The Vikings baseball team had a rough start against Cerritos on Saturday, March 7th losing 7-4.
After a few bunts and hit-by-pitches in the second and third inning, Cerritos led a 4-0 lead over the Vikings.
Having the bases loaded so early in the game had the Vikings very pressured, starting pitcher Anthony Buenaseda commented on the main struggle.
“I think it was a bunch of mental errors, obviously like on the bunts and things like that. The most important thing I think we need to take away from today is communication. Like I said, for the bunts, we need to do a better job at communicating who has it, who’s got bags and stuff like that,” said Buenaseda.
By the top of the fourth, Cerritos had bases loaded, after another error from the Vikings, Cerritos scored making the score 5-0.
The Vikings used 6 pitchers throughout the game.
Cesar Cordero, pitcher, throws the next pitch against Cerritos. The Vikings lost 7-4 on March 7 at the LBCC baseball field. (Destiny Castillo)
At the bottom of the seventh, the Vikings were able to score a run due to an error made by Cerritos shortstop Tyler Peshkethat allowed catcher Enrique Lopez to score.
Over the course of the eighth and ninth inning, the Vikings were able to make it a closer game by scoring 3 more runs but Cerritos had already scored 7 runs.
Head coach Philip Visico talked about the underlying mentality of the team when things start to get rough and stressful.
“When we make errors on defense and things start not to go our way, we don’t just spiral, it goes into our bats and they become really bad and brutal. It just takes us out, literally mentally and physically,” Visico said.
“Proud of the bullpen for what they did but they gotta play like that at the beginning not towards the end,” Visico added.
The Vikings lost the series 2-1 with Cerritos, and their current record is 13-18.
Their next game is scheduled for Tuesday at 2 p.m. against Victor Valley.
Procrastination can be a bummer majority of the time, when you try to get certain tasks done, it’s hard because of a lack of motivation, discipline or having trouble finding the time to do it.
You always feel bad later, but fortunately, there are lots of ways, like improving time management or taking small steps to get over this hump.
Procrastination is a huge problem amongst people to the point that one’s physical and mental health are affected by it, hindering a person’s well-being.
According to Deconstructing Stigma, a global mental health awareness initiative, procrastination can create a chronic cycle of anxiety, stress and depression, along with low self-esteem that can limit a student’s personal growth.
Physically, the enduring stress can cause poor sleeping habits and recurring headaches.
All of these factors can heavily impact the way a person lives on a daily basis, making it impossible to function while having responsibilities such as school or a job.
Procrastination can go as far as ruining the relationships between friends, family and significant others, as it can lead to broken trust and strained relationships.
If you’ve ever promised to get something done for someone, even something as simple as taking out the trash, then didn’t deliver purely because of procrastination, that person isn’t likely to trust you again.
Many underlying causes can also be attributed to procrastination, such as the fear of failure, perfectionism and ADHD.
There, however, are ways to break this chronic cycle by taking small steps and getting into the habit of doing.
Many of us may have tried to do huge tasks that might’ve been discouraging to finish, so breaking them up into small steps is always important.
Poor time management is another factor that can easily lead people to procrastinate, such as when someone loses track of time relaxing or ignoring the work they’re supposed to do, that work never gets done at all. Additionally, when someone realizes how much time they’ve wasted, they may be discouraged from starting at all.
Therefore, it’s important to try to find ways to combat the problem by writing in a planner or setting reminders for yourself to get assignments or tasks done in a timely manner.
Struggling to fix one’s procrastination problem can be very overwhelming and anxiety-inducing, so ask for help in ways like therapy or coaching.
Procrastination isn’t an impossible issue to overcome, as it is an emotional management issue that can be addressed by taking small steps and making sure you are asking for help.
While the space rocket Artemis II launched a coast away in Florida on Wednesday afternoon, the project’s ambitions could be felt close to home at LBCC, inspiring students and a Lakewood resident whose father worked for NASA to create the first ever space shuttle that went into orbit.
Jay King, the Lakewood resident, explained his father’s role in the creation of the shuttle in detail.
“He was a metallurgist and he worked on the structure inside the shuttle orbiter itself to displace energy. So you didn’t have these three massive rocket boosters going through the orbiter… If you have something with that much thrust and you have a heavy object on top of it, the thing that has a thrust will tend to try to go through it, unless you can disperse the energy,” King said.
King added, “He said there was like 100,000 separate pieces of alloy metal that dispersed the energy of the rockets to keep it from going through.”
For King, Artemis II’s launch was a meaningful moment that reminded him of his father’s efforts in making this revolutionary space aircraft, which was “the world’s first reusable spacecraft” according to NASA. The shuttle normalized traveling to space, conducting 135 missions and sending 355 people into space in a 30 year period, before retiring in 2011.
What was so special about the design was its ability to launch like a rocket, maneuver in Earth orbit like a spacecraft, but land like an airplane, as NASA said in the same article.
A core memory for King was getting to watch the moment when the first space shuttle, Columbia, landed on a salt lake bed at an air force base in California in the early 1980s.
“It was good, just being there as a kid watching something land, of course, it looked just like an airplane, so it wasn’t all that crazy. But, just knowing that it had just been circling the Earth and came to ground in one piece, not in an ocean. So that was pretty special,” King said.
King is excited that the Artemis II launch will take humans further into space, as it is the first time in 54 years that humans will be traveling to the moon. For the recent Artemis II mission, the rocket will go around the moon, and there are future plans with the next Artemis missions to have humans land on the moon and eventually build a base.
One of the main goals of this series of Artemis missions is to get humans to develop the technologies to be able to live and travel further into space, so that we will be able to send humans to Mars one day.
The moment of the launch inspired Kathryn Handen-Llopi, a mechanical engineering student at LBCC, fortifying her passion for space.
“I mean, it’s awesome. I feel like any sort of rocket launch…it’s like a great moment for humanity, right? And just seeing what we’re able to do on an engineering and physics level, but also just on an inspirational level,” Kathryn Handen-Llopi said.
She voiced some criticism that was also felt by King and many others on social media.
“I wish the camera, you know, didn’t keep cutting to the crowd. I was a little bummed, I think for the first stage separation, it panned to the crowd and I’m like ‘no I wanna see the rocket’,” Handen-Llopi said.
While physics professor Ryan Carroll was also amazed by the launch, he was a bit apprehensive about the project because he believes that missions with humans tend to focus more on being a public relations move to inspire humanity and unite them, rather than focusing on scientific advancement.
“You ask a physicist, and they’ll always be like, man stuff is a lot of like PR projects… The original, a lot of that stuff was to get people excited and inspired, to be excited about space and excited about exploring space. But since it’s so much cheaper to send the uncrewed experiments, you often times just want to send those ones,” Carroll said.
He explained that uncrewed missions are cheaper since you don’t need to pay to sustain human life in space, and that another benefit is that you don’t put anyone’s life at risk.
“You never have the bad PR of someone dying out there, like that, you just have a robot that you never expect to come, not come back,” he said. “It’s a little bit bad, but not too bad, but then if it does land, then you get to use it for as many years as you need to,” Carroll said.
He believes that the money used for the rocket could have been allocated to build a new telescope in space, so that “entire universities across the world” could use it and benefit from it to conduct research.
However, Carroll is open to seeing the discoveries that will arise from the Artemis mission, and also pointed out a major benefit of human missions, which is that research can be conducted faster.
“If you have a crewed mission, they can do science much, much more efficient… In the time that it takes a robot to do a year worth of tasks, a human properly supported can do it in like two weeks or something like that. Because like, when you’re talking about a Mars robot, you gotta like send it a signal, such that it can’t get itself into trouble and then it does the signal and then it sends back. .. So you can’t be driving in like real time,” Carroll said.
Handen-Llopi hopes that the Artemis II mission will draw in more people to gain a passion for space like her. One of her dream jobs is to be a test engineer for NASA.
“You really don’t need to know how to do all the crazy math calculations to be a fan of space. I just… encourage anyone to look up some photos and be amazed,” Handen-Llopi said.
Last semester, Long Beach City College unveiled a new campus sign at the Liberal Arts Campus, displayed on the south end of Carson Street, and this semester, along PCH on the Trade, Technology, and Community Learning Campus.
A vibrant white and red sign reading ‘I (heart) LB’ is intended to symbolize school pride, said the school in a press release. Instead, for many students, it symbolizes the school’s clear disconnect from reality in its understanding of student priorities and in its strategic allocation of school funds.
Community colleges exist first and foremost to provide accessible and affordable education. Many students at institutions like LBCC juggle tuition costs, transportation expenses, and demanding work schedules, all while keeping up with their academics.
At roughly 20 feet wide and 10 feet tall, a custom light-up monument sign, made of aluminum and plastic, is not a small investment.
Jeff Connell, the Associate Vice President of Capital Planning, Facilities, and Operations, estimated that both signage at LAC and TTC cost $250,000 per sign, including landscapes, engineering, and installation. A total of $500,000 for both signs.
That amount of money could have addressed several maintenance issues students face daily, like upgrading classroom equipment or improving accessibility features around campus.
Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a campus landmark may not align with the core mission of supporting student success.
According to the press release posted on the college’s website, the sign is intended to symbolize LBCC’s commitment to ‘fostering a sense of belonging, strengthening community connection, and elevating student pride.’
While those goals are admirable, student pride should extend beyond a light-up monument placed along a busy street.
The idea itself is not unusual. Across the world, tourist destinations and institutions have installed large ground-level landmark signs as a marketing tool, helping promote to a broader audience.
Still, the debate comes down to priorities, especially buildings with aging facilities and ongoing maintenance needs; the gesture falls short.
In late February, heavy rain, high winds, and flooding exposed flaws in older campus buildings. In the P building, for example, water leaks damaged ceiling tiles and unintentionally damaged classroom projectors.
In other areas of campus, outdated elevators continue to malfunction or make excessive noise when operating, creating daily distractions for students trying to focus on their studies.
These are not minor inconveniences. They are everyday reminders of the infrastructure issues that still exist across campus.
When students see these kinds of problems go unsolved while money is spent on a glowing campus monument, it sends the message that appearances are being prioritized over practical improvements.
The timing also raises questions. With Long Beach preparing to play a major role as a host city for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympic Games, the signs’ bold and highly visible design almost feels like part of a broader branding effort. Just another backdrop for promotional photos rather than a meaningful investment in student life.
The 10-foot-tall sign is nothing short of a public relations photo opportunity for the school’s administration, raising more questions about whether campus leadership is truly focusing on what benefits students most.
LBCC has made some progress in improving campus facilities with the completion of the MM building and the G building, representing a significant investment in the modern learning environment.
In addition, construction on the new Student Union Center, expected to be completed in 2027, signals that the school is committed to expanding resources that support student success.
The school’s effort to improve campus life reverses itself when funds are allocated to be spent on trivial improvements.
School pride cannot be manufactured through a glowing sign alone. It comes from investing in the environment where students learn every day.
If the college truly wants to foster belonging and strengthen community connection, the most meaningful way to do so is by prioritizing the spaces students rely on, such as classrooms, libraries, technology departments, and safe, well-maintained buildings.
It should prioritize neglected maintenance and structural upgrades across existing buildings to ensure that classrooms, labs, and common spaces are safe and modern for student needs.
Long Beach City College has shown that it is capable of making important investments in student success through projects like the MM building, the G building, and the upcoming Student Union Center. Continuing that progress requires thoughtful spending decisions that place student needs ahead of decorative signage.
Until then, the glowing sign along Carson Street may represent pride to some, but to others, it stands as a reminder of priorities that could be better aligned with the needs of the campus community.
An artificial intelligence workshop was held for LBCC students at the TTC Campus’ Multidisciplinary Success Center, where students can learn how to use AI as a tool for their betterment instead of having AI do the work for them.
As AI evolves, the effect is prominent within schools, specifically colleges, where professors have to communicate their policies on AI and what role it plays in their classrooms.
Some of LBCC’s professors allow students to use generative AI as a tool, while others stop the use at the door.
E. Jann Harris, an adjunct professor at LBCC and CSULB, sees the rise in AI and its potential for the betterment of students, which is why the workshops were created.
“We can let students just go off and use it however they want to use it, or we can try to show them ways that they could use it to be more productive,” Harris said.
With growing concerns of plagiarism using AI tools, the workshops are designed and taught by professor Harris, where she shows students how to use it to their advantage.
One chatbot being used is called Copilot, a large language model generative AI software for text. Copilot is available for student use through their student portals, and is able to be customized to fit the needs of each student, such as their majors, interests and hobbies.
Even with the benefits of AI, there are still concerns about its negative effects, especially outside of classroom settings.
“I will say that there’s a lot (of) bad about it, and we talked about that last week there’s a lot of biases in it. There’s a lot of impact to humans, environmental, to our critical thinking.” Harris said.
Despite these concerns, Harris emphasized that AI can serve as a helpful resource if it’s used responsibly and ethically.
“It’s always better to go with a tutor, a human being if you can, but if you’re, you know, it’s 2 in the morning and you’re stuck, what are you gonna do?” Harris said.
For some students like Abraham Chira, AI serves as a helpful guide in their school life.
Workshop attendee follows instructor E. Jann Harris’ instructions on how to use AI at an AI Workshop that occurred at the TTC campus on March 18. (Leen Fragoso)
“I believe that you can use AI to do one of two things, when you’re heavily engaged with it, it will either accentuate your ability to progress, or if you don’t have that ability to progress to digress,” said Chira.
For others, AI may raise concerns not only regarding the authenticity of class work, but the impact it may have on their thinking.
For these reasons, Harris and two other members of the multidisciplinary success center, Isabel Prieto-Torres, a tutorial program coordinator, and Heidi Neu-Stephens, faculty instructional specialist, created the workshops.
“We talked about this as a collective when we started working on this project that we also feel some ethical responsibility to showing students how to use it in ways that can minimize the impact to their critical thinking,” Harris said.
AI has made its way into course syllabi, with some professors stating what is and isn’t allowed in the classroom.
Harris is among those who chose to do so with her syllabus stating all work done by students must be their own original work, even though they can use AI tools to critically and ethically enhance their writing process.
The workshops emphasize ethical use of AI, students like Chira offered their own perspective on how using AI tools can impact a students learning abilities.
At Long Beach City College the goal of these workshops is to teach students how to use AI responsibly, as AI’s presence in education continues to grow, students can learn how to apply it to their academic work without compromising academic integrity.
New students Aaron Jennings and Hope Brown are learning to navigate their academic and future career goals at LBCC while building a relationship that the two created at the Liberal Arts Campus.
Jennings is a novelist and Brown is envisioning a career as an elementary teacher, uplifting students with the same disability as hers, Ocular Albinism.
Ocular albinism is a rare genetic condition that primarily affects the eyes, causing reduced pigment (melanin) in the iris and retina, which can lead to vision problems like low visual or uncontrollable eye movements.
The two met in class last year, where they became friends and then later became partners.
“We met in professor Moreno’s class for English two and I was walking in and I was kinda tunnel vision trying to find my seat and I saw the back of her hair (and) was like ‘oh she has nice hair’,” Jennings said.
Brown picked up where Jennings left off, revealing the moments when she started noticing she liked him more than a friend.
“I would make jokes about things my other classmates would share. He would laugh, and his laugh would catch my attention. I was like ‘oh maybe we can be good friends or we’ll work together in the future’,” Brown said.
LBCC student, Aaron Jennings looks over LBCC student, Hope Brown’s shoulder as she reads. They are photographed in the LBCC library on March 19 symbolizing how they met in their English two class. (Asa Liberty)
“We had an instagram group chat with one of our friends, he made a whole other chat separate for just me and him and that was how I found out how he felt about me,” Brown said.
Jennings, a sophomore, explains what his plans are after he transfers from LBCC.
“I am trying to be a writer, I was inspired by C.S Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien and I am trying to write my own novels. I have four in the backlog that has been taking a lot of my sleep and my time. Besides that, get a regular job and be a writer on the side. But that would be my plan to publish some of my books and that would be the future I’m trying to build currently,” Jennings said.
Brown shared her aspirations for the future, she wants to be an elementary teacher.
“I’m currently an elementary school teacher major. I do plan on transferring out to a four-year, probably Cal State Long Beach as far as a teacher goes, that’s one of the top programs. Hopefully one day, God willing, I am able to open up my community center for kids, specifically kids with disabilities like myself,” Brown said.
In Brown’s case she says, “I wear glasses on the daily basis because I need them for reading and seeing close distances but with or without my glasses, I’m considered legally blind and a lot of that plays a role with my albinism as well.”
Even with her glasses, “There’s not much improvement but I’ve been able to be successful in my education but there are a lot of kids and students and adults who don’t succeed as well as I do because it is a struggle,” Brown said.
Brown expressed that in her center, she wants to create a space where people with disabilities can come together to sit and talk about the challenges they face, acknowledge it is hard and they don’t want to feel different but they are different simply because they have different characteristics in their lives that make things a little challenging.
“I feel like with the right community around you, you can believe in yourself, you can find your confidence and you can be successful in whatever you want to do. I just feel like everyday life doesn’t have the space for that because everything is constantly moving and going forward,” Brown said.
Jennings and Brown both feel they are supportive of one another’s dreams and goals.
“She has encouraged me through school, believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and helped me better connect with my teachers,” Jennings said.
LBCC students, Aaron Jennings, left, and Hope Brown, right, stare into one another’s eyes in the LBCC library on March 19. The couple met in their English Two class last year. (Asa Liberty)
Brown shared her perspective on how Jennings encourages her.
“What I love the most is that he takes out the time to consult God in prayer about the succession, or shall I say successfulness, of my dreams. It’s how I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has my best interest in his mind and in his heart,” Brown said.
The English professor who teaches the class where they met had words of praise for the couple.
“Hope and Aaron are exceptional former students and wonderful people. It was a privilege to be their literature instructor,” Kirsten Moreno said.
Looking ahead, Jennings and Brown hope to build a life together, balancing long-term plans for marriage with their own individual goals.
It took seven years of lobbying and legislative efforts in California to establish March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day, an official paid state holiday.
Now, two weeks after reports of sexual assault allegations against Chavez, one of the most prominent civil rights leaders of the 20th century, Gavin Newsom has officially renamed Cesar Chavez Day to “Farmworkers Day.”
Around the country and in our local community of Long Beach, city officials have already begun erasing his name from numerous schools, parks, streets, and community centers.
This comes after the New York Times investigation featuring at least three women who came forward and accused Chavez, co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW) founded in 1962, of grooming and sexually assaulting them. At least three survivors came forward, including Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia, and Debra Rojas.
Huerta is a renowned civil rights leader who was Chavez’s partner in the Farmworker Movement. She conducted strikes and boycotts with Mexican and Filipino farmworkers, among other minorities, that eventually led to better wages and working conditions for them.
The report outlined alleged abuse by Chavez, including assaults against Murguia and Rojas as children and Huerta as an adult. The abuse reportedly resulted in two pregnancies by Huerta, fathered by Chavez, dating back to the 1960s. These two kids were given away by Huerta to be raised by others.
Huerta indicated she kept the pregnancies secret to protect the movement and those who could benefit from it.
In the wake of the report, LBCC Superintendent-President Mike Munoz released an email statement on March 19 calling for the suspension of all upcoming events and programming associated with Cesar Chavez.
An “Organizing 101” workshop in his name was scheduled on March 24, which was intended to offer an introduction on how people can “build collective power in workplaces and communities” by creating campaigns and ultimately change. This workshop was canceled following the statement’s release.
In response to the report, the LBCC District Board of Trustees will be voting on a proposal to name or rename facilities or programs after Huerta or others associated with the labor organization, as said in the email statement.
While honoring figures like Huerta is important, replacing Chavez with other individuals raises a broader concern about whether recognition should move beyond a singular leader to better reflect the many people who shaped the movement.
When speaking to the Viking News, Mike Munoz said, “board policy and administrative procedures really outline the process for naming buildings and when we review that policy, built into most contracts agreements is a way to exit out of the naming should there be something that come to light that would create an embarrassment or an issue for the college or that would be direct conflict with our values… giving us the ability to address that should those things arise.”
The discussion around the renaming of buildings and streets also highlights the need for institutions to be diligent in their selection process and to ensure that the individuals honored are deserving of such recognition.
“Anyone who is considering naming a building after someone needs to find out their history and research the personal details that might come out in the future,” Board of Trustees member Vivan Malauulu said.
The public concern is not just about individual wrongdoing, but about how naming buildings after single figures can overshadow the broader Farmworker Movement and the millions of people whose collective efforts made it possible.
Ethnic studies professor at LBCC, Candace Dickerson, addresses concerns about simply replacing one individual with another.
“I think we have to be careful that we’re not just replacing one name with another because then we’re still centering a single person. The Farmworker Movement was never about just one individual; it was about thousands of workers, families, and organizers who sacrificed so much. When we shift recognition from one figure to another, we are still overlooking those collective contributions,” Dickerson said
She emphasized the importance of approaching this moment with nuance and critical reflection.
“I think that ethnic studies can hold both truths, that we can honor the struggle, especially here with labor rights, but then also take the allegations and survivors seriously. It’s not one or the other, it’s both,” Dickerson said.
She continued, “This allows us to move forward, because it is about the movement and not about one particular person… we forget about the workers themselves, the thousands of people whose sacrifices made the movement possible.”
As institutions continue to grasp how to respond, the conversation is shifting beyond the legacy of any one individual. Instead, it raises broader questions about how history is remembered, who is recognized, and whether true acknowledgment lies with a single figure or a collective behind them.
Die-hard fans who hang out in Jenni Rivera’s mom’s backyard, fans who inherited their love for Jenni from their mothers, and even a new fan who took three buses to get there, celebrated Jenni’s continuing impact on their lives during the grand opening of the Jenni Rivera Performing Arts Center at LBCC on Thursday.
“I’ve been a fan for almost three months already, but really she’s changed my life so much and I’ve been obsessed ever since. I started buying shirts. I already have her two new records. The first week of being a fan, I put a picture of her up on my wall. I just can’t get enough,” said a new fan named Isaiah Rojas, who took three buses from El Monte to be at the ceremony.
Fans, LBCC students and staff wait for the renaming and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Jenni Rivera Performing Arts Center to begin on Thursday. This event marked the building officially being named after the singer and the full opening of the building. (Keith Lewis)
Though Rojas’s mom has been a die-hard fan for the longest time, his love for Jenni catapulted when he came across her on his TikTok for you page. It was her story of resilience that spoke to him and led him to her music, which he instantly fell in love with.
“Hearing her story, her kid’s story, it really caught my heart,” Rojas said. “Just all the despair that she went through, the pain, the hurt, she kept going, she did not give up.”
As a Latino, Rojas also expressed how incredible it is that she was the first ever female Latin artist to sell out the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles in 2011, which is now known as Crypto.com Arena.
Listening to her songs has helped him connect to his roots.
“Actually, I don’t speak Spanish, but thanks to her and singing along to her lyrics, I’ve never spoken so much Spanish in my life. So she’s teaching me things as I go along,” Rojas said.
Another fan, Maria Sandoval, on the other hand, has been a fan of Jenni since 2005, and is part of a fan group that meets up twice a year in Jenni’s mom’s house to celebrate Jenni on both her birthday, July 2, and on the day she died, Dec. 9.
The group used to do their gatherings on the front lawn of Jenni’s mother’s home, but after COVID, her mom let them come into her house and host the hangouts in the backyard of the house.
The group celebrates with catering, karaoke, raffles and dancing, and they bring a cake on both dates to celebrate Jenni’s life and legacy, said Maria Lopez, the president of the Chuper Amigos fan club.
A portrait of Jenni Rivera sits on a piano in the home of her mother on March 19. (Paloma Maciel)
Sandoval’s love for Jenni happened unexpectedly. Originally, she was a fan of Jenni’s brother, Lupillo Rivera, back in 2005, when he attended the Pico Rivera Sports Arena, she was occupied with trying to chase him down.
“There we were after Lupillo and then when we saw a girl so pretty, I said ‘This girl is so pretty, she looks like she could be a model and all’…And then when she went up and sang I’m like ‘and she sings too, wow,’ and from there I fell in love with her,” Sandoval said in Spanish.
Sandoval said that before she started listening to Jenni, she would let people walk all over her, but being inspired by Jenni’s confidence and the way she is unapologetically her raw self, she like other women, learned to stand up for themselves .
Another fan in attendance, Ana Medina, is familiar with Jenni because Medina’s mom is a super fan and used to always play her growing up. Jenni’s music became a source of encouragement for her mother, and Jenni’s story of overcoming hardships is one that deeply resonates with Medina.
Fan of Jenni Rivera Ana Medina, grew up listening to Jenni as her mom was a super fan and used to play her. Medina is now also a fan of Jenni, and her admiration for the singer drove her to attend the opening ceremony for the Jenni Rivera Performing Arts Center at LBCC on Thursday. (Keith Lewis)
“So like I completely understand her in like a lot of her background. You know, struggling like when she said she was living in a garage with her kids, and I’ve been in situations like that with my mother too. And her music, it literally uplifted my moms spirit and so many other females. She was like a I don’t give a fuck vibe, but she’s a warrior,” Medina said.
Jenni was able to break into the male dominated banda industry and gain massive success, earning her household name, “La Diva de la Banda.” Her accomplishments inspire Medina to follow her dream of being a photographer and carve out her own path in this also male dominated field.
Medina added that Jenni directly paved the way for future women musicians in Mexican music.
“She opened the door for many other women, like her daughter (Chiquis) to be able to do what she was doing and it’s just very beautiful,” Medina said.
Chiquis Rivera, daughter of Jenni Rivera, a three-time Latin Grammy winner, sings a cover of her mother’s song “No Llega el Olvido” accompanied by the Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea, during an exclusive performance at the opening ceremony of the Jenni Rivera Performing Arts Center at LBCC on Thursday. Both Chiquis and her sister Jacqie Rivera came together to perform a tribute to honor their mother. (Paloma Maciel)
For Medina, Jenni Rivera’s name on the building means that Jenni is receiving recognition for her ability to empower women during extremely difficult moments in their lives, and when they are doubted in a misogynistic society.
Jenni’s best friend, Elena Jimenez, was in attendance and put into perspective how much Jenni loved her fans, and reminded us of how Jenni advocated for “everyday” people in her community. Which is what makes having her name in a college environment that serves a diversity of people so fitting to her character.
“Honestly, it means a lot to me because Jenni Rivera represented the people. Like Jenni Rivera was that fighter, the one that fought for the everyday people, the working people, the students,” Jimenez said.
Jenni cared for those in need by creating The Jenni Rivera Love Foundation in 2008, helping women and children escape domestic violence and abuse, and helping those in poverty.
Her big heart could also be seen in how she went out of her way to connect with her fans.
“You don’t know everything she would do. She would get a bunch of bracelets, she would buy them, and she would take her shoes off and she would throw them to all the fans and I used to make her jewelry too. So I’m like, ‘You better not throw one of your rings, ’cause that was like a hundred grand.’ So, we always used to joke about it,” Jimenez said.
“But, you know, she just loved her fans and one thing that people don’t really understand, she would take the time, because let’s say we’re driving somewhere, it’s a three hour drive, right. I would drive because she would be answering text by text on the messages on Twitter from her fans. She would read them and reply herself,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez added that Jenni “knew a lot of her fans by name” and would drive hours to visit her fans in the hospital.
Jenni was a strong, confident, boss woman who kept going when life was against her. What was so special about her was that she uplifted others through her experiences, while she became the best version of herself.
A fan of Jenni Rivera wears a fan merch shirt with Jenni on it and the words “Mariposa De Barrio,” which is the name of a song by Jenni and a phrase she’d use to describe her life. Jenni saw her transformation in life of making it through toxic relationships and then blossoming into her singing career, similar to how caterpillars turn into a beautiful butterfly. (Keith Lewis)
Her story is one that resonates so deeply with others, and as seen, it has the power to attract new fans more than a decade after her death.
“I’ve never seen somebody with so much charisma,” Rojas said. Like Jenni once said herself, she’s definitely “unforgettable, baby.”
Photography is one of the most powerful tools Black people have to reclaim their stories in a world that often refuses to see them. Black people struggle to express themselves in a society where discrimination still exists. Finding ways to communicate their experiences, emotions, and identity is important for Black empowerment.
At Long Beach City College, photography classes offer a platform for Black students to express themselves creatively and share their own perspective and experience with the world through art.
Many face police brutality, judgment by others, and harmful stereotypes. These experiences are based solely on the color of their skin. Too often, people see them through assumptions rather than for who they truly are as individuals.
Therefore, many Black people can feel invisible or misunderstood. Photography offers a way to push back against that feeling. Through photography, artists can control the narrative and show the world how they see themselves, their communities, and their culture.
When you look at the way African Americans dance, move their hips, the type of music they create, or the way they paint and use visual media, you can see how impactful art is in Black culture. Art has long been used not only for creativity but also for identity and healing.
In black culture, the Black Art Movement, which took place roughly from the 1960s through the 1970s, celebrates Black resilience, beauty, and culture while also challenging racism and inequality. During this time, black photographers and artists used their work to document Black life.
Some Black photographers you can look at from this movement are Billy Abernathy, Kwame Brathwaite, Roy DeCarava and Doris Derby, to name a few.
Another artist who reflects the vulnerability and strength of the Black body is Donald Rodney in his poignant photograph, In the House of My Father.
It is a close-up of a small, tiny house sculpture, built from his own skin, which was removed during treatment for sickle cell anemia. At first glance, the sculpture may seem fragile or even insignificant, but it carries a deeper meaning.
The project dedicated to his dad, who passed away in 1995, embodies the fragility and vulnerability of the body from the disease, but it can also represent the fragility of Black lives in a society shaped by discrimination and violence.
Rodney’s image encapsulates the broken body of the African people and reflects how systemic racism, prejudiced mindsets, and physical violence can cause profound harm.
His artwork addresses how something so small and fragile can still carry a powerful meaning of discrimination against black people and the complexity of their lives.
This is why photography is important. A single image can communicate emotions and experiences that words sometimes cannot fully capture. Photography gives people the chance to tell their stories.
Black people, both at LBCC and other spaces, should consider taking photography classes, as it has proven to be a powerful outlet to express themselves using all the creativity that is in their culture.
Long Beach City College students gathered at the Liberal Arts Campus in the W building on March 19 to listen to keynote Speaker Ebone Bell present during the 365: LGBTQ+ History and Allyship workshop.
Bell spoke specifically about the importance of “intentional listening”, “aligning your actions with your values” and “asking/listening with empathy” when fostering a connection with the LGBTQ+ community – as a member or as an ally.
Bell also spoke passionately about the history of LGBTQ+ civil rights.
In today’s climate, it’s easy to feel discouraged when trying to do the right thing, but Bell explained that grand gestures aren’t the only thing that can make a difference in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.
“That’s what this work is all about, helping people understand that even a little bit can go a long way in helping the LGBTQ+ community,” Bell said.
After a short lunch, Bell acknowledged how emotionally and mentally taxing it can be when it feels like one is fighting for a lost cause, but she had words of encouragement for anyone who is feeling themselves lose steam.
“It can be disheartening to feel like the work I do doesn’t matter because of all the anti-LGBTQ+ policies being introduced,” Bell said, “But we always have to remind ourselves that every little effort counts.”
LBCC student Dailyn Owens shared that they left the workshop with a sense of renewed purpose and a way to move forward that could help their community.
“Going to this workshop has taught me that you never know who’s part of the LGBTQ+ community, so you have to move intentionally wherever you go and be mindful of how you show up in spaces, no matter who’s around,” said Owens.
Key note speaker Ebone Bell (left) speaks with LBCC event coordinator (right) during the 365: LGBTQ+ History and Allyship workshop held on Thursday, March 19th, at LAC in the W building, Ebone Bell speaks with the coordinator of the event after the speech. (Destiny Castillo)
She then went on to compare her own experiences with race with other people in attendance regarding their gender and sexuality.
“Being someone who’s mixed-race, I know how it feels when people judge me just my looks as a white-passing person so putting LGBTQ+ identities in that perspective has really opened my mind,” said Owens.
Bell lived up to the aspirations of her workshop by doing her part to make a difference and trusting those in attendance to go forth to do the same.
“As long as we show up for each other, at the end of the day that’s what matters most,” said Bell.
Understanding LGBTQ+ history and having a safe space to speak openly and freely is something that Bell and the 365: LGBTQ+ History and Allyship workshop intend, allowing students at LBCC in attendance an opportunity for growth and acceptance among their peers.
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