Home Blog Page 230

Legendary track coach Ron Allice returns to LBCC

malik reeves
-
0
Legendary track coach Ron Allice returns to LBCC

An icon in the track and field community and a very athletic driven coach is what people would describe Ron Allice as today.

The Long Beach native attended Long Beach City College for two years and competed as a track and field athlete from 1958-1960.

He is well known for being the Director of Track and Field at USC, where he led the mens and womens program to 25 NCAA top 20 finishes, a 2001 NCAA women’s title and 32 individual NCAA titles.

“I’ve had a lot of winning success, the real reward is like teaching, to know that you had a chance to share their goals and pursuit of excellence in the sport,” said Allice.

The first major colleges he coached for were Cal Poly Pomona in which they won two California Collegiate Athletic Association titles, Long Beach State where the team earned the Pacific Coast Athletic Association title (PCAA) and placed in the nations top 15 dual meets, and then Long Beach City College, in which the team brought home 16 conferences, 14 southern California and 11 state championship titles.

Darnelle Harris whos been in the men’s track team for three years now said, “He’s a hard worker cause he has to get you to do what you want to do, its like hes training with you.”

Director of Cross Country and Track and Field and also head coach Gabriel Rivera said, “Ron is very athlete driven, he really takes into account the factors that the athletes are working through, in regards of academics, athletics, and what’s going on in their home lives.”

“He really puts on a personal touch in regards to what the athletes are doing in regards of training, he’s extremely athlete centered and focused.”

Allice started as the track and field/cross country coach in the women’s amateur athletic union program known as the Long Beach Comets.

He then went on to coach at schools such as Compton High School, Wilson High School, and Long Beach Polytechnic High School.

Not only has he experienced coaching with high schools and major colleges in California, but  working with Olympians and record holders as well.

“I found that maybe some of the greatest gratification I can have out of athletes is I can talk to you about people who were not even scholarship athletes and I can tell you about people who are multiple gold medalist and I’ve had a chance to be involved with both and that is a blessing,” said Allice.  

After deciding to retire from his 55 year career, Allice is now at Long Beach City College where he volunteers as an assistant coach for the track and field team, his way of giving back.

A club at LBCC is trying to help the formerly incarcerated

dylan keith
-
0
A club at LBCC is trying to help the formerly incarcerated

The LBCC Justice Scholars club is aimed in supporting formerly incarcerated students and gives  the opportunity to embrace their past instead of feeling like they have to hide it.

Colleges and universities like Compton College and Cal State Long Beach have programs like these to help formerly incarcerated students on their campus.

With the help of Professor Annahita Mahdavi, the club’s advisor and sponsor, the club began to form in 2016 and was officially proposed to the administration in 2017.

“My proposal was to bring to the administration attention that this movement is happening in all colleges around the country because there are students who are formerly incarcerated and they are a special population,” Mahdavi said.

Formerly incarcerated students have benefited from the opportunities the club offers such as job fairs, scholarships, and trips to universities.

Club Senate member, Denise Walker, feels welcome when amongst fellow club members.

“I can come here and be amongst people that you know we all have something in common. It lets me know that we are here to advocate for people who are like me and stand up for people who are like me because I too didn’t speak too much about my past. I didn’t feel comfortable letting people know about my history,” Walker said.

“They do need special attention, their special needs is so many things. If someone has been inside the jails for a long time, they need to learn how to navigate the college system, how to navigate the financial aid, how to navigate the resources.”

Drawing of the Justice Scholar club logo featured at the club meeting.

Before joining the club, club president and formerly incarcerated student Anthony Yracheta, felt as if he had to hide his past.  

“In general, it makes me feel more welcome, it makes me feel more valid. Before it was kinda something I felt like I had to hide. That’s kinda like the thing you get like oh you are a bad person because you went to jail so you kinda wanna always hide that but this club brings it out and helps you own it,” Yracheta said

The club is currently doing a sock and blanket drive, donations will go to The Midnight Mission in Downtown Los Angeles, the drive will run until March 31.

The club currently meets at PCC in QQ105, the club is hoping to have a center, similar to the  Veteran Student Services office, where they can store all their resources in one area, such as designated counselors for academic and financial aid services as well as workshops to advise  students on legal aspects such as expungements.

Congressman Lowenthal supports homeless bill for students

cassandra reichelt
-
0

U.S Congressman Alan Lowenthal, who represents Long Beach in California’s 47th District, spoke at the Bluff Park Neighborhood Association Town Hall meeting in Long Beach on March 18.

The Congressman discussed a variety of issues during the meeting including climate change, construction in Long Beach, and State Assembly Bill AB-302, which would allow homeless community college students to sleep on campuses in their cars.

If passed, this bill will be implemented at LBCC, possibly opening up the Veteran Memorial Stadium parking lot for overnight use.

Lowenthal only has the opportunity to vote on federal legislation presented on Congress floor, he cannot vote on a State Assembly bill.

“We need to have housing. We need to have people in housing. I think there is a huge homeless crisis. As a interim solution, if it’s safer then sleeping on the streets then I support it. I think it’s the right thing to do and I would only do it because of safety issues and because of security but I don’t believe that we should just say that’s the solution.. If we have the space on campus and we can monitor it just to be sure that these cars are safe. I say why not,” Lowenthal said.

If given the opportunity to vote on the bill, Lowenthal would support it.

Long Beach resident Chris Byrne attended the event to support the neighborhood association.

“I never heard Alan Lowenthal talk although I met him a few times I never really been to a talk of his. I am in a different party so I wouldn’t say I support him,” Byrne said.

Familiar with the homelessness issue in California, Byrne does his part to help out by volunteering at a homeless shelter in Orange County and donating old items at the Long Beach Rescue Mission.  

“When I initially hear about it (AB-302) I don’t have a problem with it. I would have to know more about it but I guess I really don’t have a problem with it,” Byrne said.

Former LBCC student Jerry Hardison, was not keen on the idea of using school property to house homeless students overnight.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Is there an option B? I would hope there would be an option B,” Hardison said.

Hardison’s alternative plan to the bill would be to use a larger space off campus to keep the homeless students sheltered overnight.

No official vote has been passed in regards to the bill.

The racial disparity between faculty and students at LBCC

abel reyes
-
0
The racial disparity between faculty and students at LBCC

Long Beach City College faculty does not reflect the racial demographics of its students; faculty is more than 60% white and student body is 80% people of color.

There are several contributing factors to the racial gap, including existing full time faculty are predominantly white and many of them are tenured, so their positions cannot be filled until they retire.

According to the article “How Faculty Create Learning Environments for Diversity and Inclusion”, the faculty-student relationship is key to student success.

The article goes on to state that belongingness is a contributing factor to student success and students are more likely to earn their degree when they feel connected to the school.

The racial gap between students and faculty is a historic issue that persists today; some students, faculty, and administration share similar views on this subject.

A computer science major, David Harang thinks students can be more successful in classes where the teacher looks like them.

“When you see someone of your same color doing it, it makes you think you can do better,” Harang said.

Biology student, Realitea James believes connecting to instructors is important.

“If students connected more to the professors maybe our success rates would be higher,” James said.

Nursing student, Paola Sagastizado has a dissimilar opinion of judging professors on first sight.

“I don’t think much of it. When they start talking, that’s when you can judge them as a professor,” Sagastizado said.

Dean of Language Arts and communications, Lee Douglas believes there are benefits to having a more diverse faculty.

“We’re not talking about diminishing the faculty that is doing great work now. We’re talking about the potential benefits, added benefits, of having a diverse faculty,” Douglas said.

Cynthia Quintero a professor of Foreign Language feels that any issue that has to deal with equity is important.

“I think as an educational institution we need to be at the forefront of calling out these things that we think are not right,” Quintero said.

Annahita Mahdavi makes a larger point when talking about the racial gap at LBCC.

“This is not just in Long Beach City College, this is in academia across nation.”

The inequity is also felt on an individual level by faculty like professor of history and political science, Donald Douglas.

“Sometimes I feel a little bit I guess unrepresented or a little bit isolated as a minority faculty member that unless you really work hard to work with or to belong to other groups of minority faculty you might feel isolated … as a faculty member myself sometimes I don’t feel like the college is doing as much as they can. It could be better,” Douglas said.

Leadership in the administrative and human resources offices are taking steps in the direction of diversifying new faculty hires.

Also, LBCC has historically started the application and hiring process later than other institutions of higher education, and just recently began implementing the process earlier.

“LBCC was late to the game in terms of faculty hiring. We would hire after a couple of other colleges would pick up their faculty hires. We used to advertise more in  February or March for the fall hires. Now we’re advertising in December and January,” Romali said.

Another issue with increasing diversity hires for faculty is lack of outreach, in 2016 LBCC established the Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee for the college and adopted a new plan.

According to the Long Beach Community College District Equal Employment Opportunity Plan 2016 – 2019, adopted by the Board of Trustees on May 24, 2016, when recruiting qualified applicants the hiring and application process is required to be statewide and employ the California Community College Equal Employment Opportunity Registry.

“We’ve gone to quite a number of more job fairs, reaching out to more diverse organizations, and also we are going to locally based organizations that represent people of different cultures to try and reach as many applicants as possible. The more I can get the word out the more diverse pool of applicants we’ll have,” Romali said.

This is an issue that cannot be fixed right away, it is a continuous process that requires ongoing attention.

Opinion: Virtual map a good start for new students

fernando pacheco
-
0
Opinion: Virtual map a good start for new students

The new, colorful and interactive 3-D map on the LBCC website is a terrific idea.

Having something reliable to tell you what each building has inside is a blessing for those who are new to the campus.

With a total student population of over 24,000 and growing, it is easy to predict that this program will be the first of many to help students ease into college a bit quicker.

Not very many students know yet about the program rolled out this semester, but after people see how good it actually is, they’re going to flock to a computer to tell them where each building is.

What can be said about this new program is that even in its beta testing phase, it’s a far more useful tool than any of the other 2-dimensional maps the school has had on it’s website before.

This is definitely a sign of the times and how technology is being used for a collective good in the community.  

To the credit of the school, many students are aware of the map accompanied with the new app which is tailored for a more updated mobile outlook on the LBCC website.

The 3-D map configuration also tells students what services are in each of the buildings.

This feature is helpful for students, who like many don’t understand why some subjects are scattered around in random buildings.

That will help wildly with people who tend to be late on the first day of each semester due to not knowing where anything is.

The team who came up with this idea is on the right track to improving students’ lives on campus.

One action that can be taken on the schools behalf though, is to promote the new map a bit better to new students during the orientation phase.

It won’t do the students any good if they are not aware of this terrific new program.

Outside of that, I can definitely see it being a heavily used tool by new, and returning students.

Opinion: Expensive textbooks shouldn’t be required

fernando pacheco
-
0
Opinion: Expensive textbooks shouldn’t be required

Textbooks, we all need them, but there are those few books that we may not need or that may not be beneficial in the future and therefore shouldn’t be a requirement for a class.

That class that you’re probably taking has zero importance to you and yet it’s still a requirement for you to spend up to $100 or more on a book that you may only need for just a couple of months.

According to the National Association of College Stores, the average student spends up to $655 or more each year on textbooks alone, depending on the amount of classes they are taking.

For some students, buying new textbooks every semester can become a burden because not only do they have to worry about paying for books, but paying for their classes and other school expenses if they aren’t receiving any financial aid help.  

Not only can this be a financial burden, but some students are risking the chance of getting a lower grade by not purchasing the textbook itself.

So why must college textbooks be so expensive?

One reason, according to Business Insider, is that almost 80 percent of the textbook industry is dominated by five major publishers and they’re doing everything in their power to make sure students buy their books.

Couple that with the fact that the average cost of college textbooks has risen four times faster than the rate of inflation over the past ten years according to CBS News.

Courses such as general education classes that you take your first few years of college usually require textbooks that tend to be more pricier.

For example, some math courses at LBCC, like some statistics or algebra courses, requires that you spend up to $130 on an access code in order for you to do your homework.

Often times those access codes are rendered invalid after the end of the semester, which takes away a student’s ability to access that information if they ever need it again.

Instead, professors should only require a textbook for the class if it is completely necessary and will assure that it will be used throughout the course of the semester.

Of course, there are many other alternatives other than just purchasing the expensive book itself, such as finding a PDF of the book, renting the book, or buying a used one at the Viking Bookstore on campus, which can be way cheaper than the actual cost of the book itself.

But still, not all textbooks are easy to find in PDF format or for a low cost and not all textbooks are available for rental purposes because the book required for the class may have to be the newest edition.

When it comes down to it, professors should choose wisely what books should be required for the class and be sure it’s even necessary for the course.

Opinion: LBCC should improve promoting important events

fernando pacheco
-
0
Opinion: LBCC should improve promoting important events

This February, a resourceful workshop called ‘Are You Ready to Quit Smoking’ took place at Long Beach City College and went unattended, LBCC needs to better promote its important campus events.

Apart from some vague posting on the LBCC events calendar containing the date and time of the workshop, there was no other promotion for this event.

Although some students like Matthew Turck, a longtime smoker, rejects the thought of quitting, this workshop is open to anybody at LBCC and could potentially help someone struggling to take the steps to quit on their own, but it won’t be possible without the proper promotion.

Personalized “Smoke-Free Viking” items like wristbands and hand sanitizers were set to be given out yet were not even used since no one attended.

A lot of effort are being put into workshops like this but students seeking help are not going to benefit from this event if it doesn’t even see the light of day.

This program is very beneficial towards students because there are multiple resources being offered for free but it isn’t being completely appreciated because of the lack of promotion.

A way that LBCC can help this workshop gain exposure would be to promote more on social media due to how much of our news travels digitally and the better chance of it reaching a wider audience.

Since placement of promotion matters greatly, the school can also strategically post fliers around campuses.

A good place to put fliers would be near the restrooms or by the smoking areas since those areas are always occupied.   

Other good places for fliers would be around the entrances of buildings that see a high traffic flow of students, such as the entrances to the cafeteria, the library, and Building A, which houses almost all of the student services.

According to Student Activities Advisor at the Office of Student Life, Jamie Kammerman, the best way to promote events is to get in contact with the communications department for assistance so they can do things such as promote your event on the digital board on Carson Street.

By doing this, workshops like ‘Are You Ready To Quit Smoking’ would gain the exposure it deserves.

LBCC board of trustees weigh options on reducing bus fares for students

steven matthews
-
0
LBCC board of trustees weigh options on reducing bus fares for students

LBCC recently made a proposal to Long Beach Transit to give students discounts of 75 cents per-ride, but not free monthly bus passes.

The lack of a free monthly bus passes at LBCC can possibly take away benefits, not only for the students, but for the college itself.

AB-17 is a bill that introduces free or reduced fares for bus passes, the free pass can help buses be filled, improve student health because it will reduce air pollution, and it can reduce the overall cost associated with school for students.  

Fresno City College started to offer free semester long bus passes to its students in fall of 2017.

According to the Associated Student Government president at Fresno City College, Marisol Valdivia, the college started to take initiative in 2016 after complaints came in about the lack of a free bus pass.

Other colleges such as Claremont College have recently adopted granting students free monthly bus passes, and in turn have seen the most positive results in enrollment.

In 2015, a proposal was made to have free monthly bus passes at LBCC, but the proposal was abolished because it would’ve raised tuition fees.

At the most recent board of trustees meeting in Feb, the topic was brought up again by LBCC student Rene Woodson, who was advocating the importance of bus passes.

A discussion on whether to raise tuition prices for free bus passes is currently being debated by the board of trustees.

LBCC could possibly look at their other options such as introducing the U-Pass program, a reduced-fare transit pass that offers students unlimited rides on Metro’s Rail and bus lines.

Cal State Long Beach is currently part of this program, and for their students to be a part of the program, a one time fee has to be paid for the entire semester.

According to a survey done by UCLA, it saw a percentage jump in enrollment and ridership when programs such as the U-Pass program was implemented.  

According to LBCC ASB President Jan Paolo Canteras, the college is currently looking at the Rio Hondo College model, another college part of the U-Pass program.

According to AB-17, colleges that offer free bus passes or are part of the U-Pass program have reduced traffic and parking problems that most colleges have.

LBCC is currently planning to build a new parking structure for PCC in the near future, but with the U-Pass program, LBCC can potentially put that money to better use.

According to a Viking News survey of 20 students at LBCC, 13 would rather take the bus to school in order to avoid parking problems.

Californians say goodbye to a memorable winter

steven matthews
-
0
Californians say goodbye to a memorable winter

Spring is almost here and LBCC students are saying goodbye to all things winter by sharing their best memories from the season.

In southern California, especially at the beach, residents do not experience regular snowfall, but they travel near and far to experience it firsthand.

From trips to Mammoth, Lake Tahoe, Big Bear, Alta Sierra and other nearby places, there was a splendor of snowfall to see this season.

Some students traveled out of state and experienced snow, like LBCC student Patrick Duong, who spent his winter break in his hometown Holland, Michigan. “Right before I left it got really snowy,” he said, “I spent time with family and shoveled the driveway.”

Snow calls for a lot of fun activities like snowboarding, skiing, snowball fights, snowman building, and the overall experience of fresh, cold winter.

Student Emily Mendez, who traveled to Big Bear in January, took part in fun activities with her family.

“I was with my younger cousins so I got the opportunity to build a snowman and throw some snowballs,” Mendez said.

This winter is noted as one of the heaviest snow seasons California has experienced in years.

According to CNN, various areas in California experienced record-breaking amounts of snow, including some absurd presences in the Santa Monica mountains near Malibu and in Pasadena, Los Angeles. Northern California had not experienced such a magnitude of snow in more than 30 years, in places like Mammoth and Lake Tahoe.

Although there are a lot of traits about winter that people may find exciting, some students have voiced their enthusiasm for springtime, which is just around the corner.

Student Kevin Marshall enjoys winter, but is particularly excited for spring and explained to Viking News, “It’s so happy, seeing all the flowers bloom… The trees are getting their leaves back. I just feel like the world is returning to its natural state,” he said.

Spring officially began with the equinox on Wed. March 20.

Vikings softball loses big at home against Chaffey College

malik reeves
-
0
Vikings softball loses big at home against Chaffey College

Freshman outfielder Briana Aguilar had the only run on Tuesday, as the Long Beach City College softball team lost 9-1 against visitor Chaffey College.

Freshman pitcher Noelany Benitez was having trouble the entirety of the game, and so freshman pitcher Britney Runyon was substituted in.

The Panthers were the first to score in the top of the 1st inning, as sophomore Alyssa Diaz homered it to left field.

Benitez pitched six hits, six base on balls, and two home runs, Runyon pitched two hits, two base on balls, and no home runs.

“I really had to adjust for my team, I need to focus more, for we can start winning again,” Benitez said.

According to Assistant Coach Gunnar Seedborg, the team’s main focus for the next few games is the pitching.

The Vikings are currently in a three game losing streak, they previously lost against East Los Angeles and Cypress.

“Nothing worried us about Chaffey, we just have to fix our pitching to get back to the win column,” said Head Coach Megan Martinez.

Freshman outfielder Inessa Smith gets her first out during the game on Tuesday against visitor Chaffey College. Photo by Abel Reyes.

The Panthers were in control the whole game, the Panthers had three runs in the 2nd inning, and four runs in the fifth inning.

Sophomore pitcher Veronica Macias had only four hits, and one base on balls for the Panthers.

The Vikings reduce their overall record to 13-10, and 6-6 in the South Coast Conference.

LBCC was set to play Chaffey earlier in the season but was rescheduled for April 1st due to rain.

The Vikings are set to play Mt. San Antonio next, who gave the Vikings their first lost earlier in the season 10-1, the game will be away on March 21 at 3:00 p.m.

1...229230231...261Page 230 of 261