A film major with firsthand experience of homelessness and a strong commitment to student advocacy was elected to serve as LBCC’s 2025–26 Associated Student Body (ASB) president on April 18.
Priince Bass, who also performs inspirational hip-hop under the stage name “PRIIZZY,” enrolled at LBCC in the 2024 fall semester as a film major with the goal of producing faith-centered films.
During his enrollment, Bass faced homelessness, but developed a passion for politics after some reflection and how his same housing issues affected other students.
“Last semester, I was a homeless student. Being homeless gave me a different perspective that allowed me to see that people needed help even more than I did, and I’ve dedicated myself to being a voice for the voiceless,” Bass said.
Before becoming a member of the ASB, Bass began his involvement with student politics in 2024 by assisting over 250 students with registering to vote on Measure AC, the $990 million bond measure that provided LBCC with crucial updates and modernization.
“I figured if we can get enough people to vote for that measure, that’s money going back to the students, and I realized if I want to see where that money goes, I need to be involved with the government, the board, the different committees so that I can give my perspective,” Bass said.
The effort made by Bass was noticed by 2024-2025’s ASB President Shamonique Harris, who eventually encouraged him to run for the position of vice president of legislative affairs, even though he felt unqualified at first.
“Initially, he wanted to be a president’s ambassador, but we had seen each other in the community while he was out doing advocacy for voting registration, and then I kept seeing him, and I kept saying, ‘Hey, why aren’t you a part of ASB?’ From there, it led to him applying and he became part of my executive team,” Harris said.
Harris explained that because the incoming cabinet had a full executive team, 2025-26’s team could engage further with the community than they could last year, and encourage more students to get involved in campus leadership.
Bass expressed his gratitude for Harris’ leadership and the confidence she instilled in him for both his upcoming role as ASB President and past role as vice president of legislative affairs.
For his recent campaign, Bass ran unchallenged and won with 218 votes.
Bass was thankful to the students who made it possible for him to continue serving them, although the number was proportionally low compared to the student population of over 28,000.
Superintendent-President Mike Munoz, Executive Director Carl Kemp, and Art Appreciation Professor Seija Rohkea were also thanked by Bass for their influence.
“The only thing I had going for me in life was to be able to spread the gospel, and even though (Professor Rohkea) wasn’t a woman of the faith she said I could use her classroom and my art to spread the gospel, and it really empowered me and gave me confirmation that I was in the right place,” Bass said.
Rohkea believes that Bass’s election opened the door not only for himself but for other students as well.
“(Priince) is very humble, it wasn’t until the very last day of class that he told me about his homelessness. He was actually more concerned about another student having housing issues, and that was around the time when I told him that when we help others with the same issues, we start to see that help returned,” Rohkea said.
Along with performing his music across LA, serving his community and being a full-time student, Bass said being part of the ASB brought more structure to his life, and hopes to spread this structure to others through more student involvement for the future.
“I happen to relate to everybody. I was voted for because (our cabinet) got students excited, we got them involved, and that was my goal before we even set out,” Bass said
Bass also shared that he had spearheaded the incoming cabinet’s first major petition: a mascot change.
“We’re considering changing from the Viking to a less historically violent symbol, to the dolphin. It represents community, the coastal space of Long Beach and honors the Tongva land that our school is currently on. We think it’ll bring a lot of excitement to the school,” Bass said.
Bass and the elected cabinet are set to be inaugurated at the ASB Banquet at LAC W-201 on May 19.
