“There is a possible suspect with a gun at PCC,” was the first line in the mass emergency alert text message sent to Long Beach City College students today.
While this message sent many students at the Pacific Coast Campus into high alert, the students, faculty, and staff at the Liberal Arts Campus continued their day with no interruptions.
“When I first received the alert, I was initially concerned, but because it was at PCC, I continued on with class. I am waiting for more info before I reach out to anybody,” said Donald Douglas, political science and history professor.
Dean of School Social Sciences and Arts, Lisa Orr, believed that LAC was a good distance away from PCC, so there was no need for students to do anything except to commence with their normal school schedule.
Once the mass text message was sent, many students were under the impression that they had all received the text at the exact same time, however, the first text was set out at around 10:30 a.m. and some of the last were sent out around 11:15 a.m.
Because of this many students learned about the incident through word-of-mouth and social media.
“When my friend first told me, I was shocked and sad that this kind of stuff is still going on. I am grateful that the school sent out a text, but it bothers me that he got his before mine,” said Sophia Glass, a nursing major.
Jose Meza, a chemistry major said, “I got notified because a student called to cancel our morning ASB meeting because he got the alerts. I got mine shortly after. I don’t think I got it too late, especially if it was just hearsay.”
Regardless if the incident is harmful, many students and faculty found it essential to now brush up on safety precautions.
“Things are different since I started teaching in 1999. The school is always trying to do more and more things to make its students safe. There are a variety of safety measures set in place. There are many safety precautions and mental health programs set in place to avoid situations like this,” said Orr.
“We don’t know when an active shooter will come on campus or who it will be. We also have to worry about copycat shooters, and LBCC works hard to make sure we handle each situation appropriately.”
The emergency alert text message did incorporate explicit instructions on what to do if you were at PCC during the time of the lockdown.
Douglas ensured that as a professor, if this were to happen at LAC, he would lock the classroom doors and shelter in place.
LBCC’s Student Health Services will be hosting a Healing Circle for those who wanted to share their thoughts on today’s incident.
The Healing Circle will be on Thursday, May 2, in the PCC Student Union, EE-102, from 11 a.m. to noon, it is open to all faculty, staff and students.
Long Beach City College’s Pacific Coast Campus went on lockdown because a film professor was carrying a prop gun across campus for a film shoot.
Film professor Elias Daughdrill told the Viking News in an interview that he had the prop gun for a film shoot of a scene that included actors as officers.
“I emailed the guys at the theater department, ‘You guys have a prop gun and like a police badge that students can use for the scene’ and they said ‘ Sure, see we what we got’ and so I walked over there and stupidly didn’t bring like a bag or something,” Daughdrill said.
“I wasn’t even thinking that I was going to bring it back because we were not shooting until like three more weeks and they said ‘Here take it now.’”
Daughdrill was walking from FF building to EE building with the prop gun.
“Halfway through it dawned on me now this is dumb I should have this in a something like a bag or whatever, but didn’t,” Daughdrill said.
Film professor Elias Daughdrill.
“Nothing happened for 10 or 15 minutes and then I got a phone call from Tony Carreiro in theater, faculty member, and so I step outside the classroom and I see police officers and I said ‘I know what this is about.'”
According to Daughdrill, his class was in session, but after the incident he continued class.
Daughdrill was not arrested because there was no apparent threat on campus.
Superintendent-President Reagan Romali sent out an Emergency Alert Follow up email.
In the email, Romali made a brief letter about the situation that unfolded today, and how the LBPD found a replica firearm that was being used in a class production.
“We are extremely grateful for the incredibly quick response from the Long Beach Police Department,” Romali said.
“Upon investigation they found out it was an instructor and a student who had a prop gun for a film in theater class.”
Officer Kevin Stenson, who was at PCC during the incident, heard different information about the suspect.
“There was never a shooter or a possible shooter, what we have is a student that was in an acting class and they had some sort of assignment going on and I guess they needed a prop weapon and it was seen by other students,” Stenson said.
Text alerts went out to students, faculty, and staff as well as emails regarding what was going on at PCC and an all clear was sent out at 11 a.m.
Correction: A correction was made to fix a minor grammatical error.
The four hour board of trustees meeting covering ethics, data mining, and the “Year in Review” began promptly at 5:30 p.m. in the boardroom at LAC on Wednesday, April 24, 2019, to a group of around 50 people, including a Journalism 20 news writing class, instructed by Pat McKean.
Board President, Sunny Zia introduced President-Superintendent Reagan Romali by thanking her for her leadership and announcing awards Romali has received recently, including the Khmer Parent Association Indradevi award and NAACP phenomenal woman award.
Romali opened her remarks by highlighting Career Technical Education night and sharing the list of 50 community partnerships LBCC has created and the internship and job opportunities available through these relationships.
The President-Superintendent, Reagan Romali, shared the LBCC “Year in Review” report with trustees and attendees of the meeting.
One highlight from the “Year in Review” was LBCC’s 27% increase in total number of Associate Degrees for Transfer from 2016-17 to 2017-18, this number reflects a 26% increase for Hispanic students and a 41% increase for African-American students.
The Certificated Hourly Instructors Union bargaining president was not present, Malauulu expressed disappointment and concern for a lack of representation by adjunct faculty.
“I am just really disappointed that we have not had a CHI report in several months, and that we haven’t had CHI representation at the meetings. As a former CHI member it bothers me, I do think it is important for CHI to be represented at the board meetings,” Malauulu said.
Jack Lipton, legal council for the board of trustees was present to review the first reading of board ethics policy and other administrative regulations.
According to Romali, during the college’s last accreditation there was a finding that the policies and administrative regulations had not been updated in a timely manner.
Over an hour was spent on the matters of board ethics and administrative regulations, during which time, the discussion among board members was heated and at times they included the superintendent-president.
A majority of the ethics discussion was spent on the matter of how much time is healthy for the president-superintendent and staff to spend on requests from board members.
Zia expressed an interest in the appropriate amount of time for the president-superintendent and staff to spend on trustee requests, a current estimate from Romali was 30 hours per week.
Lipton offered a pragmatic view of how to determine what a healthy amount of time is to spend on board requests.
“Ultimately, the board itself will have to determine what is an appropriate level of interchange between individual trustees and the superintendent-president,” Lipton said.
Romali delivered an abbreviated presentation on data mining and the benefits data mining can provide to drive success at LBCC, the presentation echoed much of what was in the “Year in Review” booklet.
“LBCC is on the national forefront of moving the dial for students of color,” Romali said.
“There was an equity focussed pilot where course success data, a subset of faculty in the social-science department implemented equity focused framework into redesigning their courses and teaching methods, and guess what happened? Their success rates went up by 9%.”
Curriculum Committee Chair, Wendy Koenig presented new, modified, and inactive courses as well as new programs of study and area of emphases degrees.
New certificates offered by LBCC include, English as a second language, cake decorating and library technician.
Koenig shared the progress being made on developing the upcoming ADTs in social justice and global studies and mentioned the benefits in the areas of emphasis.
“I think these are going to be a great opportunity for students who don’t necessarily want to commit to a particular major, but they know what they are interested in,” Koenig said.
McKean made a public comment on non-agenda items just before the meeting ended, McKean recognized the journalism department and recent awards they received.
Doug Otto arrived late and left early for a charity event.
The meeting ended at 9:40 p.m. to a group of eight people.
The next board of trustees meeting will be held at LAC on May 22 with the open session beginning at 5:30 p.m.
ASB has taken it upon themselves to dedicate the month of April to the LGBTQ+ community, however, there is an obvious disconnect between ASB and students regarding their decision to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month two months early, ASB must utilize their platform to ensure that all LBCC students are being properly represented.
According to LBCC’s website, “ASB is the student voice for over 28,000 LBCC students…”, although ASB does make efforts to make this campus as inclusive, supportive, and overall enjoyable for students; they aren’t fully utilizing their platform in the right way.
The LBCC Student Life Instagram account, @lbccstudentlife, made an Instagram post on April 5th announcing that it was “LGBTQ+ Month”.
LGBTQ+ History Month is actually held in June, commemorating the Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969.
Jamie Kammerman, the Student Activities Advisor at the LAC, explained that due to lack of staffing in the Office of Student Life during June, ASB wanted to recognize the LGBTQ+ community during the academic year.
ASB is meant to represent the diverse groups of students at LBCC respectfully, but the post did not explain Student Affairs’ reasoning for recognizing LGBTQ+ month, 2 months early.
LBCC should be LGBTQ+ transparent all year round by standing in together with the community and showing their support, June is a month that has so much significance and history for the community, ASB should honor it appropriately.
Inclusiveness is very important and ASB does try to be as inclusive as possible but an act like this, made with good intentions can easily be found offensive.
ASB is quite active on Instagram and Facebook by posting semi-regular updates on events that have already happen on campus, it would probably benefit ASB if they made daily posts instead of the occasional Instagram story.
ASB also has a Twitter account and they haven’t posted anything since June 2017, being that in this day and age many students are social media oriented, so ASB would definitely reach a wider audience if they began to tweet more often.
It is very bold of ASB to claim that they are the voice of LBCC students when there is an obvious disconnect between students involved in ASB and regular students, whether it be through an outlook on extracurricular activities or involvement in campus events.
ASB advocates for inclusiveness and acts as an ally for multiple diverse minority groups, some of their efforts may not have come across how they anticipated but I believe that this issue can be resolved if ASB took advantage of the platform they have, not only on campus but online.
ASB is run by students and is meant for students but they are not benefitting us in any way if they do not utilize their platform to communicate and engage LBCC students.
LBCC’s Spring Dance Ensemble featured student dancers and two student choreographers debuting their emotional work at the Furjanak Sandberg Auditorium in Long Beach this past weekend.
The opening number, Tuvanian Rap Dance, exhibited great spatial awareness from dancers as they weaved in and out of lines creating constant movement throughout the upbeat dance.
Dressed in bright yellow dresses and white leggings, the dancers lassoed and whipped their way to the unique music which resembled a sort of Turkish country sound.
The piece, choreographed by faculty staff Arlene Bracket, included quirky movement as unique as the music.
The dancers shined most during the intricate floorwork that involved flexibility as they glided in and out middle splits into a seated leg extension.
After opening with an upbeat number, student choreographers each took the audience somewhere personal.
“Resonant Light”, choreographed by Dance Major Levi Christiansen, began with five dancers in a circle, laying outwards in child’s pose.
While a spotlight covered them in a soft white circle of light, the rest of the stage was cloaked in darkness.
“My piece is about being seen and allowing yourself to be seen. Trusting other people and trusting yourself to be vulnerable.I think it’s very easy to stay in the dark and I think a lot of people do,” Christiansen said.
The dancers remained in the circle for the entirety of the dance, reacting to the light on their skin, unsure of what to about it at first.
When they did attempt to leave the circle, they would recoil back from the darkness that surrounded the spotlight.
Eventually the dancers embraced the light, swirling about the circumference of the circle to meet in the middle and literally drink it up in unison as the music crashed around them.
LBCC dancer Kristy Williams during the curtain call following the Spring Dance Ensemble on Saturday. (Sabriyya Ghanizada)
Perhaps the most striking costumes of the night, student choreographer Joshua Snels piece, featured his own music with a written monologue at the beginning.
“When I first made this piece, I added a monologue so people could understand what it was about, I needed the audience to understand that it was about them,” Snels said.
Snel, dressed in thick robe of different green fabrics and textures, he had face paint and horns on as if to depict Mother Nature herself.
After moving through the monologue, Snels stood on top of a rock and like a puppet master, manipulated his two groups of dancers.
The first, dressed neck to foot in white a blue with flowy wings and the second, in feather vests and animal skin kilts.
The crux of the piece involved both groups battling one another, with some stage fighting but mainly hard hitting and thrash movements.
“Mother Nature gave us her skin, her blood, her bones, her back to live on. We choose to use more than Mother Nature has allowed us. We don’t think about it this and now we are already passed a point where we’ve used more resources that have been granted to us,” Snels said.
For most of the faculty numbers, the emphasis was on character and partner work.
The 1950’s styled piece “You & Me” choreographed by Erin Landry, was backed by a big band number and the dancer’s lively performance did not disappoint.
“Fortuitous Possibility” by dance faculty member, Sarah Cashmore, told the story of lovers constantly crossing paths until they joined hands in the end and were left alone on the stage as the rest of the dancers exited.
Despite the obvious technical training and emphasis on partnering, the department as a whole lacks a togetherness needed for stage performances.
The larger group numbers had energy and performance, but many of the dancers were not hitting the same angles and lines in unison.
The standout performance of the night was ballerina Carmella Casabella who performed a beautiful en pointe solo titled Extending From Trees, that broke away from the norms of typical ballet.
Choreographed by artistic director, Martha Paminutan, the ballerina weaved effortlessly through her pirouettes into pictures with flexed feet and broken wrists.
After tapping across stage en bourree, she finished the dance with a riveting turn sequence that garnered the largest applause of the evening.
“For shows, the choreographers tend propose what they want to put on stage. We have ten to thirteen faculty and most of them propose, and then myself and my colleague Stephanie Powell sit and sort through proposals. We decide what makes sense for variety and diversity in the show. Everything they propose is always great, but we also want to think about the audience and entertain them as well as show them different styles of dance,” Paminutan said.
The opportunity to submit proposals themselves helped the student choreographers’ step into their own creative and personal power.
“Having doubt from last semester and then moving into this semester helped me become more me. By honoring my body and giving myself the freedom to explore how I wish helped me reclaim my space. When I’m out and about, I break social norms, I do things different. If I feel tension in the room, I break out of it. Personally, I’ve gotten more confident as a person I think it’s really validating to know that you are human and no matter what create, it’s good” said Christiansen when describing his experience leading up to the show.
Dancer Carissa Keo shuffles across the floor during Erin Landry’s period piece, “You & Me” performed at the Spring Dance Ensemble on Saturday night. (Sabriyya Ghanizada)
The only drawback from the show was the abnormally long wait time between curtains, which was surprising as most props involved were four chairs for “Strut”, a piece that opened the second act.
Regardless, the ensemble showcased a diverse array of dancers that each exhibited a passion for their craft.
The show was complemented by an amazing production team that brought the numbers to life with top notch lighting and images.
Artistic director Paminutan encourages everyone to attend to the shows and audition for the classes.
“The beauty of dance and the art form is to be inspired. It’s not about age or size or gender or sexual whatever, you can all do it and that’s what we want to do is inspire people get up and try. Everyone can do it you just have to try,” Martha
The dance department holds two ensembles each year, one in the Fall and the other in the Spring.
Students interested in dancing or choreographing with the LBCC Dance Department can register for Summer 2019 classes now.
The Fall 2019 schedule is online, and open registration begins May 13.
Fall ensemble student choreographer auditions are Thursday, May 16 at 4:30 p.m. in LAC Q-113.
Fall ensemble dancer auditions are Thursday, August 29at 6:00 p.m. at LAC-113.
Pro-Trump protesters rallied against sanctuary cities in Huntington Beach and anti-Trump protesters were there to show solidarity against the far-right
The dual rallies took place on April 27 near Huntington Beach Pier, and about 200 total people attended, with about 100 people showing up on both sides.
The originally announced rally, “March to End Sanctuary State”, was planned by the far-right protesters who were there to show solidarity with the idea of ending city and state practices of sheltering illegal immigrants from ICE and other immigration enforcement.
Once gathered, the far-right protesters marched a few blocks down Pacific Coast Highway, and back up the other side.
The counter rally, “All Out to Oppose Hatred and White Supremacy”, was organized by two groups, Indivisible: OC and Occupy ICE L.A., and they attended to show support of California Senate Bill 54, which would legalize statewide non-cooperation policies between law enforcement and immigration authorities.
Lulu Hammad, a member of Indivisible: OC summed up their reason for the counter rally.
“We want people from OC, people from Huntington Beach are defending SB 54. This is for us, it protects our own communities to have sanctuary cities, and we’re not going to let a bunch of Nazis and white supremacists who are drenched in nativist ideology, come and put our own people at risk,” Hammad said.
“We’re not going to put up with that.”
Kenny Strawn, a Trump supporter, believes that many people on the pro-SB 54 are misinformed about the goals of the pro-Trump side.
“They (pro-SB 54 side) assumes that everyone that climbs over the border are immigrants, but according to Dinesh D’souza, they’re not,” Strawn said.
“They’re cutting in front of those that are coming in the right way … that are using proper channels.”
“They have no understanding of the difference between immigration or invasion,” Strawn added.
“When they’re (migrants) climbing over border walls, when they’re trying to break in, that’s not immigration, that’s burglary.”
While Strawn was out there trying to promote a nuanced perspective of the difference between legal and illegal immigrants, there were plenty of people on the pro-Trump side who were completely opposed to immigration of all kinds, legal or not.
Shannel Pittman, a eco Socialist Greens Outreach co-chair, says, that the majority of people who immigrate to California have a right to do so based on an old treaty.
“I know the history of California, and the treaty that made California part of America specifically stated that the descendants of the people from the original land that was California are allowed to come freely across the border whenever they want,” Pittman said.
“The Green party supports the notion of sanctuary cities.”
Violence at the rallies was virtually nonexistent, with the one notable exception being a scuffle between a reporter for the YouTube channel THAT’S THE POINT with Brandon and several of the Antifa group in attendance.
An Antifa member was arrested by an Orange County Sheriff Deputy and sent toward the patrol car during the March to END Sanctuary State rally in Huntington Beach, CA on April 27, 2019. (Jorge Hernandez)
The YouTuber walked into the crowd of left leaning protesters to challenge their stance on immigration, police warned him that he was instigating, and when he still refused to leave the area, a scuffle broke out leaving people with only minor injuries.
Five arrests were made at the event, mostly related to the violent incident that had taken place just before.
A man was planning to detonate improvised explosive devices at a white nationalist rally at Bluff Park in Long Beach with the purpose to cause mass casualties, the FBI said on Monday.
An army veteran, Mark Stevens Domingo, who had combat experience in Afghanistan was arrested on Friday after he was set to deliver a explosive that he thought was real to an officer who was posing as the bomb maker.
According to U.S. Attorney for the central district of California Nicola Hanna, Domingo purchased several hundred 3 inch nails to attach to the IED because the nails would be long enough to penetrate the human body.
Domingo also made known to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State, and wanted to retaliate after the mosque attacks in New Zealand.
“There must be retribution,” Domingo said in an online post, “America needs another vegas event.”
The rally in Bluff Park saw a sizable police presence to ensure the safety of those who attended the event.
Two political rallies scheduled to take place today at the Huntington Beach pier both happened as planned, with both sides seeing a total of approximately 200 people combined attending, all to express their respective views on immigration and sanctuary cities.
Antonio Foreman, a person closely associated with the white nationalist movement, was in attendance on the pro-Trump “March to END Sanctuary State” side, and he told Viking News that he has no plans to attend the event scheduled in Long Beach the next day at Bluff Park.
Foreman, who is known to have attended the infamous “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville that saw the death of Heather Heyer, and the emergence of the Alt-right onto the national scene, has maintained that he not a white nationalist, but simply a nationalist.
Foreman also told the Viking News that his initial idea for the rally in Long Beach is different than the way it is being portrayed.
“It was never my goal to bring hate to that rally, or white supremacy, but it was more about bringing a rally to a place where that hadn’t been a whole lot of activism before,” Foreman said.
It is unclear if the initial far-right rally scheduled for Bluff Park in Long Beach is still happening, but the counter rally, “All Out to Oppose Hatred & White Supremacy”, is still expected to take place at 10 a.m.
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