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Students attend workshop to discuss career possibilities for communication majors

steven matthews
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Students attend workshop to discuss career possibilities for communication majors

What can you do with a communication studies degree? That depends on your emphasis. What is an emphasis? Good question.

LBCC communication studies department held a workshop to try and answer these questions in room T1300 at the LAC on Tuesday, March 26.

Communication studies professor, Kari Ann Pike, opened and led the 40 minute presentation to a room of around 60 people.

“I hope the students will get some insight on what it’s going to look like, in terms of degrees and potential career options,” Pike said.

The presentation was broken up by areas of emphasis for communication studies degrees: general, interpersonal, organizational, public relations/marketing.

Analisa Ridenour covered the area of general, interpersonal and organizational communication studies.

“The general option will help you if you haven’t found your niche yet. You can find classes you are interested in and take your electives in that focus,” Ridenour said.

Pike delivered the second portion of the presentation that covered the communication studies  emphases of intercultural, public affairs, public relations and marketing.

“All of us would advise you to take classes in different areas to find your strengths and help guide you in your choices,”Pike said.

Communication studies careers range from school counselor to social media manager and corporate trainer.

Special guest speaker and LBCC alumnus, Bobby Lith, is a student assistant in the student affairs office at CSULB; specifically he works in the SOAR (Student Orientation Advising and Registration) department.

Lith offered his experiences as a communication studies student, and graduate.

“Seek opportunities that will help you develop your skills. A lot of the learning you do also takes place outside of the classroom,” Lith said.

Communication studies assistant professor, Alexandre Hatlestad-Shey, supported the idea of learning outside the classroom.

“If there is someone you genuinely want to work with after graduation, reach out to them now,” Hatlestad-Shey said.

Communication Studies department counselors Phillip Huerta and Tamika Hunter,  were also in attendance to answer questions and offer insight to students attending the workshop.

Huerta offered strategies to maximize communication studies courses at LBCC.

“You can use a lot of communication studies courses toward your general education and get two degrees while you are here,”Huerta said.

Communications studies major Yadira Gonzalez had positive feedback regarding the workshop.

“It was very helpful. I learned about the emphases for comm. I didn’t know about those before,” Gonzalez said.

Communication studies department head, Samira Habash, was in attendance with nine other professors from the communication studies department.

“It was Analisa Ridenour’s idea, she brought it to a department meeting; it was initiated by students’ questions in her class. We hope to do more workshops,” Habash said.

Students attend panel to discuss working in an increasingly automated job market

steven matthews
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Students attend panel to discuss working in an increasingly automated job market

LBCC students and staff gathered in the student lounge of LAC on March 20 for a town hall to discuss how students can be prepared for the future job market in a world integrated with technology.

This event was hosted by student trustee Donell Jones, who invited a panel of computer science experts and education advocates Kimberly Davis, Uduak-Joe Ntuk, and Gene Carbonaro to help drive the discussion.

Technology in the workplace is often accompanied by an inert fear of being replaced by robots  in which Ntuk termed as “automatization anxiety.”

He went on to explain that although technology has never impacted the overall number of employment opportunities at once, it has had a profound influence in our society and economy.

Automatization often results in the widening of the gap between the wealthy and poor, which is only intensified by the continued development of technology.

But the fact of the matter as it was presented by Ntuk, is that many future jobs are going to subsist on these developing technologies

“Technology is developing faster that we’ve ever seen in human history,” said Ntuk.

Most of the change in the job market is seen in the independent workforce, where people are contracted or subcontracted to work without the offer of healthcare or other benefits.

Which is why it is crucial that students be aware of their personal skills and abilities as it is what sets you aside from other potential employees, and at LBCC students have a variety of industry certifications to help students understand the fundamentals of computer science and classes on topics like web development, cyber security, and server administration.

LBCC student Brae-Lynn Harris asked the panel if focusing on creative writing would be detrimental to a person despite having industry certifications, to which Davis replied with a resounding no and went on to explain that a wide variety if skills can be transferred to the digital space.

Many companies want employees capable of doing 2-3 other jobs and these skills can be derived from hobbies such as creative writing or drawing, which can be reflected online in the form of content writing or graphic design.

Carbonaro emphasized that the personal skills that students develop are what will give them an edge in the future job market.

“Brag about yourself, you’re in there fighting for a job,”said Carbonaro.

The future of work relies heavily on computers, a person’s adaptability to their industry, and the development of personal skills as that is what gives a person their value, and you can’t fake skill.

Students attend Plight of the Immigrant lecture as part of a three part series

steven matthews
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Students attend Plight of the Immigrant lecture as part of a three part series

“Will we become a nation of immigrants, or a closed society,” was one of the many thought provoking ideas brought up by Mexican and Latin American expert Gregorio Luke during the “Plight of the Immigrant” lecture at LBCC on March 14.

The lecture was held in the T-building from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and was open to the public for free.

Luke stayed longer than he was supposed to, taking questions from anyone with concerns or comments.

Many of the questions asked were about today’s immigration problems and concerns about the government.

The “Plight of the Immigrants” lecture was the third installment to a three part series of lectures in the “Lecturer in Residence Series.” The series also included a lecture on Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz and another on Dia de los Muertos.

Gregorio Luke, former director of the Museum of Latin American Art, Consul of Cultural Affairs of Mexico in Los Angeles, and first secretary of the embassy of Mexico in Washington D.C. has also given over 1,000 lectures making the turnout to this event great with over 30 people showing up.

The lecture focused on immigration throughout the history of the United States and Luke really recognized how important it was to allow new immigrants into the country as they help in various ways, including helping the economy and adding to the culture.

Luke spoke on the issues that people against immigration bring up.

“Immigrants actually create jobs.” Luke said.

The lecture included slides describing the different ways immigrants have been portrayed throughout the years and how it went from people thinking immigration was positive to now thinking negatively about immigration.

According to Luke, this lecture on immigration was was one of the more controversial ones and more difficult ones to schedule, because of the topics he was covering.

Department chair of Foreign Languages and Spanish professor, Dr. Cynthia Quintero, organized the lecture and according to her “This lecturer in residence series was made possible through the LBCC foundation grant. That and through the department.” Quintero said.

Quintero also brought up the point, “Luke said it perfectly when he stated ‘You can not be ignorant and be free.”

She also added, “Lectures such as this one can inspire one student to make a difference.” Quintero said.

She was also very proud with the student turnout to the lecture and even more with how participative they were in the questions segment of the lecture.

According to a guest of the event  “I am really happy I came to this lecture because it brought up so many important points and made me really think about being active in the community.” Fernanda Ledezma said.

To end the lecture, Luke put up the poem by Martin Niemoller “First they came…”, a poem written after the events in Germany leading up to World War II, in an effort to highlight similarities between what happened then, and what’s happening now to the immigrant population in the U.S.

LBCC honors old traditions with cage ball match on the soccer field

steven matthews
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LBCC honors old traditions with cage ball match on the soccer field

Cage ball has been at LBCC for almost half a century in order  to allow students to relieve stress in healthy ways and grow connections with other students.  

The last game that was played on March 7, at its annual event.

Cage ball has both a men’s and women’s division.

The game is not played for points, just for fun, and is open for all LBCC students.

It’s played in the afternoon, regardless of the season, because of the typically sunny California climate.  

For LBCC, the game usually takes place at the southwest soccer field on the side of the school where the tennis courts are located.

Cage ball gets its name from the fact that the field is usually surrounded by fences on all sides, though the field used at LBCC isn’t.

The ball, which resembles a large beach ball, stands almost  as tall as the players and is made of a canvas or nylon like material, and is light enough to allow for the ball to become airborne.

The goal for each team is to put the ball in the goal, similar to soccer, even though they use larger goals.

Student Arthur Zamorano, when asked about his performance that day, gave a very simple answer.

“We can do better next year,” Zamorano said with determination as his teammates looked on in agreement.

Jose Ramirez, another student, was asked about how important cageball is in his life.

“Yes, it’s a sport that I’m invested in,” Ramirez said, with a grin on his face.

One of the coaches who is largely responsible for the event taking place, Derek Orsee, doesn’t see the games stopping anytime soon.

“It’s a student tradition. It’s history,” Orsee said.

Video: LBCC comes back to defeat Santa Barbara in extra sets

abel reyes
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Video: LBCC comes back to defeat Santa Barbara in extra sets

Long Beach City College won their fifth game in a row against visitor Santa Barbara, 3-2 on March 20.

The Vikings are scheduled to play their next game at Santa Monica College on April 3 at 5 p.m. 

Video: LBCC student Joshuah Noah Snel showcases his musical talent

abel reyes
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Video: LBCC student Joshuah Noah Snel showcases his musical talent

Long Beach City College student Joshuah Noah Snel sits down in the Viking Newsroom to showcase his musical talents.

Snel has been performing since he was a kid, and is currently a dance major at LBCC.

Snel sings his original songs, “Butterfly Crush”, and “In the Dark”, from his newest album “Midnight Revelation.”

Review: The Crucible – Audience immersion added to the experience

steven matthews
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Review: The Crucible – Audience immersion added to the experience

The LBCC theatre arts department performed their emotional rendition of The Crucible this past weekend.

The Crucible tells the story of the salem witch trials that focused on a group of Puritan girls and the lives they affected by calling out supposed witches.

Although having to keep a keen listen to fast speaking actors, the story was well portrayed and interestingly played out.

Director Amanda Zarr definitely worked her magic on how the play presented itself, the acting style and stage direction was well thought out.

Since the theatre department is having renovations done to their building the play had to be done with a makeshift stage, or in this case, no stage at all, but a circular position of the chairs and the actors in the middle.

It was amazing to be able to be so close to the actors, the only drawback is that some of the facial expressions were missed if the actor was facing the opposite direction.

It was beneficial to have the actors so close to the audience, feeling as if the crowd was looking into personal aspects of their lives.

Abigail Williams played by Actress Zoe Linderman did a fantastic job, the way she expressed her emotions seemed very real and personal, on an almost crazy level.

As well as the emotion was there for all the actors, mostly so with John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth, played by David Villalobos and Zoe Rios.

In the last scene together you could sense the love each character had, some parts were even uncomfortable because of how personal it was, making it seem as if you were looking into a private moment.

Overall the play lasted from 7:30 to about 10 pm, with a 10 minute intermission, which was enough time to get everything important portrayed.

Despite the limited amount of space, the theater department shined through this play, with strong acting and having a creative stage presence.

LBCC men’s volleyball triumphs over Pierce College

abel reyes
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LBCC men’s volleyball triumphs over Pierce College

Long Beach City College men’s volleyball team swept the visiting Los Angeles Pierce College 3-0 on March 25 with the scores 25-14, 25-11, and 25-16 with the Vikings improving to a 11-3 overall record.

The game was the start of the second round of the South Coast Conference for the Vikings and was a huge game to win at home.

Head Coach Jonathan Charette broke down the plan for the Vikings coming out of the gates.

“We wanted to serve aggressively and do a good job at the net blocking. We knew if we served tough, they had the slower offense which allowed our blockers to set up better. That was our plan, serve tough and stop them at the net,” said Charette.

The whole team contributed to 11 team total blocks which was a huge factor in defeating Pierce.

Opposing hitter Uriel Batista led the team with five of those 11 blocks, which then led the whole team to keep the pressure.

“It came from practice, we keep the energy high all the time in practice. They had big hitters, so we needed to be in good position to block. The energy was not easy to keep at all times but with the huddles we needed to keep our communications up,” Batista said.

Defensive Specialist Edgar Sanchez came off the bench with three service aces, three digs, and three assists.

Sanchez was more of the facilitator as he would trust his guys more in the duration of the game.

“We been together for a couple years and we been playing with each other for quite some time. In practice, we would go hard and carry it out here with every play,” Sanchez said.

The score did not come close for Pierce, they struggled to find the weaknesses of Long Beach and could not come back.

Coach Charette had no worries about the performance the team.

“There were no adjustments needed. The guys did well with reading and reacting with Pierce and they just did a really good job. We stopped them at the net and that was our main goal,” Charette said.

The Vikings are scheduled to play their next game against El Camino at home on March 27  at 6 p.m.

Long Beach City College men’s volleyball team swept the visiting Los Angeles Pierce College 3-0 on March 25 with the scores 25-14, 25-11, and 25-16 with the Vikings improving to a 11-3 overall record.

The game was the start of the second round of the South Coast Conference for the Vikings and was a huge game to win at home.

Head Coach Jonathan Charette broke down the plan for the Vikings coming out of the gates.

“We wanted to serve aggressively and do a good job at the net blocking. We knew if we served tough, they had the slower offense which allowed our blockers to set up better. That was our plan, serve tough and stop them at the net,” said Charette.

The whole team contributed to 11 team total blocks which was a huge factor in defeating Pierce.

Opposing hitter Uriel Batista led the team with five of those 11 blocks, which then led the whole team to keep the pressure.

“It came from practice, we keep the energy high all the time in practice. They had big hitters, so we needed to be in good position to block. The energy was not easy to keep at all times but with the huddles we needed to keep our communications up,” Batista said.

Defensive Specialist Edgar Sanchez came off the bench with three service aces, three digs, and three assists.

Sanchez was more of the facilitator as he would trust his guys more in the duration of the game.

“We been together for a couple years and we been playing with each other for quite some time. In practice, we would go hard and carry it out here with every play,” Sanchez said.

The score did not come close for Pierce, they struggled to find the weaknesses of Long Beach and could not come back.

Coach Charette had no worries about the performance the team.

“There were no adjustments needed. The guys did well with reading and reacting with Pierce and they just did a really good job. We stopped them at the net and that was our main goal,” Charette said.

The Vikings are scheduled to play their next game at Santa Monica College on April 3  at 5 p.m.

This club at LBCC is all about sisterhood, social service, and scholastic achivement

dylan keith
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This club at LBCC is all about sisterhood, social service, and scholastic achivement

Since 2012, social service organization PNK has made connections between LBCC and the community through volunteering and giving back.

PNK is a sisterhood known for community service, scholastic achievement, and their eye-catching bright pink tent. The letters PNK represent the greek letters, Rho Nu Kappa.

Andrea Rodriguez, the club president said, “We like to focus on the three S’s: Sisterhood, Social Service, and Scholastic Achievement.”

PNK has won awards from LBCC three semesters in a row for being the most active club on campus, as well as best community service projects, and best cultural events.

Karrigan Mack, Provisional Mom and Intramural Representative says, “We get involved on campus and in the community because we believe that we should give back and do our part by volunteering,” said Mack

As Provisional Mom, Mack acts as chairwoman of the recruitment committee.

Her duties include organizing recruitment events and bringing in the next group of PNK members.

As the Intramural Representative, she serves as the chairwoman for the Mini Grand Prix committee, and organizes the teams and practices for the Mini Grand Prix, the three person cart race and obstacle course that LBCC hosts every spring semester.

Some events that PNK has taken part in include beach clean ups, feeding the homeless, and planting trees.

The organization also used club funds to purchase arts and crafts supplies and put together Valentine’s Day goodie bags with treats to deliver to the elderly and childrens hospitals.

The community service club primarily focuses on recruiting women, but men are more than welcome to join and help with community service as well.

Mack lists the benefits of joining PNK, and says, “The community service you will do each semester looks great on your transcripts and resumes.”

Not only does the volunteer work look good, but PNK gives students an opportunity to connect with other LBCC students who share the same interests and passions.

Kaitlyn Wood, a former PNK pledge said, “I met some pretty cool people in PNK, who I catch up with now and then,” said Wood

Also, while being active on campus and in the community, PNK also helps members stay on top of their grades and prepare for transfer.

Members are required to complete 40 educational hours, in which they should be studying.

The club officers also check the grades of the members and seek scholarship and university tour opportunities.

“With PNK, you will always have a secured support system,” said Rodriguez.

For those looking to join a social service club, or find a sense of togetherness and a group of unique individuals with a passion for helping others, PNK’s recruitment season is at the beginning of each semester.

Look for the bright pink tent at the next “Join a club day!”  

Meet the new director of LBCC’s revamp of “The Crucible”, Amanda Zarr

dylan keith
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Meet the new director of LBCC’s revamp of “The Crucible”, Amanda Zarr

After 40 years, The Crucible makes its way back to the LBCC Performing Arts Department, coupled with a sold out first night and directing debut for Amanda Zarr, the production touched on themes relevant in today’s social and political climate.

“The Crucible highlights the way in which we call out others that are different from us in order to profit from it. This is a really difficult show. We can’t give it less than 100 percent, but we have an amazing cast to tackle this tough story” said Zarr, while on speakerphone in her car in between play rehearsals and her teaching job at Chapman University.

Written in 1953, the play is set in the late fifteenth century during the Salem Witch Trials, which served as an allegorical story for exclusion running parallel to the ‘red scare’ of the 1950’s, when Americans were asked to name suspected communists in order to retain their own presumed innocence.

While directing, Zarr did not hesitate to draw inspiration from headlines and stories surrounding us today. “The political climate has become quite volatile which has caused a lot of these themes to come to the forefront in America much like in the fifties during communism when Miller was writing the play. It’s happening right now, the feelings towards immigrants, towards black people, people of color. There is a lot of exclusion, people deciding if you live or die. It’s very disturbing” said Zarr.

Playwright Arthur Miller wrote and produced the story before being blacklisted by the House Un-American Activity, who denied him his passport for entry into London when the play premiered overseas in 1954 after a lukewarm reception on Broadway earlier the year before.

“This show means a lot to me personally, I did it in undergrad and it was a very strong positive memory for me,” said Zarr, “There is a lot of problematic storytelling and themes that can’t be ignored. I did not ignore these things during my direction.”

The students working with Zarr on The Crucible participated in collaborative rehearsals where they left feeling like a team.

Amanda Zarr makes her directing debut at LBCC in March of 2019 with a production of The Crucible. Performances took place at the LBCC Studio Theatre, with the audience surrounding the circumference of a circle stage.(Sabriyya Ghanizada)

Donna Thiang, the assistant director, felt Zarr was so approachable that she simply walked up to her and asked her to be her assistant for the production.

“She’s very hands on which I love. When she’s doing the blocking, she is on stage with the actors, other directors would only tell you what to do,” said Thiang, “We would fine tune and give the actors other opportunities to try new things because she did not want them to get stuck in a box. She let them know to not be afraid and try new things, not worry about what she wants but find the right emotion and intention on their own.”

Zarr, a graduate with a BFA from Chapman, has been a professor for over 18 years throughout southern California.

Along with being part-time at LBCC since the fall of 2018, she directs and teaches at Chapman University, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and The California School of Arts San Gabriel Valley.

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