfielder Adelia Villasenor took an opportunity outside of the penalty box with her shot being caught by the Mountie’s goalkeeper.

Vikings forward Evelyn Sandoval (right) is tackled by Mounties defender Kayla Allen (left) during the first half. The Vikings lost in a penalty shoot to Mt. SAC 5-4 in the SCC Tournament final. (Marco Haynes)

With only a few minutes remaining of what seemed like a stalemate, a breakthrough was made as Mt. SAC forward Veronica Aquino dribbled towards the goal, going past two Vikings defenders, but could only hit the inside of the woodwork, rebounding the ball back to Toomey.

Full time ended with a score of 0-0 which meant that the match would be decided in a penalty shootout.

Viking’s forward Genesis Lopez took the first penalty shot of the game, which was blocked as the Mounties were able to score theirs and take the lead.

The second penalty saw both teams scoring, with the third being saved by Vikings goalkeeper Toomey diving left as midfielder Villasenor put the Vikings level at 2-2.

The rest of the penalties were scored, but the 6th penalty would be the decider, with Vikings midfielder Aimee McSparren hitting her shot wide of the goal and Mt. SAC scoring their last penalty to win 5-4 and become SCC Champions.

The Vikings came together with goalkeeper Vivian Toomey after Mt. SAC midfielder Audire Mahassel scored the winning penalty. LBCC were defeated on penalty kicks 5-4 to Mt. SAC in the SCC Tournament final. (Marco Haynes)

As heartbreaking as it is to lose on penalties, the Vikings were positive as they ran to their goalkeeper to celebrate together, putting out a hard-fought performance against an opposition ranked #3 in the state.

“I am honestly not too upset about it because I think that we played well and were the better team,” goalkeeper Toomey said of the defeat. “We had possession throughout the entire game and just needed to execute our chances.”

After 19 games, the Viking’s overall record is now 15-2-3.

The Vikings will play again on Sunday in the 2nd round of the CCCAA Playoffs as they have a first-round bye.

Long Beach Transit GoPass: Fourth Fridays on 4th Street come alive in Halloween spirit

Matthew Walker
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Long Beach Transit GoPass: Fourth Fridays on 4th Street come alive in Halloween spirit

Long Beach City College students are now eligible for free rides with L.A. Metro and Long Beach Transit after the school announced a new partnership with the transportation systems, the Viking News will be posting a different location every week that students can go to using the Metro Go Pass. 

Early evening darkness, droves of people dressed in flamboyant garb and costumes, and vibrant techno music from local artists filled up 4th St. October’s Fourth Friday market in Long Beach is alive and well in the spirit of Halloween.

Spanning across 4th St. from Temple Ave. to Cherry Ave., brick-and-mortar stores and small tables welcomed pedestrians to peruse their wares. Stands set up along the sidewalk offered a variety of items from local vendors, with anything from clothes, bags, jewelry and baked goods for people to choose from.

4th Street, also known as Retro Row, has a long-standing history of hosting events for the community, with Fourth Fridays being a year’s long tradition.

Each month, the market is themed around a holiday or celebration, with October’s market being “Fright Night” themed. Vendors and stores were dressed up with Halloween costumes, decorations, blacklights and eye-catching displays.

Local music artists lined the street performing live for crowds. Decked out in all black, horror punk band “The Spooky” played a set outside V Burger, a vegan burger joint, crowded by a small group of punks and costumed children and families.

“The Spooky:, a horror punk band, plays a show in front of V burger. There were tables set up outside where onlookers sat, ate, and drank. (Rene Trujillo Jr.)

DJs were peppered across Retro Row, with Doctor KA and DJ Purple Lettuce spinning discs in front of Eddie’s Market and Plantitas, a local plant store, respectively.

For those wanting to swing dance across the street, there was even “The Rattle Rollers,” a Rockabilly and Rock n Roll group that specializes in music perfect for that kind of dancing.

Alexa Tornquist, owner of Jasper Candle Company, spent the evening selling homemade soy candles to patrons walking by her booth.

Emiliano Rodriguez of The Rattle Rollers plays a solo set outside of Hawleywoods, a local barber shop. The Rattle Rollers is a Rockabilly and Rock n Roll group that specializes in music for swing dancing. (Rene Trujillo Jr.)

“This is my local community, and I get to chat with my friends while I do this,” she said. “It’s a fun thing to do.”

Tornquist sold a variety of scented candles, with a variety of creative names to boot, including “Small Talk,” “Fiction,” and “Cashmere.”

“This is how I get to meet people and put my products in front of them, it’s something I wouldn’t get to do otherwise,” Tornquist said.

Even stores outside traditional Retro Row have throngs of customers coming through just from the monthly market alone. El Barrio Cantina is one such place, only a block away from the packed crowds of 4th Street.

“There’s definitely an impact,” Cantina Manager Khristian Berrio said. “It’s like a gathering…it gives people a chance to go out and explore new businesses.”

“It’s stressful in the best way possible,” Berrio commented. “Being busy is what makes us feel alive, and I think it shows.”

The corner of Junipero and 4th Street bustles with people checking out the stands. The event is 4th Street’s biggest regular event for the business and pop-ups. (Rene Trujillo Jr.)

October’s Fourth Friday’s market began at 6 p.m., a perfect time for a night market and spooky vibe where the entire street joins in.

November’s Fourth Friday Market will be held on Nov. 25, same time and same place.

Art gallery hosting showcase to raise donations for Venezuelan migrants 

Matthew Walker
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Art gallery hosting showcase to raise donations for Venezuelan migrants 

The gallery event themed “cuidate mucho” celebrated the start of the three-month expedition on Thursday, Oct. 27, and will run until Dec. 3. This gallery was held in the K building at the Liberal Arts Campus at Long Beach City College.

Students, faculty, and residents of Long Beach filled up the room, taking in the portraits, paintings, interactive pieces, as well as other unique displays set up throughout the gallery that cater to the theme of cuidate mucho.

At the entrance of the gallery, a painting of hands forming a star made of peace signs with a mirror in the middle was displayed. This was intended to give the impression that a community can form true peace by coming together and that making an actual change does not always have to be scary, but a sense of caring for one another.

Another art display allowed the audience to contribute to the piece. A table was full of large Ziploc bags filled with basic needs essentials for men, women, babies and LGBTQ+. Under the table, there was a box open for donations for the community to help refugees fleeing their countries and have the essentials ready for them after their tiresome journey.

Local Long Beach resident views the donations display set up at the art gallery opening. The goal is for students and members of the community to help Venezuelan refugees, the art exhibition is located on campus in the K building. (Juleah Corzantes)

“The essentials are being shipped to a church on the East Coast in Brooklyn, New York that will then be delivered to a shelter specifically for new refugees who have nothing, but the clothes on their backs,” says Michael Eneybw, a student and art volunteer.

The display had flyers leading with the phrase “I’m collecting items for migrants…”and different groups would list a variation of specific need based items. For example, a flier for basic needs for babies lists the need for wipes, diapers, socks, beanies, formula, and squeeze foods.

The gallery’s goal is to fill the box completely with essential goods and be able to provide enough for immigrants to be welcomed with supplies that are desperately needed.

Students of LBCC, Randy Ochoa and Linda Lorez, left to right, interact with the art piece that lets guest hear and read the stories inspired by the theme of cuidate mucho at the Art Gallery in K building on campus. (Juleah Corzantes)

Two months ago, the campus welcomed a new curator and art director, Karla Aguiniga, who quickly transformed the empty space and brought it back to life by organizing the gallery that took place.

“The show came together by first questioning myself, what could I bring to the space that has been empty for more than two years?” Aguiniga said.

“There’s a lot of new on-campus students this semester here or coming in from online learning that haven’t seen the art gallery as well as those who missed pieces of college life experience such as seeing art shows and viewing what their peers and community can create,” Aguiniga said.

Aguiniga explained her role as a curator and her goals for fulfilling the new position.

“So I was thinking about the gallery itself, it must be cared for and the word curating comes from the word care. The role as a curator is how should I be taking care of the space, and art community and building a circle of trust to set up a relationship with the school, students and artists in the community,” she said.

During the midpoint of the opening, Aguiniga gave a speech thanking those who helped put the show together. She also thanked the artist who embodied the theme and allowed others to understand what cuidate mucho means in an artistic way.

Cuidate mucho translates to “take much care of yourself,” and this allowed attendants to view the displays which consisted of pieces contributing to a shape or movement of love and coming together as one in a community.

Aguiniga shared the overall message she wanted people to leave with, “After the pandemic lots of people came out in a super heightened self-awareness state, not knowing the differences between being cared for and being careful. Unfortunately, communities heavily populated with minorities have gotten worse after the pandemic, constant threats that happen in society for them have been toned down to a norm and how to care for the community even if you’re outside of it.”

The gallery greeted people with a table of refreshments and treats provided by the art students, volunteers, and advisors. They welcomed all to help themselves and come in to view the artwork displayed.

The show ended with a final speech from Aguiniga, thanking again those who contributed to the gallery and celebrating the opening night of their three-month stay.

For a final way to highlight the art program, the LBCC Art Advisory Group wanted to hear from LBCC students on what public art they’d like to see more of on both campuses. A short five-question survey was conducted to let the students choose for the future.

Long Beach voters take to the polls rain or shine

The Viking News
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Long Beach voters take to the polls rain or shine

Despite the cold and rain, a large crowd of Los Angeles County voters showed up to the polls at Long Beach City College for the 2022 midterm elections. 

All across the Liberal Arts Campus were signs directing citizens to the voting center in the T building. The voting site consisted of poll workers, drop-off ballot areas, and an in-person voting registration for people who had not registered to vote yet. 

“Today was the busiest I have seen since this voting site was open. No matter the weather, people are resilient and will vote,” said Nancy Sorto, the lead poll worker for the voting center. 

This year was the first year many 18-year-old college students at LBCC could vote, and many of them were seen casting their ballots.

The midterm election would fill the positions for community governor, attorney general, L.A. County Sheriff, mayor, and also pass or deny seven propositions. 

With reproductive rights being a hot topic on this year’s ballot, many women were seen coming in to vote. 

“When I heard Roe V. Wade was overturned, I couldn’t believe it,” said Bailey Fagundes, a student at LBCC. “I knew that I had to use my power of voting to support myself and all women around me for abortion rights.” 

Fagundes says her Political Science course at LBCC helped her become more educated on voting. 

“[The course] has helped me understand that my vote does matter. it’s a false belief to think that your one vote will not make a difference,” said Fagundes.

Many people are aware of the importance of voting, but it can still be a confusing process, especially for new voters. Despite there being many volunteers at the polls, some voters don’t know who to turn to when they have questions. 

Linda Walker, a graduate of LBCC, was one of the poll workers at the LBCC from Oct. 29 to Nov. 8. 

“As someone who has been a poll worker for 15 years, I know it may be intimidating for young people to vote,” Walker said. “You can register in person on election day if you don’t know how to, there are many books offered here to provide education on voting, as well as many great Political Science teachers here at LBCC.”

Despite the information that is already accessible to voters, Walker does believe improvements need to be made when it comes to informing people on how to vote.

“We need easier access to information on each candidate instead of the ads and false information we are bombarded with every day,” Walker said. “I also hope to see more signs in the future and information on how to get to the voting center here on campus.”

Whether a voter was at the poll to vote for a certain proposition or political candidate, poll workers were there to help every step of the way. 

After a week of being open for voting, the voting center officially closed its doors at 10 p.m. on Nov. 8. 

Water polo SoCal regionals off to an explosive start at LBCC 

Craig Roberts
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Water polo SoCal regionals off to an explosive start at LBCC 

It’s a good time to be a fan of water polo as the Southern California regionals are here at Long Beach City College.

Both men’s and women’s water polo are playing in the tournament which started yesterday and runs until tomorrow. The regional championship is the last step on the path to the coveted state title.

Roughly 150 people were in attendance yesterday, and they were sure to make lots of noise for their teams as they competed. During the critical moments of the matches, the crowd went from cheering and clapping to roaring and stomping in the bleachers, an energy that was maintained throughout the day. 

LBCC did not play yesterday and will play its first two games of the tournament today. 

LBCC is entering the tournament as the #3 seed with a 19-10 record for the women, and a 19-8 record for the men, with both having just won the South Coast Conference Championship on Saturday. This marked the seventh straight conference championship for the women’s team.  

The women’s team plays at noon against Golden West College, who beat Palomar 7-6 in a grueling duel that came down to the last second. GWC and LBCC women’s water polo have yet to play each other this season.

Palomar defenders collapse on Daniella Jiron of Golden West College as she tries to pass the ball to her teammate during a SoCal Regionals game at Long Beach City College on Nov. 10, 2022. GWC barely beat Palomar and will play LBCC at 12:45 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2022. (Craig Roberts)

LBCC’s men’s water polo is set to play #2 seed Orange Coast College at 5:45 p.m. in the last game of the day. The last time the two schools played, OCC made up for their first loss to make this season’s record against each other 1-1. 

#8 Mt. San Antonio College started the day off playing against #9 Ventura, and beat them 13-12 in a high stakes shootout. Mt. SAC will play Santa Barbara Community College today at 9 a.m.
Riverside Community College and Cuesta competed next with RCC winning in an 18-8 landslide. The win brings RCC’s record to 21-8 and means they’ll play Fullteron at 10:15 a.m. today.

The next game was between #7 Saddleback and #10 Cypress which ended in Saddleback winning 16-6. Saddleback is slated to play OCC at 11:30 a.m. today

Lastly, for the women’s games was #6 Golden West College vs. #11 Palomar. The match was fought tooth and nail as a goal from Palmor forced a timeout with 20 seconds left. 

GWC tried to run off the clock in the back of the pool but was met with such a forceful defense that they lost possession. The ball landed by the goal as a mad dash to recover it ensued. 

Palamore tried to tap the ball in the few inches needed with two seconds left, however they couldn’t keep their hands on the ball to push it into the goal and with that the match ended in an uproar. 

With that, the women were done and it was the men’s turn to show everyone what they could do.

Before the women could even exit the pool the men of #8 Cerritos City College and #9 Mt. SAC dove into the pool to start warming up for their match. 

Cerritos tries to score on Mt. San Antonio College during a SoCal Regional match at Long Beach City College on Nov. 10, 2022. Cerritos beat Mt. SAC 9-7 to finally catch a break in big events and title games. (Craig Roberts)

Their match got off to an extremely slow start with very few goals or shots in the first half. The second half however was the polar opposite with lightning fast plays and constant communication to move the ball into a scoring position. 

For most of the game they stayed within a single point of each other. It wasn’t until Cerritos ran the play clock down to one second and scored a goal to take a 9-7 lead with 47 seconds remaining in the game. 

Throughout the entire play coach Joe Abing was yelling “No shot!” at his team as the crowd started stomping in the bleachers. 

This play and the brief defense that followed sealed the victory for Cerritos who had been struggling to catch a break in large events and title games since the end of September. 

Cerritos will play the #1 seed GWC who is heavily favored to win having won the state championship from 2016 to 2019. The match will be at 2 p.m. today. 

Yesterday’s final game was #7 RCC vs. #10 Grossmont, where the two were more focused on taking shots than defending their goals. The final score was a 12-8 win for RCC, who faked out Grossmont goalie Eric Bates almost every time they scored. RCC will play #2 Cuesta in the last game today at 4:30 p.m.

LBUSD partners with LBCC to encourage high school students to pursue teaching careers

Jeanette Lem
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LBUSD partners with LBCC to encourage high school students to pursue teaching careers

Students from Long Beach’s Poly, Millikan and Jordan high schools can take part in a new pathway to obtain careers in education as a result of a new program.

The program, known as “Grow Your Own,” will allow students to enroll in teaching education or child development courses at LBCC for free. 

Long Beach Unified School District initiated this program due to a teacher shortage that has been exacerbated by the pandemic. “Grow Your Own” hopes to acquire more teachers in the district by hiring high school students who partake in the program.  

The district also hopes the program will diversify its future faculty members since it is reaching out to students in different areas of Long Beach. 

“If you look at the current faculty and teachers, they aren’t as diversified as the community,” said Megan Kaplinsky, a professor of education and coordinator of teacher preparation at LBCC. 

“We thought we’d drill down to our own diverse group of students to inspire and motivate them to consider teaching pathways and come back to teach in the district,” Kaplinsky said. 

Beginning their sophomore year, students can take up to 12 college units in the field of education. After they complete these units and graduate high school, LBUSD will grant them a contract to come back and work for the district. 

The contract entails that students will need to receive a Bachelor’s degree and earn their teaching credentials in order to be hired. Students can choose to take careers in teaching, counseling, school psychology or any other administrative roles. 

For years, LBCC has offered dual enrollment for high school students, but “Grow Your Own” takes dual enrollment to a new level by offering a guaranteed job after following the pathway. 

“There is a college pathway for almost every career area but not for education,” said David Zaid, who is LBUSD’s assistant superintendent of human resources. 

“We want to attract students to this field by allowing them to get a head start on classes in high school and start exploring the different careers in teaching.” 

“Grow Your Own” has already received an overwhelming response from students wishing to enroll. The district will soft launch the program next spring, with plans of eventually expanding the program to more high schools and increasing enrollment space. 

High schools have already begun introducing this program in the classroom, but any Poly, Millikan, or Jordan students who are interested can speak with their counselor.

Gov. Newsom empowers crowd to take back reproductive freedoms at LBCC

Craig Roberts
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Gov. Newsom empowers crowd to take back reproductive freedoms at LBCC

Gov. Gavin Newsom urged citizens to take action on reproductive freedom by voting “yes” on Prop. 1 at a rally on Sunday at Long Beach City College. 

Newsom expressed that the people are at the front of the civil rights battle for reproductive health, and voting “yes” was crucial to expand a person’s right to abortion and contraception. 

“By 8 p.m. Tuesday night, we can turn this country around,” Newsom said.

Last night’s elections resulted in Prop. 1 passing overwhelmingly with 64.9% of voters saying “yes” with 46% reporting so far based on data from the Associated Press.

The campaign took place at 10 a.m. with several public officials being brought out to show their support for the proposition.

  • California Gov., Gavin Newsom listens to speeches given in support of Proposition 1 during the Nov. 6, 2022 “Rally for Reproductive Freedom.” Hundreds of people and key politicians from California came out to LBCC to attend the rally. (Nick Eismann)
  • Robert Garcia shares a greeting before the Nov. 6, 2022 “Rally for Reproductive Freedom” in support of Proposition 1 at LBCC. Other key figures in attendance were Congressman Lowenthall and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Nick Eismann)
  • Long Beach 6th District Councilwoman, Suely Saro speaks in support of proposition one during the Nov. 6, 2022 rally. Saro was one of many politicians and public figures speaking in support of Proposition 1 during the “Rally for Reproductive Freedom.” (Nick Eismann)
  • LBCC students hold signs supporting Proposition 1 at the “Rally for Reproductive Freedom” on Nov. 6, 2022. Hundreds of attendees showed up to support Proposition 1 as well as hear politicians such as mayor and congressional candidate Robert Garcia and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Nick Eismann

Their main goal was to encourage voters to select Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. 

The president and CEO of Planned Parenthood in California, Jodi Hicks, approached the stage with the girl-boss song, “Bad Reputation”, by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts playing loudly in the gym with consonant notes of the crowd’s cheering in the background.

Her speech stated that California will not comply with what other states will do. 

This indeed happened as voters decided to make the state a sanctuary for citizens in other states who don’t have access to abortion care following the elections last night.  

“We are an election away from losing freedoms every single election, every single time,” Hicks said. 

Rally attendees wave signs in support of Proposition 1 at the Nov. 6, 2022 rally. Hundreds of people packed the LAC gymnasium to support Proposition 1 and hear Gov. Gavin Newsom speak. (Nick Eismann)
An anti-abortion demonstrator holds up a sign against Proposition 1 at LBCC on Nov. 6, 2022. Many anti-abortion protesters gathered outside the rally chanting slogans against proposition one. (Nick Eismann)

Hicks also made it clear that extremist politicians will not change the fact that people need health care, and that voting can achieve these goals.

The Long Beach City College First Year Experience program (FYE) invited 50 students to attend the event. These spots filled up within the first day of the invitation being sent out.

Lupe Pasillas, who works with the student equity staff at LBCC, helped organize the invitation of students that attended the rally. 

Pasillas believes that being exposed to political movements help encourage students to vote and understand why it’s a crucial duty as an American citizen.

“As an institution [Long Beach City College] it’s really important for us to be able to educate students on the importance of exercising their ability to vote and staying informed on relevant political issues,” Pasillas said. 

Long Beach City College President Mike Munoz supported the event and was eager to see the students that were able to experience this rally and watch the student performers in between speakers. 

“I would never encourage one way or the other in terms of how to vote, but I do believe in participating in our elections. Elections have consequences, especially for the lives of students. As we know, there’s a lot of issues that are going to impact your generation more than even mine,” Munoz said.

He believes it’s important for the college to help create opportunities for students to engage in real democracy and provide this type of political exposure.

These public figures kept the energies high throughout the entirety of the event, along with the LBCC’s cheerleaders who performed around the halfway mark of the rally. 

The crowd was positive and kept the indoors portion of the rally peaceful and uplifting. 

Viking’s add to their winning streak with a 3-0 win over El Camino

Emily D'Amico
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Viking’s add to their winning streak with a 3-0 win over El Camino

The LBCC women’s soccer team extended their winning streak to six games with a 3-0 win over the El Camino Warriors as the rain poured down in the South Coast Conference Tournament, Championship Semifinals. 

The Vikings started the game as they usually do with freshman forward Genesis Lopez using her crafty playmaking down the left wing to create opportunities for her teammates. 

A couple of early opportunities presented themselves to the Vikings, but they were unable to capitalize due to El Camino doing a great job of denying the threats of freshman forwards Evelyn Sandoval and Genesis Lopez. 

The game started to get physical as the rain stopped momentarily and the two teams grew frustrated with their lack of scoring. 

The Warriors were making a concerted effort to not let Lopez and Sandoval cut inside, and this seems to be a common gameplan for teams when they come up against the Vikings. 

The chemistry between Lopez and Sandoval is evident on and off the field. 

“Genesis and I have been close friends since high school and that definitely translates onto the field. We know each other well enough to be able to read what kind of ball we want played,” said Sandoval..

In the 40th minute, Sandoval was able to cut into El Camino’s box and draw a penalty.

Freshman midfielder Paige Rodriguez was the one to take the penalty kick for the Vikings and the lefty slotted the kick in the bottom left corner to give the Vikings the 1-0 lead and there was a visible sigh of relief as they were finally able to score. 

The Vikings used the momentum from Rodriguez’s penalty conversion to gain some more chances at goal in the second half, but could not find the back of the net until Lopez came in clutch as she has all year and headed in the ball off of a corner and over the outstretched arms of the Warriors keeper. 

Lopez’s goal gave the Vikings a 2-0 lead and seemingly put the game out of reach for the Warriors considering that the Vikings have shut out nine of their last ten opponents, including every opponent during their current six game winning streak. 

The Vikings let loose, attempting to put the dagger in the Warriors with the rain coming down again, but Warriors sophomore keeper Karlee Clark would not let that happen as she made two outstanding saves to keep El Camino in the game. 

This was temporary as the ball found freshman midfielder Lluvia Mariscal and she neatly put the ball in the back of the net to give the Vikings the 3-0 lead. 

Vikings midfielder Lluvia Mariscal and Warriors forward Bella Baligad race to get to the ball in the rain during the second half on Nov. 8, 2022. (Marco Haynes)

With a huge semi-finals win, the Vikings now move on to the championship game.

When asked about how they are feeling going into the championship game, Vikings head coach Eduardo Nunes said, “We feel really good, I think we are well equipped. This is our opportunity and we haven’t had this opportunity in a long time. A lot of the girls were just being born or not even born yet the last time we had this chance.”

The Vikings play in the South Coast Conference Tournament, Championship Finals on Friday against a team that has yet to be announced.

Board editorial: Lockdown shows college’s response has fatal flaws

vikingnews
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Board editorial: Lockdown shows college’s response has fatal flaws

A false active shooter situation on PCC caused a lockdown on Monday which could have been prevented if the college communicated clearly with those on campus.

For a college that emphasizes how important it is for students to feel safe, its carelessness in protecting students in dire situations brings the integrity of their word into question. The administration was naive in the way they handled the situation believing that they could contain the information from spreading. 

If they say they value students’ safety, why were they careless with their decision to not inform the college’s occupants?

The college waited until a student saw the threat on social media, the police were called and the campus was put on lockdown before they decided to alert students and faculty, many of which did not receive any form of notification.

Superintendent-President Mike Munoz and the LBPD were made aware of a threat circling the internet hours before the lockdown but did not announce it was being investigated and deemed it false.

The lack of transparency through vague emails and failure to disclose the initial threat are signs of a failing relationship between the administration and LBCC population.

While they stayed silent, the threat made its way around social media. This landed on the screen of a student who then exchanged messages with his wife regarding the threat and claimed the campus to be on lockdown. The wife then called LBPD about an active shooter despite there not being one.

Due to human errors in setting up their emergency response system, not all students and staff were notified once the lockdown was placed or lifted. The ones that did receive emails were met with vague warnings to shelter in place.

Aside from human error in execution, there was poor planning in the choice of delivery for emergency warnings. A select few received text messages, but this was in no way the majority of the school’s population. Most received updates on the situation through email, a form of communication that is typically unchecked or only checked at scheduled times throughout the day. 

Using email as the main delivery method of alerts and notifications was not the best way to notify the college community. Students and staff were not receiving equal amounts of notifications, with some not receiving any notification at all. 

A more practical way would be a mass alert sent via text that is sure to reach all campus occupants at the same time. 

The first email that went out alerting students that police had initiated a lockdown procedure had the subject line “Long Beach City College – General”, which does not give a sense of urgency to the matter. Even recent emails going out such as the promotion of the upcoming dance ensemble were made clearer and more noticeable reading the subject line “Special Announcement.”

In an attempt to shed more light on the situation, the Viking went to PCC but were initially turned away from a meeting that would be made public minutes later by the Interim Chief Innovation Officer, Tracy Carmichael.

Student reporters learned of the public meeting through an email that was released moments later, resulting in 13 minutes of information being missed that could have been shared with the public.

Once in the meeting, Carmichael actively tried to dissuade these students from reporting on the public discussion. 

The Viking was blocked from performing its duty as a news source for the college because of the lack of transparency and communication from administrators. This is yet another example of unacceptable behavior on behalf of LBCC in the time of an emergency.

24 hours later the school sent out a prevention plan which mentioned renovations being made to their emergency response system, but the school still failed to address the biggest problem at hand. Administration, not making the false threat public, which led to the series of events exposing these failures. 

Although they updated their prevention plan, there is no evidence of reform. 

Reform needs to be seen in the amount of resources dedicated to emergency response, in the training that administration receives in crisis response and in the way the college communicates with those on campus.

The flaws exposed on Monday are absolutely unacceptable. This should have never happened in the first place and it cannot happen again.

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