LBCC held a game night hosted by drag queen Cerulean Blue Royal at the LAC campus in the E Building to celebrate Latinx Heritage Month on Sept. 28.
The event started with people coming into the E Building to see what the event was about, then people started hearing Spanish music to get the event started.
Once the event started the moderator instructed people to sit at either a red, blue, green or purple table so that they could participate in the trivia game.
Before the trivia game started the host of the event, Cerulean Blue Royal, spoke briefly about the event and then she performed which got huge applause.
The game included answering questions about Spanish words, language, pop culture, food, and more.
After a heated back and forth between the four teams, the game ended with the red team winning.
Once the trivia game was over the red team got prizes for their win and it ended with a final performance from the host, Cerulean Blue Royal.
“The event brings the community together and people acknowledge our community,” said Jessica Zavala, one of the coordinators for the Latinx Heritage Month.
This event was one of the celebrations to help celebrate Latinx Heritage Month.
These events are meant to help celebrate people who are Latinx and to get people interested in the Latinx and hispanic community.
Most of the attendees were people who never attended this event before.
“Events like these give me less anxiety,” said Joshua Moran, who attended the event for the first time.
The game night was a success for a lot of students who got to celebrate their culture through this game night. There will be more events to join during October.
A small group of LBCC faculty huddled in the sparsely available shade of the P building courtyard to participate in a sip and paint workshop themed around Latino heritage on a hot, sunny Thursday.
Bri Pinkerton, an administrative assistant for the dean of student support services and transfer center coordinator, has hosted separate sip and paint events, beginning with one hosted for Black history month in the 2023 spring semester.
Pinkerton said she was granted $1000 for the academic school year from the foundation grant to host these events. She uses the funds to purchase paint, food, and decorations.
Pinkerton continues to theme each event around LBCC’s diversity celebrations, with this sip and paint meant to highlight Latino culture for Latino heritage month,
Printouts of sugar skulls, as well as a small canvas and easel were given to attendees. As people arrived, they were welcome to grab a cup of sparkling apple cider and tacos.
“I figured I’d give people the opportunity to explore their creativity,” Pinkerton said.
The sip and paint then began with a small acknowledgement of the history of Dia de Los Muertos, a yearly holiday that falls in November.
This holiday was the inspiration to have participants paint and design a picture of a sugar skull, which Pinkerton hopes to have displayed at LBCC’s Dia de Los Muertos procession on Nov 1.
Sugar skulls get their name from their material, made with granulated white sugar that is pressed into the shape of a skull that people then paint vibrant designs on to represent their lost loved ones.
Typically, Pinkerton has hosted sip and paint events in the air conditioned room of the Social Justice Intercultural Center, but decided to host this month’s event outdoors, not expecting the hot and humid weather that greeted LBCC on Thursday afternoon.
The unpleasant weather could account for the low attendance of this month’s sip and paint. Despite the total 24 spots accounted for through RSVP according to Pinkerton, only nine people showed up. Of those there, only one had RSVP’d.
Bianca Urzua, an employee at the LAC Financial Aid Center, heard about the sip and paint event as she was clocking out of work and decided to go with her friends since she had never been to a sip and paint before.
“I’m glad I decided to come,” Urzua said. “I’ve been stressed lately, and this is really calming.”
While those in attendance bore the brunt of sitting outside on a day with a temperature high of 97 degrees, everyone was absorbed in sketching and then painting the designs they created based on the template provided.
Eboni Teroi, a first year student at LBCC, similarly heard about the sip and paint only an hour before the event, when applying for a work study position at the transfer center, the clerk helping her asked if she’d like to go to a sip and paint event hosted on campus.
Teroi was surprised when she clarified the event was not hosted off campus and that it was free. She took the opportunity to attend since she said she had never gone to a sip and paint before, due to their typical admission price of $40 to $60, not including drinks.
Palestinian supporters responded negatively to a statement from LBCC denouncing the violence in Israel on Saturday, which resulted in the deaths of 1,000 people.
When asked if they predicted such a big backlash on this statement, Stacey Toda declined to comment.
The statement was released Monday after the news about the Palestians attack on Israel where Hamas, the military group in Palestine, attacked Israel by breaking down one of the borders that Israel had put up to keep Palestinians in their land.
The statement was emailed to students at Long Beach City College and also posted on the college’s Instagram (@lbcitycollege). The statement states that they ‘condemn the recent acts of terrorism in Israel.”
The comments in the Instagram post are mainly in support of Palestine. Whether it was a “Free Palestine” comment, people urging LBCC to do more research, or gifs to show their support for Palestine, the outcry against Israel is seen.
Maddie Repcik, a student at Cypress College, commented on the post in support of Palestine saying “ israel is a country backed by BILLIONS of us dollars!! while palestinian freedom fighters just want their land back and don’t want to die at the hands of white settlers.”
“I was taken aback by it,” Maddie said, “it seems really hypocritical when people support Ukrainians, but are not in support of Palestine.”
Annahita Mahdavi West (@drannahitamahdaviwest), a human services addiction studies professor at LBCC, also commented on the post.
Screenshot of LBCC’s statement on the war in Israel and the comments of outcry. The statement was posted on Oct. 9 in LBCC’s Instagram(@lbcitycollege).
Screenshot of LBCC’s statement on the war in Israel and the comments of outcry. The statement was posted on Oct. 9 in LBCC’s Instagram(@lbcitycollege).
Screenshot of LBCC’s statement on the war in Israel and the comments of outcry. The statement was posted on Oct. 9 in LBCC’s Instagram(@lbcitycollege).
“Long Beach City College doesn’t stand for justice for all rather ‘selective justice for some’ Just last year they fired a Black woman who worked in lbcc for 10 years with remarkable evaluations over false accusations and didn’t care about 90% of faculty petitioning for her. But they get busy creating red carpet and hall of fame events!! The top down culture of LBCC’s administration is not a secret to anyone The administration and board of trustees (some not all) are more performative advocates who are working on their own upward mobility This statement is not far from the mindset and the culture of “selective justice” of LBCC.”
The terrorists Hamas killing and kidnapping the Innocent people of Israel is a war crime. And Israel blanket bombing the innocent citizens of Gaza who have no place to go, shutting power and water on them, are war crimes too. If you stand only for a one sides justice you’re not standing for justice at all!!,” Mahdavi said.
Another comment that can be found under the post is from Long Beach City College’s former interim Superintendent-President Lou Anne Bynum.
“Yes, this is horrific terrorism against a country. But does this mean that LBCC will now weigh in against all terrorist acts? Ukraine? Armenians? Migrants?,” she said responding to the post.
Shafi Shahriar (@shafishriarr) commented under the post with a quote from Malcolm X stating “If you are not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people being oppressed, and loving those doing the oppressing.”
When asked for a statement Mike Munoz, the Superintendent and President of Long Beach City College, stated that Stacey Toda, the head of Public Relations at Long Beach City College, would put the official statement from Long Beach City College.
The official statement that Stacey Toda published on behalf of Long Beach City College read as follows:
“We stand by our statement on the war in Israel. The impacts of this senseless violence are felt by members of our Israeli and Palestinian communities at home and abroad, and our hearts go out to all those affected by the inhumanity of war. We respect the First Amendment and the expression of opinions in the comments to the extent that they do not constitute hate speech of any kind.”
Many other colleges have not commented on the attack in Israel. If there is a comment it instead comes from a place of support for both Palestinian and Israeli students.
Kathryn E. Jeffery, the superintendent-president at Santa Monica College, released a letter offering services for both employees and students and urge them to take care of their well-beings, while also stating that the colleges International Education Center reached out to their Israeli and Palestinian visa students to offer support both mentally, academically, as well as help with their visas.
Other colleges like Cypress College refuse to release a statement so as to not upset any students.
LBCC Rocket League competes in the Collegiate Rocket League qualifiers against Cal State Chico facing elimination after a close defeat in the first round of the upper bracket, with commentary by Ian Salazar and Zuri Minor.
Three of Long Beach City College’s musical ensembles will join together for a unique performance, being dubbed a “musical switcharoo” by the Musical Performing Arts department on Friday the 13th.
“What we decided to do is that each ensemble is gonna play a piece of music that’s maybe more characteristically found in another ensemble,” said Brian Hamilton, director of bands.
Three of Long Beach City College’s musical groups will be performing: the Jazz band, the wind ensemble and the orchestra.
According to Hamilton, this is the first time since pre-pandemic that students are majoring in music again, and the ensembles are strong this semester.
“The idea is to make the concert as polished and as clean as we can…and (make) it something that the audience will enjoy and the students will enjoy performing,” Hamilton said.
One song that the wind ensemble will be playing is “Fracas” by Randall Standridge. This piece is usually played by jazz bands, but in the spirit of a musical switcharoo, the wind ensemble will be playing it.
The jazz band will also perform songs that they never have before. One song they will perform is called “The Bugle Call Rag” by Jack Pettis. The song is upbeat and something that jazz and rhythm enthusiasts will enjoy.
The jazz ensemble set will also feature many solos from different students and various instruments such as trumpet, upward bass, saxophone and more.
“You’ll be able to hear a lot of types of music in one approach,” said Patrick Sheng, the director of instrumental jazz studies and conductor of the jazz band.
One of the things that Hamilton believes is that many students and people have lost out on the ability to listen to music live. At this concert the audience will be able to listen to different types of music in a not so long period of time.
“The good part about coming is if you don’t like one set in 20 minutes you’ll hear something new,” Sheng states.
The final piece that all three groups will be performing together is “Time Warp” by Richard O’Brien and arranged by Johnnie Vinson. This piece is a fast-paced and funky piece that will have the audience bumping to the beat.
People can find tickets online to the Freaky Friday Musical Switcharoo by going to the LBCC website and looking at upcoming events.
Entrance is free for students with a current ASB sticker and without tickets are $10. This event is also welcome to the public for $15 a ticket.
Long Beach City College has introduced a new LGBTQIA+ learning community meant to build connections both academically and culturally for students and allies of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) community.
As a part of this learning community, students who join will be able to connect to both on and off campus identity based resources such as counseling, build relationships with other members of their community and take general education courses that emphasize on LGBTQIA+ issues.
Cohorts like this are important for LGBTQIA+ individuals to be able to connect with others and truly come into their own identity.
However, there is a debate about whether or not those outside of the LGBTQIA+ community should join the learning community as well in order to become more accepting.
According to the Pew Research Center, 70% of LGBTQIA+ individuals say that knowing someone within the community helps people be more accepting of them.
As it stands, the cohort is mixed with queer students and allies and this has been working successfully. But should people who do not necessarily consider themselves allies join? The answer is not as easy as a yes or no.
The learning community is meant to be a safe space for all the students in it.
It would be wonderful if people joined and earnestly sought to make friends with queer students, who they normally might not.
However, no student should join if their sole purpose is to be argumentative and initiate debates.
The purpose of this cohort is not to convert someone into being accepting and it should not focus on trying to make anyone believe in something they don’t.
Things would be wonderful if straight students took time to educate themselves on LGBTQIA+ issues, but it is nobody’s job to do that for them. It is an initiative individuals should take.
In 2009, before gay marriage was legalized, a Gallup poll showed that only 20% of people who did not personally know someone from the LGBT community favored gay marriage. Compared to those who did personally know someone that was a part of the community, the number of approval was at 49%.
It is important for everyone to have an open mind and be respectful to others no matter what. Joining a LGBTQIA+ cohort can be an amazing experience. It allows students to make friends with people in your classes and build a better sense of community.
In addition, access to things like public speakers, field trips, and counseling can all benefit all students and make their college experience that much better. When registering for classes, it will alert you that the class you’re joining is part of the learning community so pay attention when choosing classes.
Should straight, cisgendered students have to join cohorts? Absolutely not. But it could be an enriching experience if they do.
LBCC announced their plan to rename the Pacific Coast Campus. A survey was sent to students and staff to gain insight on what the campus should be called.
Five writers from the Viking News weigh in on what they think the campuses should be named.
Keith Lewis: The names should reflect community staples
The topic of changing the name of both Long Beach City College campuses has been a thoughtful discussion as of late.
Since its inception in 1927 Long Beach City College, and the Liberal Arts Campus has been the name of LBCC’s main campus.
Followed by the Pacific Coast Campus which opened its doors in 1949, is located on Pacific Coast Hwy and Orange Avenue.
LBCC should change the names of both campuses to something that better suits us students.
It is important to represent diversity within our campus, as well as a great representation of the community in Long Beach as a whole.
The LAC campus should be renamed “Vida.” In both Latin and Spanish it translates in English as the word “Life.”
Naming the current LAC Campus as the Vida Campus would signify a starting point in a students pathway to their future.
PCC should change its name to the VIP Campus.
Not because we are all very important people, but because of the former VIP Records, which was a staple in the Black and Brown communities in East Long Beach in the late 1990’s.
Although the original storefront has since closed, it was within two blocks from our current campus. VIP Records’ new location is within walking distance from the PCC Campus.
Changing its name to the VIP Campus would allow LBCC to recognize the important landmark to our community that is located on one of the state’s most recognizable roadways that passes right through the heart of Long Beach.
Changing both campuses to these names showcases the diversity in a more appropriate manner.
Ryenne Jolliff: The names should reflect courses while honoring LBCC history.
PCC should be renamed the Trade and Technical Campus, a call back to its original name, while the LAC remains the same.
Most LBCC students recognize our campuses as the Liberal Arts Campus and the Pacific Coast Campus, but students may not be aware of the history behind their names.
When Long Beach City College was split into two campuses in 1949, their courses were separated into three different categories: Liberal Arts, General Adult, and Technical.
Liberal Arts courses were taught at the location that would become the LAC. The second campus was known as the Business and Technology Division Campus, eventually being renamed the Pacific Coast Campus.
It is more efficient to rename one campus so that the names characterize the many courses that LBCC has to offer.
Some would argue that naming the campuses after the courses is too broad, or that the classes offered on each campus don’t fall under their respective category.
However, these names would give students an easier way to sort through the course catalog.
Rather than having to commute back and forth between campuses, students can select the classes that best suit their major & spend their days at one location.
Additionally, this will allow future students to select the campus that will be the best fit for them.
Keeping the name of the LAC would be a logical choice because it would be easier for students to adjust to, instead of two completely new names.
The LAC has had the same name for 74 years. The saying goes – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
This new name will represent the extensive courses that LBCC has to offer while paying homage to the school’s history.
A student walks behind the Long Beach City College Liberal Arts Campus sign. There is no plan to rename LAC, but some writers took the liberty to rename it to rebrand both campuses. (Ryenne Joliff)
Dame Cortez: The names of the campuses should be after famous successful students
Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) is on a mission trying to find Mr. Warren G.
The campus names should honor people who students can recognize and look up to in a different perspective other than academically.
The success stories of Weathers and Warren G are ones that a student can relate more to since they were people who once attended the classrooms those students attend to now.
PCC should be renamed to the Warren G campus and LAC campus should be renamed to the Carl Weathers campus.
Weathers is best known for his performance as Apollo Creed from the “Rocky” franchise that was popular enough to garner a spin off franchise in “Creed.”
Weathers other notable works include: “Predator,” “Action Jackson” and “Happy Gilmore.”
He also managed to get signed as a free agent by the Oakland Raiders in 1970 after his football days at LBCC and San Diego State University.
Regulators, mount up.
Warren G and Nate Dogg’s “Regulate” is a classic west coast rap song that has reached heights that not much music can reach.
The song has 466 million listens on Spotify and the music video on Youtube has 340 million views.
It is one of the staple songs in the west coast classic raps playlist.
Warren G utilized LBCC’s commercial music program to propel himself into a successful career where he still tours today.
He’s managed to sell over 4 million albums worldwide and become a three time platinum artist.
These two famous students have put themselves in positions to garner some recognition from the places they started from and LBCC can do that by renaming both campuses after them.
Taylor Robinson: The campuses should be named after LGBT pioneers
The campuses should be renamed to names of LGBT pioneers to honor Long Beach’s history as an inclusive city.
PCC should be named after someone who stood for and gained rights for the LGBTQIA community.
Some famous pioneers who spearheaded the movement for LGBT rights that they could rename the PCC campus after would be Bob Crow, Harvey Milk and Vanessa Romain.
Milk was a pioneer of gay rights from San Francisco and the first openly gay man to win office in California.
Milk helped to make a bill pass that would ban discrimination in public accommodations, housing and employment on the basis of sexual orientation.
A speech in Long Beach made by Milk in 1978 addressed the audience to continue to fight for the rights of LGBT workers in public schools.
Vanessa Romain is a human rights activist, social worker and board member of the Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride non-profit organization.
Romain was there at the first Pride parade and festival in Long Beach in 1983.
Bob Crow was one of the founders of the Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride Inc, now known as Long Beach Pride. He recently died Sept. 29.
The parade Crow founded is the second biggest event in the city and has continued for nearly 40 years. The event brings in upwards of 80,000 people to Long Beach on Pride weekend.
The combination of which names to use for which campus isn’t significant.
These are the important figures that helped found or pioneered the LGBTQIA community that the PCC and LAC could be renamed to.
Andrea Alonso: The names of the campuses should be named after norse gods
The campuses should be renamed to the names of the god of craftsmanship for PCC and the god of poetry for LAC.
The school’s mascot is a Viking. Vikings used to worship norse gods and LBCC can stick to the theme of the mascot to rename the campuses.
The PCC campus used to be called the business and tech campus and it consists of business classes, engineering classes and classes of more technical training skills.
In Norse mythology, Brokkr is a dwarf who is a blacksmith for the Norse gods and helped create Mjollnir,a powerful hammer held by Thor, and many other great weapons and tools.
The Brokkr campus would be a good name for a campus that helps forge future engineers and architects who plan on becoming people with sharp minds.
Bragi, who represents poetry and wisdom, would be a symbol for those who are studying the arts.
Although some might disagree that they don’t represent the campuses itself, they are meant to represent what the campuses are trying to instill into the minds of the students.
One would forge technical skills and the other would create a path towards the liberal arts.
The campuses have differing themes for names. One is a location based name and the other a curriculum based name. Naming the campuses after the gods creates two curriculum based names that are acceptable and stick to the theme of the college mascot.
Students will be learning skills in a campus named after a god of craftsmanship or a god of poetry.
Students might feel anticipation from the names of the campus for what they’ll be learning and what they could possibly master at that campus.
Using the gods’ names would personalize them more towards students’ curriculum and give them a sense of familiarity to the respective campus.
The IT club is focused on women who work in the IT field and talks about them being underrepresented.
The club hopes to give more recognition to women in the IT workforce, and show other women that they shouldn’t be afraid to join the job field in a male dominated industry, according to the members.
“I want them to leave with some strong friendships. Connections to network, and ask questions, have confidence, and acquire new skills” said Kimberly Davis, advisor of the club.
This first meeting was more focussed on catching up with the members and planning on what the next meeting would consist of.
Some of the ideas that were said consisted of web development and making their own web page and podcasting, which was done in the club before, where members discuss what’s going on in the industry, and things relating to the industry.
Archiving which would allow them to preserve info, and work about the club for people to read up on in the future.
The members and advisors agreed that they felt a sense of unity within the club.
“By me being here I want to show women that they don’t have to be scared about joining this club,” said Elizabeth Solis, member of the club.
The club also aims to help women see why they should join this field, especially because of how small of a percent of women are in this career.
“I want to meet new people and learn more about technology, it’s nice to make connections with new people.” Dianna Garcia, member of the club said.
Students can still join the club although their major is not IT. Many members are not majoring in IT and are still attending the meetings because they were curious.
“I went to Talladega in Alabama, a HBU, and went into education at first. But I was also a part of the computer science club. My interest led me to go into this field, and now I can share this with the newcomers.” Davis said.
Ana Rivera, club advisor and former club member shared what she expects club members to experience.
“I don’t feel like the only girl here. I want people to feel like they aren’t alone. I want people to feel safe in this club like how I felt in (my club),” said Rivera.
The club isn’t solely focussed on IT issues and news.
Members were also told about other activities like movie nights, and even days where they could just talk things out if they weren’t having the best day.
“If you’re in between majors, you should join to connect with people,” Davis and Rivera said.
“See if you like the major, you could also learn a tech related skill to boost their resume.”
The club meets every Thursday in the M building room 214, but will change hours based on what students need. To keep updated on the meeting times, follow the club on instagram @LBCC_WIIT. Anyone can join in on a meeting day.
The Vikings came ready to win in the first set with a powerful defense, sophomore middle blocker Mikayla Curry playing a key role during the game, making sure the ball didn’t hit the ground.
The Long Beach City College women’s volleyball team was able to come out on top with a 3-2 win during a neck to neck battle against Pasadena City College, on Friday to extend their undefeated record to 12-0.
After not being able to overcome Pasadena during the first set, they left that aside and came through even stronger with hard serves, causing the Lancers to struggle.
The Vikings started rough but picked the game back up again, not letting anything discourage them according to freshman defensive specialist Kaylani Moncada.
“Energy, we fuel off of each other’s energy,” said Moncada after being asked how they were able to get back on their feet again.
Sophomore Mikayla Curry (left) and freshman Jordyn Hollins attempts to block a shot from the opposing team during a very close set. Vikings beat Pasadena 3-2 on on Sept. 29 in Long Beach. (Ian Salazar)
The girls won both of the second and third sets, with the team captain, sophomore setter Pearlnaiah Tuliau, coming through with a fast serve making it the last point they needed for the win.
“Just that one good play from a teammate brings everybody together, it’s just like playing with family,” said Tuliau.
With an anxious crowd on the edge of their seats after LBCC came back on top of Pasadena from a 0-1, the Vikings fought to keep their lead.
Pasadena overworked LBCC, overcoming the Vikings in the fourth set by two points, the Lancers were not backing down after tying the game, two sets each team.
The Volleyball team along with students who attended the game in a post-game huddle break after the Vikings beat Pasadena City College 3-2. (Ian Salazar)
The Vikings, always eager to win with such a great start, pushed as hard as they could with blocks from Curry at the net to the powerful serves from the team.
After being tied 14-14, middle blocker Curry proved her role in the game with an amazing block against Pasadena, giving the Vikings the win and extending their historic 12-0 record.
“For our next game, I think we need to focus on being more active. A lot of times we were not as active at the net and also coverage. We did get blocked a lot, but having each other’s back would make a big difference,” said Curry.
In a thrilling showdown that had fans on the edge of their seats, the Viking emerged victorious against Pasadena City College.
Looking ahead to their next match, hoping to extend their historic winning streak, the Vikings, staying on home turf, take on East Los Angeles on Oct. 6 at 6 p.m.
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