Co-ed flag football teams, the Splashers and Panthers, ended a three game series with a 1-1-1 record on the east soccer field of the LBCC Liberal Arts Campus on April 2 hosted by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
All games were offensive slug fests with the Splashers winning game one 31-28.
The Panthers would take the next game in a 35-28 battle.
The final game ended in a 35-35 tie as time for the game expired.
This is the fourth day of games hosted in order to increase student retention and engagement during the midterms and nearing end of the spring semester.
The hope is to promote a stronger sense of community among the men and women of LBCC and give everyone an equal opportunity to partake in a fun activity.
Malakai Alexander runs with style at the flag football game on April 2. The flag football game was played at LBCC in hopes of helping students get a sense of community. (Asa Liberty)
The sport allows people who are interested in football to try and participate in this game because it acts as an opportunity to get a grasp of the actual sport.
“I don’t really play football for real, cause I can’t, but it’s a free opportunity to see what you got. Test your skills, you never know,” participant Kevin Tate said.
Associated Student Body president, Priince Bass, had very positive feelings when asked about what he learned from the event.
“This sport teaches me that everybody is a winner. If you’re a leader, you should be able to find a winner in everybody,” Bass said.
Malakai Alexander, left, gets past Anthony Coleman for the long run on April 2 during the flag football game, which was played at LBCC. (Asa Liberty)
For some of the participants, these games give them the chance to engage with multiple people.
“For me, I get to cooperate with different members and different people play and then make everything happen, give other people a challenge and get to help other people work on themselves and get other people better,” player Anthony Coleman said.
This all-inclusive event held by Bass allows anyone interested in the game to show up and show out. This activity does not discriminate against age, gender or disabilities, as long as you let them know ahead, but instead works around those factors so that everyone can feel welcomed and connected overall.
“I also learned that it feels good to see other people happy, right? The feeling that people get when they win, that’s a contagious feeling and you kind of want that feeling for everybody,” Bass said.
Kevin Tate gets fancy at flag football game on April 2. The flag football game was played at LBCC in hopes of helping students get a sense of community. (Asa Liberty)
Camaraderie filled the air during the 21st induction ceremony for LBCC’s Hall of Champions on March 26, which recognized LBCC’s accomplished alumni of the school’s athletics program, such as posthumously recognizing the 2018 Super Bowl champ Bryan Braman.
“It’s a special night that highlights how great our school is, how great our community is and the history of the college,” Dean of Athletics Randy Totorp said.
Pavle Filipovic stands at the front of the stage listening to his accomplishments while playing water polo at LBCC. Filipovic was one of eight athletes inducted into this year’s Hall of Champions at The Grand in Long Beach on March 26. (Bella Schultz)
The night’s celebrations consisted of alumni throughout many decades in LBCC’s history, from the 1970s to the late 2000s.
When the inductees walked up to the stage, they were escorted by current or soon-to-be LBCC student-athletes who are excelling in their sport and in classes.
A selection committee consisting of the current Deans of Athletics, sports coordinators, past coaches, and present directors of all sports on campus had a part in selecting each inductee to be recognized.
Past athletes from many sports offered at LBCC, notably football and track and field, who had two inductees each, were recognized for accomplishing an outstanding achievement in sports at a collegiate level or higher.
One inductee was former Olympic athlete Dominique DeGrammont, who represented Haiti in the 2004 Summer Olympics in hurdling.
The committee for the Hall aims to recognize achievements from LBCC alums who have excelled in “developing valuable skills such as teamwork, self-discipline, problem-solving and leadership that can be useful in everyday life situations,” according to the official webpage for the Hall.
“I was all in, we worked really, really hard with the future in mind, we just grinded it out and focused on what we needed to focus on,” said inductee for men’s volleyball Naseri Tumanuvao on his motivation as a student athlete.
Tumanuvao is known for helping LBCC make it to the finals of the state championships back in the 2006-2007 season and becoming the state MVP.
Former Viking defensive end and later Philadelphia Eagles star linebacker Bryan Braman was recognized with a posthumous induction after his death in July 2025.
Braman was both a star in football and track and field, winning all team honors in football, winning state champion for the javelin throw in track and field and later in his professional career by helping the Eagles defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
Associate Dean of Athletics, Kaladon Stewart, said that while helping the Eagles win Braman, was,“staying at the top of the football world and representing Long Beach City College while doing it.”
Former Vikings football coach and 2016 inductee to the Hall, Mike Maloney, spoke in remembrance of Braman while Braman’s mother accepted the induction on his behalf.
Tina Braman-Fields, left, the mother of the late athlete Bryan Braman, hugs Kaladon Stewart, right, the associate dean of athletics at LBCC, while accepting the plaque for her son as he got inducted into LBCC’s Hall of Champions on March 26. Braman played football at LBCC and went on to play in the NFL with multiple teams, most notably the Philadelphia Eagles where he won a Super Bowl back in 2018. Braman was one of eight athletes inducted into the Hall of Champions on March 26 at The Grand in Long Beach. (Bella Schultz)
“Bryan was a fantastic athlete, he bounced around colleges and then came to us. He was what we would call freaky athletic…he had raw abilities that were just incredible. His drive to accomplish things was surpassed by none,” Maloney said.
Though the current Hall of Champions’ inductees were the main stars of the show that evening, talks about next year’s induction ceremony have already started, especially in sports that are underrepresented in the ceremony as of now.
“It’s a really high pedigree of resume to get in and not all sports have had the chance to spend time building up that kind of athlete, but what we’re gonna see in the future is that shifting. For example, men’s soccer doesn’t have much representation but we’ll likely see that shift because of what’s gone on in our program lately,” Totorp said.
Stewart added on, saying, “As the committee format has changed, we’ve been really intentional on looking at our history of who has been nominated…history isn’t recorded the same as it was then and we’re hoping some people still have memories of our amazing champions in the past.”
Demetrious Maxie, left, is one of eight inductees in the Hall of Champions this year. Maxie spoke with Kaladon Stewart, right, the associate dean of athletics at LBCC, about his time playing football at LBCC and what he learned here. (Bella Schultz)
The other athletes that were inducted were football player Demetrious Maxie, Angela Wells and Brooke Mabe, who did track and field, men’s water polo Pavle Filipovic and women’s basketball Gail Hale.
The night’s inductees each received plaques detailing their accomplishments and will be on display in the namesake Hall of Champions room in Building R at the LAC in the future.
A table with eight plaques for the new inductees in the LBCC Hall of Champions stands at the 21st induction ceremony on March 26. The inductees were football players Bryan Braman and Demetrious Maxie, track and field’s Dominique Degrammot, Angela Wells and Brooke Mabe, who also did cross country, men’s volleyball Naseri Tumanuvao, men’s water polo Pavle Filipovic and women’s basketball Gail Hale. (Bella Schultz)
The LBCC men’s volleyball team lost in a close five-set match against Santa Barbara, bringing an end to their four-game winning streak.
The Vikings came out strong, winning the first set 18–25. However, they lost momentum in the second and third sets, where they lost 25-55 and 25-20.
When asked about the deciding factor in the match, assistant coach Travis O’Gorman pointed out the drop in consistency as the game progressed.
“Our rallying and some of the serve and pass just weren’t as sharp. I think our team was a little bit out of it as the match went on,” O’Gorman said.
The Vikings have put together a strong season overall, holding a 14–8 record and going 8–4 in conference play.
O’Gorman also emphasized that the team’s focus in practice has been on maintaining a competitive mindset.
“We’ve been talking about going out there, being aggressive, playing hard, and staying confident in ourselves,” O’Gorman said.
Libero Sergio Garcia also talked about the things that went right for the Vikings early on in the match.
“Today we did a way better job at blocking and we figured them out in the first set, and tried to get better… You always go play by play, no matter what happens,” Garcia said.
Middle blocker Noah Pannek jumps to hit the ball against Santa Barbara on April 1. The Vikings lost 3-2 sets as they tried to rally from behind to create a comeback. (Asa Liberty)
Outside hitter Ezekiel Sablan said he capitalized on the opposing team’s smaller blockers, taking advantage of their difficulty handling his attacks.
“Have a lot of goals to close out this season and eventually and hopefully get a ring.” Sablan said.
The Vikings faced Santa Monica on Sophomore Night, honoring six of the second-year players. They closed out the celebration with a win where the Vikings won 23-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-20, 15-11.
The Vikings also played Fullerton and El Camino, winning both games 3-2 and 3-0, respectively. LBCC looks to play its next game on April 17 when the playoffs begin.
Despite the heat under the baking sun, on April 4, hundreds of people came to Long Beach for the Cambodian New Year celebration, which included the Cambodia Town Parade in the morning, starting at the intersection of Anaheim Street and Orange Avenue.
At the same time, the Culture Festival was held at LBCC’s Trades Technology and Community Learning campus.
Following the parade, around noon, the TTC campus was filled with attendees wearing Cambodian traditional attire and colorful oil-paper umbrellas. Long lines gathered around food vendors, while live performances went on.
Dancers perform the Apsara dance, a traditional Khmer dance, at the 18th annual Cambodia Town Culture Festival on Saturday at LBCC’s TTC Campus, held to celebrate the Cambodian New Year. (Tien Nguyen)
This year’s theme, “Peace Through Culture: Celebrating Unity Through Diversity,” invites other cultures of Long Beach to celebrate the festival with the Cambodian community, as there were performances from the Hmong Association of Long Beach and Grupo La Rosa, a Mexican folk dance group. Their performances went in between the Cambodian traditional dances.
From mid-afternoon to the end of the day, there was an open dancefloor for everyone to join the singers on stage.
Beyond cuisine, Cambodian vendors showcased their pride for their heritage through selling arts and crafts, including traditional clothing, custom-designed wear, jewelry and accessories.
Peter Lim, a vendor in attendance, owns the clothing company Kr8tive Culture Designs, which sells active sports clothes that represent different Southeast Asian countries in their designs.
He expressed being grateful that the event was able to unify generations.
“You see the unity and how our culture has grown. You know, a lot of us are like, maybe second generation, third generation. To be able to continue this tradition every year, it’s actually a blessing, because a lot of times the generation has changed. But being able to be out here, seeing everybody having a great time and enjoying life, it’s a beautiful thing,” Lim said.
Peter Lim, owner of clothing company Kr8tive Culture Designs, stands in his vendor booth at the 18th annual Cambodia Town Culture Festival on Saturday at LBCC’s TTC Campus. Kr8tive Culture Designs sells active sports clothes that represent different Southeast Asian countries in their designs. (Tien Nguyen)
Frederick Sor, case manager of the Cambodian Association of America, who has done outreach at the Culture Festival every year, acknowledged the shared characteristics of the Mainland Southeast Asian sphere in terms of language and culture, appreciating the diversity when seeing other cultures.
“It’s really important for us to recognize the similarities, but at the same time, recognize our differences. So that’s why it’s cool seeing people come so that we can appreciate both the similarities and the differences,” Sor said.
A ceremonial offering display is set up in a large tent near the MM Building at LBCC’s TTC Campus during the 18th annual Cambodia Town Culture Festival on Saturday. The event is held each year to celebrate the Cambodian New Year. (Tien Nguyen)
On the east side of parking lot 2, near the MM Building, a large tent was set up for a ceremonial offering display, where people gathered around to pray or just sat to avoid the heat.
A couple prays next to a ceremonial offering display in a large tent near the MM Building at LBCC’s TTC Campus during the 18th annual Cambodia Town Culture Festival on Saturday. The event is held each year to celebrate the Cambodian New Year. (Tien Nguyen)
Outside the tent was a long Buddhist ceremonial altar with Buddha statues, flowers and bowls of scented water for the Buddha bathing ceremony, where people would dip a flower into the bowl and gently sprinkle the water over a statue of Gautama Buddha.
In Cambodian tradition, this ritual symbolizes purification, washing away bad luck and welcoming blessings, peace and good fortune for the new year.
A monk (behind the monk on the right) performs a water blessing ceremony for a woman during the Cambodia Town Culture Festival on Saturday at LBCC’s TTC Campus. In this ceremony, the monk sprinkles the water onto the participants to signify giving them direct blessings. Like the Buddha bathing ceremony, the ritual is performed to wash away bad luck and welcome blessings. (Tien Nguyen)
Julie Leng, an attendee sitting in a nearby tent with three other Cambodian women, shared that to celebrate the New Year, she usually goes to a temple and also comes to this festival to enjoy celebrating together with other people.
Leng has lived in the United States for 45 years and feels that she has a better life here while still maintaining a connection with her relatives in Cambodia. She maintains her connection with them through calling them and sending them resources and money.
When it comes to preserving and promoting her culture to the younger generation, she said, “We want to show them, like, our costumes and our culture… Hopefully, they will continue our culture in the future,” said Leng.
In the quad between the MM and EE Buildings, many people brought their families and friends to picnic in the shade, play games and enjoy the festive day.
Away from the main area of the festival, people gather to picnic and play games in the quad between the MM and EE Buildings of LBCC’s TTC Campus during the 18th annual Cambodia Town Culture Festival on Saturday. The event is held each year to celebrate the Cambodian New Year. (Tien Nguyen)
Katherine Murrin, LBCC community outreach assistant, said that the festival had been held at TTC for at least two years, and this year was a bit larger than in the past years.
She acknowledged the large Cambodian population that resides near the TTC campus, and mentioned how she wants to have more Cambodian representation on the campus to reflect it.
“We just try to do general outreach, but definitely… because (the Cambodian community) is a major part of Long Beach, we want to stay involved. And I think that because they’re hosted on this campus, we really want to have some outreach efforts here,” said Murrin.
She added, “So, I hope to hire more Cambodian staff and faculty because I think that we need to have that represent what our student population is.”
Over the years, McLucas has collected nearly 20,000 items, many of which were once used during the eras of slavery, Jim Crow laws and the Civil Rights Movement. These artifacts are now part of the “Forgotten Images” exhibit, which aims to educate the public about these difficult chapters of American history.
McLucas’s interest in collecting began years ago at a flea market in Long Beach. While browsing, he came across a small, cast-iron bank that included offensive racial text on the back. The item sparked his curiosity and led him to discover a large amount of historical memorabilia connected to the African American experience.
Forgotten Images: African American Artifacts Exhibit” owner and curator, David McLucas, is seen waiting to start the tour for students previewing the exhibit on Tuesday, Mar. 10 at LBCC’s Liberal Arts Campus student union area. This is one of McLucas’ last remaining dates for his exhibit before he starts up again next year. (Keith Lewis)
“I load up my Ford Expedition and trailer full of stuff from White and Black people from all over the country, antique stores and, believe it or not, there are quite a few artifacts that were considered family heirlooms that were donated,” said McLucas.
Born and raised in Oxnard, California, McLucas also has roots in Kansas City, Kansas. His personal connection to history runs deep. His great-grandmother was once enslaved in New Orleans, and his mother is from the Creek Indian Nation.
The “Forgotten Images” exhibit has been featured at numerous locations over the past 12 years, including high schools, community colleges and cultural institutions throughout Long Beach and surrounding cities. It was also featured at the Museum of Latin American Art during the Afro LatinX Festival in 2022, presented by the Port of Long Beach.
During tours of the exhibit, McLucas shares detailed historical information about many of the artifacts. Some items include chains and shackles dating back to the mid-1800s, with some pieces dating as far back as 1857.
“My goal is to show the public the truth and allow them to actually hold and feel the trauma that our ancestors carried,” said McLucas.
“Forgotten Images: African American Artifacts Exhibit” David McLucas (left) Deonte Lawrence (right) is explaining to an LBCC student a portion of the exhibit on Tuesday, March 10. Lawrence is seen listening intently to the information being taught by McLucas (Keith Lewis)
Students who visited the exhibit described the experience as powerful and educational.
LBCC student Deonte Lawrence said he was intrigued by the artifacts and the stories behind them.
“It was a great exhibit. There were key stories that are part of our history and still deserve to be talked about,” Lawrence said.
Another LBCC student, Patricia Glover, was seen exploring the exhibit between classes, emotional while taking photos and videos of the artifacts.
“This is very emotional. It’s beyond important to see these things on display here,” Glover said.
Glover added that she often reflects on the sacrifices made by previous generations.
“I do this in my spare time with all of my 140 nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews. People do not realize how our ancestors died for us to be free,” she said.
LBCC student Patricia Glover previews the “Forgotten Images: African American Artifacts Exhibit” held at LBCC’s Liberal Arts Campus on Tuesday, Mar. 10. Glover outside of school takes time to address Black history 140 nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. (Keith Lewis)
The exhibit also includes items connected to racial stereotypes in American culture, such as Aunt Jemima memorabilia and displays about Black cowboys. One of the most striking artifacts is a slave plantation bell that was used to signal enslaved people on plantations.
“At sunrise, they rang the bell to let the slaves know it was time to work. At sunset, they rang it to let them know work was over. If it was a full moon, you continued to work through the night,” said McLucas.
Today, McLucas incorporates the bell into the exhibit in a symbolic way. At the end of each tour, visitors are invited to ring the bell and share a few words of gratitude for the struggles and sacrifices made by Black ancestors.
LBCC students and faculty previewing the “Forgotten Images: African American Artifacts Exhibit” on Tuesday, Mar. 10. The exhibit featured memorabilia and antique artifacts from the time of slavery, Jim Crow laws and the civil rights era. (Keith Lewis)
LBCC student and cybersecurity major Mayro Vasquez said the exhibit opened his eyes to parts of history he had not seen before.
“I just stepped in, but this stuff is eye-opening,” Vasquez said. “I’m a little mad at the recent cancel culture, though, because the history that’s on display is important and we should be able to see this stuff.”
Although McLucas’ seasonal exhibition will conclude in May, he believes its message is more important than ever.
“My friend in North Carolina also holds exhibits with similar artifacts and he’s having a hard time getting booked out there,” McLucas said. “I get that in California, we are a bit more liberal than North Carolina, but the idea is to preserve and educate. We can still do something.”The “Forgotten Images” exhibit was also featured at LBCC’s Trade, Technology and Community Learning Campus on Feb. 19.
Students’ music taste is varied and niche in this age of the internet yet despite that Long Beach City Colleges’ own radio station, KLBC, has managed to draw in viewers and grow from year to year.
Radio has a long and storied history in Long Beach with stations such as KNAC bringing us acts like Sublime as well as popularizing reggae on the west coast.
KLBC has followed in the footsteps of these giants and themselves play a variety of music and genres stretching from vintage 1980s such as Gloria Estefan or legendary group Sublime, as well as including modern day pop and R&B music with artists such as Sabrina Carpenter and Rod Wave.
This blueprint has been led by the students and Manny Pacheco, who has been leading the charge, building out the Radio program with him recently receiving an award for Innovation in Education and Teaching due to his work in developing the radio station.
“I want my music to be forward thinking when it’s old, when it’s new I like for it to be a little nostalgic or throwback sounding…” said Pacheco.
The idea behind this was to blend the different eras of music and form a more coherent sound with the intention of enhancing the listening experience.
Founder of the radio program at LBCC, Manny Pacheco (right) and Bob Hirsch (left) runs the tv and emerging media programs featuring the all new KLBC studio rooms at the new G building on Thursday, March 26. (Maximus Rago)
This strategy has benefited the station as they have grown their listening hours from 100 hours a month in March 2025 to over 500 hours a month in just a year’s time.
Building on strategies such as diverse music, the station also makes sure to play many local artists and even some of LBCC’s very own faculty and students’ music who bring it forward to the station.
“One of the professors, one of the adjuncts who actually admitted a song to me for consideration, in fact she gave me the whole album and I picked a song from there,” said Pacheco.
The relationship between the station and local artists benefits everyone as these artists get a chance to grow and listeners get to discover new talent who they can go see perform if they wanted to.
Among students however the KLBC radio station for the most part is unknown to the general student body, even those who would be interested in listening have never heard of the station before.
“I would listen now that I know it exists,” said Chris King, a student at LBCC.
The station is available by stream only on the service Live365, while it may make it harder for students to tune in, it provides the station with music licensing allowing the station to boast a track list of over 1,600 songs.
Despite students who are willing to listen upon hearing about the station, there is also another side to the issue of getting students on board with listening to radio which is finding a way to beat out the convenience of streaming.
When discussing with students several made the claim that they wouldn’t listen to the station even if it played music they were interested in.
“(There’s) nothing they could do honestly” said George Magdalany, a LBCC student after being asked what the station could do to get them to listen.
Despite students’ aversion to radio nearly everyone’s favorite genre or artists were played on the station at some point in the day as the type of music changes depending on the dj.
With a majority of Americans’ music listening hours being on radio over streaming, KLBC seems primed to continue its growth and expand into an even bigger station as it continues to build a Long Beach vibe that plays music that people are interested in.
Shown (left to right) KLBC radio personalities Lizzette “Everyone’s favorite chismosa” Ramirez, Brandon Magalong, Jerad “Vibez” Wadley, KLBC program founder Manny Pacheco and audio engineer Andrew Chui. The KLBC radio station crew reporting live at the Jenni Rivera ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, March 26. (Maximus Rago)
LBCC’s Basic Needs Program hosted a Sip and Thrift event on March 3, where students were given coffee and donuts while they shopped for clothing and jewelry at the quad outside of the B-building at the LAC.
The event allowed students to shop for donated clothing while also connecting with LBCC resources such as emergency rental relief, food support programs and career services that support their academic and professional success.
According to Stephanie Jimenez, the Sip and Thrift event coordinator from LBCC’s Basic Needs Program, the event was created to expand access to professional clothing for students.
“Initially, at the Career Center, we started a partnership with JCPenney for the suit up event, which offers discounted professional clothing for students. But, we started realizing that there were still financial barriers for students, so we wanted to find a way to bring professional attire, Jimenez said.
To make this possible, the Career Center partnered with the Basic Needs Program and its Viking Closet.
Sip and Thrift allows students to enjoy refreshments from Better Breakfast while browsing for clothing items. The Better Breakfast Program is a campus initiative that provides free hot meals and addresses hunger and housing insecurity among students.
The program is supported by the Healthy Viking Initiative and will provide increased access to food, appropriate housing agencies and information regarding transportation resources for LBCC students.
“I really love the idea of the Sip and Thrift because students are able to get food and then shop,”
Dorthy Cardenas, a Viking Vault staff member, said.
The event on March 3 was the very first time the Sip and Thrift event was hosted.
The organizer’s whole idea was to help students feel confident as they prepare for future opportunities.
“One of the main goals is to help with career readiness for our students, we want them to show up confidently in an interview, a job or whatever the case may be,” Jimenez said.
Students and staff gather around for the Sip and Thrift event hosted by the Basic Needs program held at the Liberal Arts Campus on March 3, 2026. Various staff, like career center coordinators Jorge Rios and counseling and guidance educator Elio Lopez, were present throughout the event as well. (Thavarath Ellis)
Most of the clothing available at the event was donated by the LBCC community.
“A lot of the clothing was provided by LBCC staff who donated items, we have clothes that still have tags on them,” Jimenez said.
She explained where more of the items used for the event came from.
“The mannequin was donated by JCPenney, and our dressing room was provided by our program specialist Joseph Pacheco, it really took a village to put this together,” Jimenez said.
Jorge Rios, a representative from the LBCC Career Center, said events like Sip and Thrift are designed to support students as they explore career paths.
“Sometimes students come in and say, ‘I’m not sure what I want to do in my life, I need more direction,’ and we help them meet with counselors and explore their options,” Rios said.
By partnering with Basic Needs, the Career Center hopes to make professional clothing more accessible for students.
“Professional clothing can be very expensive nowadays. This is a way for students to get access to professional attire for free,” Rios said.
Organizers hope that events like Sip and Thrift will help students feel more prepared for internships, interviews and future careers.
The 18th annual Cambodian Parade and Festival was in full swing at the Trade Technology and Community Learning campus on Saturday, where traditions and community came together for a day of celebration with food and dance; including the “Stop the Hate” dance routine led by Sithy Yi, a Cambodian- American who fled Cambodia at an early age and later settled in Long Beach.
“Stop the Hate” is a free self-defense workshop for older Cambodian adults and women offered by Pacific Asian Counseling Services and Cambodia Town, Inc. and hosted at the Long Beach Salvation Army.
Yi has been a long-time volunteer with Cambodia Town, Inc., and this is her third year leading the choreographed event in honor of her community’s resilience in the face of surviving a genocide.
Members of “Stop the Hate” Cambodian dance group performing for the third time at the 18th Annual Cambodian Festival at the Trade Technology and Community Learning campus on Saturday. (Kiona Jones)
Dancers performed traditional Cambodian moves with precise hand and foot movements while wearing white button-up blouses, ankle-length red skirts, and light brown flats. Their blue and white checkered sashes read “Stop the Hate” on one side and had the United States flag on the other.
But it wasn’t easy. Just two weeks ago, Yi was sitting in the Adelanto Detention Center in San Bernardino County after having been detained during what she thought was a routine check-in on January 8.
“I don’t do anything wrong. I’m not violent or anything. They just detained me. I went in to check up on my visa application. Next thing I know, I was in handcuffs,” said Yi.
Yi fled Cambodia with her family in 1981 and arrived in the United States with $10 to their name.
“I was so young and so scared. I ended up getting into bad trouble with my boyfriends, and I ended up getting arrested in 2011,” said Yi.
An unfortunate series of events that astonishingly ended with Yi finally getting the mental health services that she’d so desperately needed.
“They helped me understand that I was still carrying all that pain from what happened to me in Cambodia and how I was forced to leave my home,” said Yi.
Sithy Yi, volunteer with Cambodia Town, Inc, and leading member of “Stop the Hate”,a leading member of the group “Stop the Hate” performing for the third time at the 18th Annual Cambodian Festival at Trade Technology and Community Learning campus on Saturday. (Kiona Jones)
When Yi was detained by ICE, her sister, Sithea San (Chair of Cambodia Town, Inc.), was with her every step of the way, along with Yi’s lawyer, Kim Luu-Ng.
“I was so scared,” she continues. “It reminded me of being in Cambodia after I was taken by Khmer Rouge. If it wasn’t for my sister, I would’ve survived like I always do, but it would’ve been very hard,” said Yi.
San explains that Yi kept up her spirits by teaching traditional Cambodian dances to fellow detainees.
“We learned the hard way how to keep going in times like this. But she used dance to survive, and that’s why this event is so important. When you see people enjoy themselves and when you see little kids wearing traditional [Cambodian] clothes, that’s what it is. That’s what keeps us coming back every year, ” said San.
Long Beach local and attendee, Aaliyah Phok, recalls Yi’s experience and how often it touches home within the community.
Members of the “Stop the Hate” performing for the third year in a row at the 18th Annual Cambodian Festival held at the Trade Technology and Community Learning Campus on Saturday. (Kiona Jones)
“I knew a little about Sithy Yi’s story, but I didn’t know everything. At the same time, I’m not surprised. Everybody who’s Cambodian knows someone with a story like that,” said Phok.
Many people across America have endured similar traumatic experiences in recent months related to ICE.
Still, Yi’s ability to overcome adversity and continue to spread awareness within the Cambodian community in Long Beach sheds some light on how we can all learn from her resilience.
CORRECTION: An earlier graphic did not meet our publication standards
To support its students, LBCC launched a program in 2021 that provides access to showers for students experiencing homelessness.
This is a tremendous step in supporting their students and other community colleges nationwide should follow LBCC’s example.
To make this happen, citizens and community college students should raise their concerns to local governments and to the city council to demand more funding for programs at colleges that support homeless students and address difficulties that might get in the way of their learning.
LBCC’s shower program allows any enrolled student to come to the LAC Veteran Stadium locker rooms and take 15-minute showers daily.
Given that 58% of community college students experience housing insecurity, and 20% are homeless, according to a 2025 survey by the Community College League of California, this program addresses a very real need of the community.
Additionally, California passed a law in 2016 known as AB-1995, which requires that California community colleges open their shower facilities to homeless students. This law is rarely found in other states across the U.S..
Many California community colleges already have food pantries, as according to an article by AFMC, a nonprofit organization focused on health and wellness, nearly 800 colleges and universities in the U.S. have food pantries.
Given that many college students struggle to get food consistently, this is a very beneficial resource.
However, this food resource doesn’t help students with other difficulties related to being homeless such as not having a roof over their head, having access to showers and even receiving hostility from people.
Homeless people often don’t receive aid from the government due to limited access and a high demand for it. This can be seen in California by the rise in homelessness over the past few years, as recorded by Stanford’s Institute for Economic Policy Research. There were around 160,000 homeless people in California in 2020, but that number rose to around 180,000 in 2023.
Homeless people are often further discouraged by obstacles such as hostile architecture, including modified benches to prevent people from sleeping on them.
Having one’s basic needs met is a necessary prerequisite to one’s learning. It’s much harder to pursue a degree if you have to spend more time looking for places to shower or sleep than you have to study.
While most schools want to help their students, they only have so much time and resources available to allocate to these support systems. Therefore, if more citizens went to the local government who manages the school’s budget and advocated for more funding, we can make a change.
One way to do this is to voice your needs and the needs of others around you who you know are dealing with housing insecurity, either by sending written or electronic mail to your local government.
Additionally, students can advocate for themselves to legislative bodies such as city councils. The names and phone numbers of all city council members can be found here.
For students to succeed, they need to have access to the resources needed for stable home lives. Therefore, if we advocate for community colleges to have more funding, we could have more colleges across the nation follow LBCC’s shower program and provide more basic needs to students to support their education.
At LBCC, dorms are projected to be finished in Fall of 2028, but this housing opportunity is a rare one across the nation. If community colleges had more support, they could become places where students could thrive in, in all aspects of their life not just educationally.
The Vikings played against Compton City College Tuesday and won 9-8, making their overall record 11-18.
The Vikings started off strong against Compton in the first inning when Garret Rodriguez grounded out to first base which allowed catcher Enrique Lopez advanced to third and center fielder Myles Fendrick scored, making it 1-0.
By the end of the inning, the Vikings made the score 2-0 after Lopez was able to score off a single from right fielder Aaron Mingo.
The Vikings and Compton had the same score up until the fifth when third basemen Eshua Desai homered, making it 5-0.
“We had one inning where it was baseloaded and we didn’t get anything out of it so we definitely need to capitalize on those opportunities when they’re presented and definitely need to go play just better defense” said Vikings head coach Phillip Visco.
In the sixth and seventh inning, Compton started building momentum, scoring all of their team runs.
“Things got tough when we lost our lead atmosphere just for a little bit, hitting that homerun kind of like brought us back to life…we kind of put the pieces back together and got it done for the win” said pitcher Ben Howard.
In a battle where the chances seemed slightly doubtful, the Vikings managed to pick themselves back up in the eighth inning when Aaron Mingo singled, moving Rodriguez to second, and Lopez scored—making the score 8-6.
In that same inning, Eshua Desai hit another home run, scoring three to make it 9-8.
“Once our bullpen came in and started locking in, we just figured it out. I think the walks and stuff limit us. Once we figure out our pitches we’ll be fine,” said Mingo.
LBCC Viking Garret Rodriguez runs to home after Eshua Desai hits a home run. The game took place at LBCC on Tuesday, where the Vikings won 9-8 against Compton City College. (Thavarath Ellis)
While the Vikings were celebrating this home run, Desai was running to first base, where he injured his knee.
Mingo said that some of his teammates have that brotherly bond that keeps the team as strong as it is, so seeing one of his teammates get injured was something disappointing to see.
While Desai got an injury, the Vikings were still able to move forward and play not only for themselves, but for the teammate who helped build their score that eventually led to their win against Compton.
The next game will be against Victor Valley, at Victor Valley, on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
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