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LBCC men’s volleyball team defeats San Diego Mesa 3-0 in their first playoff match

Frederick Iwuagwu
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LBCC men’s volleyball team defeats San Diego Mesa 3-0 in their first playoff match

Leadership from the sophomores helped the LBCC men’s volleyball team climb to the next round in the playoffs in a 3-0 blowout against San Diego Mesa. 

LBCC was very consistent against San Diego and won by the sets of 25-16, 25-22, and 25-12

They played very aggressively throughout the game, preventing a good amount of shots from the opponent. 

Marc Kramer, the middle blocker of their team said that the “lead came from heavy surface pressure on the back line and just taking care of the ball and close contact. Our passing and serving is what led us and what created that gap that let us play more freely and it showed.”

This put them in good shape down the stretch and put them down a number of rolls, which led them to seven points in a row in back-to-back rounds at one point.

That put them in the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship semifinals.

Julian Zavala played great during the game and led all attackers with 11 points with a hitting percentage of .400.

Great communication was key in this game, very few errors were made as far as returns and maintaining good spacing. 

Freshman setter Sean Nguyen totaled 14 assists for the Vikings. 

Serving the ball very nicely from round to round to his teammates, with several of those assists being back to back. 

This was also a big factor in their consistency down the stretch. 

Sophomore libero Kyler Tufuga had 11 digs for the Vikings.

Head coach Jonathan Charette had good input after the game saying, “First of all, I think San Diego Mesa played us really tough, they put a lot of pressure on the net. We got a little bit more comfortable, we let the guys experience that moment and work through that tough situation. We had a few sophomores out on the court and their leadership showed when the score got tight and they stood up and were good leaders.” 

LBCC Vikings will advance to face No. 4 El Camino on Thursday, April 21 at El Camino at 7 p.m. in the CCCAA.

LBCC women’s softball team defeats El Camino 7-4

Frederick Iwuagwu
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LBCC women’s softball team defeats El Camino 7-4

LBCC Softball beat El Camino College on a sunny, yet gusty Tuesday afternoon at home with a score of 7-4, behind another home run from Gladys Garcia and composed pitching from Daisy Torres.

Coach Fa was running fly ball drills pregame with bare handed players and tennis balls. There were no drops in the outfield during the game.

Family and friends greeted each other in the stands. The men’s volleyball team was a late arrival to the stands on the third-base side but provided vocal support during a jam in the fifth inning.

Before the fifth inning, there was much to be said about the Vikings’ offense through four innings.

Kristin Sanchez began a two run first with a shot off of the fence in center for a double. Jaylene Ross drove Sanchez home for her first of two RBIs on the day. 

A sideways spinning seeing-eye-single off the hot bat of Gladys Garcia was able to score Ross, after Ross advanced to third base on a deep double to center by Ileana Rivera. 

“It was just funny how I just went with it. I scored a run, so what can I say,” Garcia said.

It is worth mentioning Rivera made some tough plays throughout the game at the hot corner.

After the Viking offense took a breath in the second inning, Ross started off the third inning with a double to her favorite part of the field; left-center. Rivera walked to provide the second runner for Garcia’s three home run streak.

“Well my coaches just tell me to go up there and do your thing,” Garcia said, “I just think ground ball and if it goes far, then it goes far. I’m kinda glad though, coming off of the bench and going as DP (designated player) it’s a good feeling.”

With two runners on in the fourth inning, Jaylene Ross was able to take advantage of a unique shift put on by El Camino.

The middle infielders were shifted far towards the lines on their respective sides and the outfielders were playing straight up. 

“Their shortstop and their third baseman play really close together and their second basemen and first baseman play really close together. And their outfield plays regularly,” Ross explained, “Because our lefties on our team don’t pull the ball we go with the ball. We hit up the middle a lot. They’ve kind of just charted us to see the way we hit it based on our swings.”

The fifth inning began with a walk to El Camino’s Jocelynn Hernandez and the score was 7-0. The next hitter had a 2-0 count. Jaylene Ross then went to calm the nerves of her ace pitcher. 

“She’ll call me up to the mound. She did that this game, or I’ll call time if she needs it,” Ross said postgame. “We’ll just talk about random stuff, like ‘how does my hair look?’ Just random stuff to calm her down.”

The Warriors of El Camino were still able to squeeze four runs out of the fifth inning by way of well-placed hits and a few walks. 

Daisy Torres was able to avoid any damage throughout the next couple of innings and accomplish another complete game for her 20th win of the season.

Torres has thrown 159.1 innings in 32 appearances this season and has a 2.72 ERA with a total of 89 strikeouts. 

The Vikings are 26-10 and are looking to finish the regular season strong with two games left in the regular season before regionals start on May 6.

Shaun Harper: “All in on equity”

Craig Roberts
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Shaun Harper: “All in on equity”

Shaun Harper, the founder and executive director of the USC race and equity center gave a lecture on Wednesday as part of the week of events to celebrate the installation of Mike Munoz as LBCC superintendent-president. 

Here, he highlighted the inequalities pertaining to race within post-secondary education and offered solutions to close the gap.

Harper acknowledges that “equity is so on trend right now in American higher education right now, especially in California. It is plastered here, there and everywhere. If you ask ten different people who work in leadership at a college ‘what does the college mean by racial equity’, you will get nine and a half very different answers.”

Harper insists that to strive for a truly equal institution, you must participate in surveys to get statistics that truly reflect a college’s racial climate.

“Many well-intended institutions think that they can move the needle on becoming an anti-racist institution without any experiential data- wrong,” Harper said.

Experiential data goes beyond demographics and other basic statistics that most colleges provide. Harper elaborates on the contrast between the two saying, “our understanding on what produces (these) inequities is incomplete if we don’t understand how students are experiencing the college campus differently because of their race or ethnicity.”

Thanks to Mike Munoz, LBCC was one of the first community colleges to participate in the National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climates during 2019. This provided us with the experiential data necessary to implement changes at LBCC. Next year, staff are expected to participate in the survey as well.

Following up after the speech, Munoz stated, “What Dr. Harper did for us today is help paint a picture of possibilities, of what it could look like at LBCC in a more equity and racial justice environment. We have the data, we’ve had this lecture, where do we go from here?”

“Part of that is by convening people and campus leaders. This has to be a shared vision, but I can’t do this work alone. This is about bringing students, faculty, administrators, and maybe community leaders to really think about what we want to put into place to achieve this prism of possibilities,” Munoz added.

A week prior, an app called Equity Connect was launched, which Harper describes as “a virtual resource and engagement portal for all Racial Equity Leadership Alliance (RELA) member institutions, it includes many racial equity solutions.”

In upcoming weeks, the app will also launch a way for the faculty of these colleges to communicate. The purpose of this feature is to “pose problems of practice to each other, give each other advice, and to share resources with each other,” Harper explains.

Typically, all colleges pay an annual fee for access to this data. “Because I love your president and I really want him to succeed, I said to (Munoz) that ‘as an inauguration gift, membership to RELA will be perpetually free as long as you are the president.’”

To conclude, Harper urges teachers at LBCC to “use Equity Connect, use your NACC data that is included.”

Munoz looks to the future and how we might implement the data gained from our NACCC survey back in 2019, saying, “we gotta bring people together, we gotta look at the data, we have to have the hard conversations, and most importantly we have to decide how we are gonna act, data is only as good as you use it, and so that is what we’re gonna do.”

With nearly three years having passed since our NACCC survey, it is unclear what actions we have taken to apply this data and make a change. However, COVID closures may have limited our options to apply this data thus far.

Non-profit organization helping the community of Long Beach for over 25 Years

Sophia Cobb
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Non-profit organization helping the community of Long Beach for over 25 Years

Many differences are being made by several programs within the California Families in Focus organization based in Long Beach. 

The organization was not founded until April 2002 by Angel Macias and Robert Spiet, but the group originally started in 1999 as a community group.

When the group first started, they raised funding for awareness on community issues by putting together educational workshops, conferences, events for community organizations, empowerment retreats, business and schools. 

The California Families in Focus organization has partnered with numerous community partners from all over California. 

There are many programs available to people of all ages for self wellness or to serve the community if they wish to volunteer. 

Diana Norman is a coordinator of the organization that mainly focuses on the program Familia y Fortazela, whose main priority is body, mind, and spirit. 

“After COVID-19 a lot of people have dealt with many issues and this program allows them to balance their life again and try to get back to the way things were,” Norman said.

Meetings are frequently held and are focused on ways to improve one’s nutrition and recently, Familia y Fortazela helped someone in need of a wheelchair that couldn’t afford it due to financial insecurities.

Becoming an annual sponsor for this organization will result in donor benefits, such as invitations to the events and recognition from the senate and the city of Long Beach, as well as the organization.  

They have a program called V.I.P which is a one-year after-school mentoring and tutoring program for teenagers. 

They also have an annual Christmas event where they produce a Christmas party for women, children, men and LGBTQ community that deal with domestic violence, drug addiction. They also provide homeless shelters during the holidays. 

‘I Matter 2’ Rainbow Family Festival is a one day multicultural music festival with a highlight on anti-bullying and suicide awareness for LGBTQ families and allies. 

The Kimberly Maddox Youth Scholarship Program is for students or youth in general to participate in programs where they can receive a scholarship upon completion. 

All of these programs are great outlets for students to find out what they’re interested in and what career paths are good for them. Students can figure out their interests while receiving help and support from scholarships and the community. 

Michelle Flores, has been a volunteer for the organization for five years. She is also the first recipient of the scholarships provided. 

Flores stated that students “can gain experience from volunteering, they can meet more people for work opportunities in the future and gain new skills and knowledge from all the events in programs that the organization provides.” 

Meet Fa Leilua, LBCC’s Softball Team Hitting Coach

Frederick Iwuagwu
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Meet Fa Leilua, LBCC’s Softball Team Hitting Coach

Long Beach City College Softball has an offense that doesn’t quit. Coach Fa Leilua is a big part of their progression.

Softball is a cornerstone for Coach Fa. Her journey was more of an act of fate accompanied by hard work and dedication. There have been bumps and bruises along the way.

Her players respect her for her accolades and knowledge, which span from her early commitment to the University of Washington, her success at Arizona State, and the star-status in Starkville, at Mississippi State. But her resilience as a person is not to be overlooked. Nor should her leadership in the clubhouse. 

“Coach Fa is one of those coaches that will push you beyond your limit in the best way possible,” Jade Whitman said LBCC infielder and the University of Alabama at Birmingham transfer. 

A writer’s job is to give the reader a clear understanding of events and people. Real writers are meant to summarize complex topics, and people, in a succinct way. Although Coach Fa radiates good vibes and is all smiles, there is a depth to her that is difficult to penetrate. 

There are many things that people have already written about Coach Fa. Many of which are worth mentioning again. She is a killer at the plate and in the classroom, with the rap sheet to prove that statement true.

Just to mention a few: 2019 First-team All-SEC, 2019 Softball America and NFCA Second Team All-American, 2021 SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll; she also led her ASU team in home runs two years in a row as an underclassman. She also received a master’s degree.

But these accolades don’t capture the full scope of the hitting coach for LBCC’s 25-10 softball team.

She has faced the struggles attached to the tragedy of outliving her father, who was instrumental to her introduction to the game that has become a lifestyle, career, and a place to lead.

“Literally my first day of softball was a game. We stop by a Big 5 (her father Sio) buys all this stuff, this equipment, this clothing,” said Leilua.

When she asked, “What is this?”, her father replied, “It’s like a baseball type-a-deal.”

Shortly after he pulled up to a park and pointed the way to a softball field, then introduced her to her new life on the diamond.

“The rest was comedy, just comedy,” said Leilua.

She works at On Deck Batting Cages in Signal Hill while coaching at LBCC, and hasn’t stopped playing ball since childhood.

These are pillars in life to be proud of, but the underlying pride for Fa Leilua is felt in the legacy her father has left, receiving her masters in Science Workforce Education and Leadership, and “putting a record on for the Polynesian culture.”

Leilua is scheduled to be a guest speaker on a podcast episode hosted by LBCC Viking News in the near future. 

Red Cross blood drive at LBCC sees low attendance

Marlon Villa
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Red Cross blood drive at LBCC sees low attendance

With very few students and faculty volunteering, efforts to gather a bigger supply of blood continued on Thursday as the American Red Cross returned for their monthly blood drive at the Liberal Arts Campus. 

During this month’s blood drive, it was reported that around 20 donors showed up to donate blood. 

It was expected that more donors would show up throughout the day. 

Typically, the blood drive has an estimated amount of average donors where they only capture a certain amount of the school’s population.

“We’re just trying to capture plenty of opportunities for students who weren’t able to donate last month to come in and donate this month,” Diana Boyd said, senior account manager for the American Red Cross. 

The American Red Cross is a national organization and is not a hospital, as opposed to what others might think. 

“We work with several hospitals all across the country and at least 26,000 hospital systems here in Southern California itself,” Boyd said. 

The American Red Cross has a national blood supply which is intended to have a stable blood supply for wherever the need is greatest. 

“To lead by example” Derek Oriee said, host of the blood drive, explaining his main motive for donating blood. 

Some of the requirements to be eligible to donate blood include being in overall good health and weighing at least 110 pounds.

It is recommended that all donors prepare to have a successful donation by drinking plenty of water and having a good meal with iron rich foods, such as meat, fish or lentils. 

The Red Cross Blood Drive occurs monthly in the ASB building. Walk-ins are available, but appointments are preferred. 

Munoz installed as president of LBCC

vikingnews
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Munoz installed as president of LBCC

Correction: This story originally stated that Mike Munoz is the first Latino superintendent-president at LBCC. Eloy Ortiz Oakley was the first Latino superintendent-president at LBCC who served from 2007-2016.

Mike Munoz highlighted Long Beach City College’s attempts to meet students’ basic needs and improve equity in education for minority students as he was installed as superintendent-president and delivered the State of the College address to an enthusiastic crowd of elected officials, faculty and donors on April 14, 2022.

Munoz’s installation and address discussed services employed by the college to aid students during the pandemic and beyond, efforts to improve educational success and graduation among minority student populations and improvements to campus facilities provided through public grant money.

“My leadership has always centered on one question: ‘How does this look from a student perspective?,’” Munoz said. To demonstrate this, he mentioned LBCC student Patricia Lopez multiple times throughout his address.

Lopez’s story of overcoming houselessness and lack of technological access was used to highlight the Safe Parking Program, technology giveaways and the Basic Needs program to aid students during the pandemic.

Munoz also highlighted advancements for historically underserved minority populations, noting a 51% increase in Black and 19% increase in Latinx student transfers to four year colleges and a 119% increase for Black and 125% increase for Latinx students receiving degrees at commencement.

LBCC saw an overall increase of 16% for transfers and 97% increase in degrees obtained.

On campus renovations and new construction, Munoz gave credit to voters for providing the funds for these projects.

“Our voters support our students. They passed Measure E to help us transform and modernize our two campuses for our students,” Munoz said, pointing out the new parking structure on PCC and various building renovations on both campuses.

Munoz explained his approach to rebuilding a sense of campus community as students look to return to campus.

“I think we can build a student experience that can reach all types of students. The idea is to bring people to feel connected again. I think we’ve lost some of that in a Zoom experience. There are some conveniences that we’ve gained from not having to come to campus but at the end of the day, there is something that’s important around creating community,” Munoz said.

Munoz is waiting to see how students respond for fall 2022 registration, to see how the school will manage the emergence of online distance learning with on-campus access for students who want it. 

“I don’t think it’s a single answer. Meeting students needs is meeting different types of students. One of the things we are doing for registration this fall is asking students what types of modalities students are interested in taking their courses in,” Munoz said.

Some think Munoz as president might draw students back to LBCC with his energy and outlook for the school’s future.

“I think his energy will be able to rally people to come back on campus,” Richard Blackmon said, student trustee.

“He’s such a clear leader for everyone. I think we’re excited to see him grow even more in the position,” Ava Cross said, Associated Student Body president. 

“I think he’s taking us well into the 21st century where we can all thrive. He continues to lead us towards equity and opportunities for all students,” said Alisia Kirkwood, dean of student affairs.

Muñoz is taking the helm in a turbulent time for the college, with former president Reagan Romali suing the school and two part-time instructors suing over alleged minimum wage violations, setting the stage for a legal battle with potentially national consequences.

“It’s always important to recognize that you have to name things to find clarity and a path forward. Where there are issues around faculty payment, if there are opportunities to engage with adjunct faculty members, we are going to with an open heart and an open mind,” Munoz said.  

“Those processes are legal so we aren’t able to talk about them publicly but there are informal avenues we can take to have conversations,” Munoz added. “In terms of other issues, it’s looking forward and seeing what vision we want to co-create together and I think that’s how we deal with some of the challenges from the past.”

DSPS Movie Night

Karina Serrano
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DSPS Movie Night

Long Beach City College’s Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS) has opened a door of opportunity to make disabled students feel understood and included, as well as to shed light and educate other students about disabilities by hosting a movie night at the LAC campus. 

LBCC’s disabled student’s program will be screening ‘Crip Camp’ for free in the Nordic Lounge on April 15 and they will host another movie night as well on April 29.

This event gives an opportunity for students to start new connections, friendships, education, and understanding on the matter. 

As campus continues to increasingly open up since the start of the pandemic, and students become more comfortable with the idea of attending in person events, the DSPS wasted no time in promoting their program and reaching out to students to get the ball rolling. 

DSPS held an awareness fair containing roughly 20 booths outside of building A on Thursday, and now they are hosting two movie nights this month. 

This is an entertaining way to give the DSPS students a way to feel pride in themselves as students, but it also acts as a resource to give others an inside look to a way of life that differs from their own. 

This creates an opportunity for students with disabilities to feel comfort in their capabilities and “highlight some of their abilities,” Jade Adams said.

Jane Adams, admin assistant, pointed out, “Disability does not mean incapable.”

Adams explained there would be snacks and a friendly environment all around, “It’s really just for people to come, and for people to hang out, have some popcorn, watch something engaging. We did put a lot of effort into choosing the films because we also wanted it to be engaging and informative to offer a different perspective on people with disabilities.”

Student, Sheyla Valdebenito, expressed her curiosity about the event tonight night.

“It sounds like ignorance the way I’m talking about it, but we literally don’t know much about it.” Valdebenito said.

Specialty films are made to relate to people with disabilities and to provide a point of view that many aren’t able to understand without a different perspective. It’s a way to communicate their world through a common experience, that being film.

Jade Adams, along with Lisa Duckworth and other LBCC employees, were part of the committee for pulling together a feeless and educating activity for LBCC students.

Inside LBCC’s Nordic Cup

Karina Serrano
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Inside LBCC’s Nordic Cup

Did you know that there is a place at Long Beach City College Liberal Arts Campus that serves Starbucks?

The Nordic Cup is a small coffee shop located in the LAC Viking Food Court that sells a variety of drinks and baked goods for students, including select drinks from Starbucks’ menu.

The purpose of the Nordic Cup is to allow students to get a drink or snack in between classes, while also giving some students barista jobs from the convenience of their own campus. 

“We’re not an official Starbucks location, we’re not a franchise, we’re part of a program called Proudly Serving Starbucks,” David McDonald said, manager of the Viking Food Court. 

Many students are unaware of this establishment inside of the school.

McDonald claims that the pandemic slowed things down significantly not just for The Nordic Cup, but for the food court in general.

“Before the pandemic, (the food court) would serve 2000-2500 students a day, but since we’ve come back we’re seeing 500-600,” McDonald said. “We’re running at half staff,” he added.

Isaac McKenzie, a barista at the Nordic Cup has been working at the establishment before the pandemic hit.

“Back then, it was really fast paced, we would have long lines all day. It was really great because I was also a student at that time as well and it was great to come in for work and then go to class right after,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie claims that decrease in business has allowed for more one-on-one time with customers. 

“Right now, it’s not as fast paced, but it’s still a great time to help out other students. Even with the slower pace, I’m able to help them out better and get a little bit more on a personal base with my customers,” McKenzie said.

The Nordic Cup is open Monday-Thursday 7am-7pm and Friday 7am-2pm in building E.

Students and faculty gather to support new Superintendent-President Mike Munoz

Karina Serrano
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Students and faculty gather to support new Superintendent-President Mike Munoz

Long Beach City College held a student reception on Tuesday that allowed students and faculty to mingle and get more familiar with the new Superintendent-President Dr. Mike Munoz, who officially began his new role on March 4.

“The idea of the student reception was to be a community event for the campus, an opportunity for us to come together, have some food, listen to some music, play some games, and just connect for one another,” Munoz said.

“When you think about it, we’ve been separated for more than two years now, so it was an opportunity for me to reintroduce myself to students on campus,” Munoz added.

Although Munoz was officially appointed as permanent superintendent-president this month, he has served on a temporary basis since March 2021. Prior, in 2018 he started at LBCC as vice president of student services.

The event kicked off with brief speeches made by student trustee Richard Blackmon and Munoz, who succeeded in stirring the crowd and setting the mood for the festivities.

Blackmon’s speech explained what Munoz’s presidency means from a student’s perspective. Blackmon said, “I think it’s important to have somebody that understands with the students and really connects with us.”

“My first real encounter was at a meeting in Fall 2020, and he came and shared his story with us, and it was like I knew him at that point. I was like ‘damn! That’s my boy.’ He seemed so relatable,” Blackmon said, recalling his first time meeting Munoz.

Blackmon also adds that he believes the reception goes beyond allowing LBCC to interact with Munoz, it’s a chance for the campus to show up for him and show their support.

Attendees lined up to receive free tacos, then proceeded to join in on games like football, soccer, basketball, shooting stands and cornhole.

The live DJ blasted music out onto the field for the entirety of the event, with some pauses so that attendees could participate in trivia questions for prizes.

Munoz could be seen throughout the event dancing, playing games, reminding everybody he saw to grab a free t-shirt, and hanging out with anyone who decided to attend.

Looking forward, Munoz explained what he hoped to accomplish on campus for the remainder of the year. “Number one is for folks to really be able to transition back to the campus in a way they feel supported, where they feel validated, and where they feel uplifted.”

“I think for me it’s really about anchoring ourselves back into finding our groove, right? Of what it means to connect back out of this pandemic and into our academic lives and being successful. Ultimately, we want our students to find success,” Munoz said. 

Many academic leaders share the same goal, but Munoz has taken steps here on campus to help increase the chances of success for LBCC students.

“We have a very robust student aid program. Prior to the pandemic it was kind of difficult for students to find additional forms of support. Now we’ve created a one-stop, the application lives in canvas where students can identify themselves if they need additional support with housing, food, or technology,” Munoz said.

Students this semester also have the added assistance of the new transit program, Strong Beach Bus Program, to support them if they face difficulty in finding a way to school.

“We’re just doing our best to make sure students know that we are here for them,” Munoz added to his list of goals he wishes to achieve on campus this year.

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