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Opinion: Social media is dangerous for your health

Samantha Cortes
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Opinion: Social media is dangerous for your health

Social media influences many aspects of everyone’s daily lives, including our diets and relationship with food, which can be extremely dangerous when unrealistic body standards and restrictive diets are promoted. 

People wake up in the morning and the first thing they do is check their social media. Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat and so many others consume so much time of an individual’s day, which can be toxic for them.

CNN has stated that teen screen-time has doubled since the start of the pandemic. Knowing this information, it is safe to say that social media is consuming a majority of people’s time. 

The Dove self esteem project stated, “In today’s social media world young people are living their lives in full view of an online audience. For those from a different generation, the idea of ‘checking in’ or sharing a selfie to let people know where you are and what you’re up to might seem bizarre. For young people today, getting ‘likes’ on photos can bring a sense of accomplishment and acceptance.”

Social media makes body goals impossible to achieve. With hundreds of editing apps and impossible beauty standards to follow, many people are heavily affected. Every app has filters that airbrush your flaws away and add makeup or a different eye color, which makes people feel mundane in their own skin. 

LBCC social media professor Nick Carbonaro said, “People try to look like certain people. Angles really make a difference and what people don’t see is the lighting, spray tans …”

“Men are impacted a lot too, they are not talked about a lot. They try to stay fit, intermittent fasting and other sad diets trying to maintain that certain physique,” Carbonaro stated. 

Diet culture has become a huge trend through most social media outlets, with a constant outpour of videos discussing the “newest diet you have to try.” These include keto, intermittent fasting, paleo and so many more. 

According to UChicago Medicine, “The keto diet could cause low blood pressure, kidney stones, constipation, nutrient deficiencies and an increased risk of heart disease.”

Influencers constantly share their best healthy recipes and their individual tips and tricks on how to be as “healthy” as possible.

Diet culture has become toxic. Influencers share these crazy diets with their followers and then follow it up with a photo of them saying how the diet changed their lives. Sometimes these influencers do not even follow these diets themselves and the photos they share that they swear are natural, are heavily edited. 

The Daily Mail shared that Khloe Kardashian is continuing to promote the Flat Tummy shakes even after receiving backlash from followers online. She claims they really work, when she has also shared that she uses a personal trainer and a nutritionist. 

Carbonaro went on to talk about how “everyone is responsible for what they view” but that even though being informed is important, the negative impacts of social media currently outweigh the positive. 

Not only is diet culture extremely isolating and causing many people’s insecurities, but it is also very dangerous. Social media users should work on monitoring who they are following online in order to limit their exposure to misinformation. 

New LBCC program assists housing insecure students

Veronica Towers
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New LBCC program assists housing insecure students

Long Beach City College officials have agreed upon the Pilot Safe Program for housing insecure students, allowing 15 selected students to remain inside their vehicles overnight in a secured campus location at the Pacific Coast Campus parking structure. 

According to Interim-Superintendent President Mike Muñoz, these selected students must be in keeping with the requirements set forth by the program. 

“There is a minimum number of units they have to be enrolled in and there’s also a minimum GPA, so they have to be in good standing. They have to have no dependents or spouses with them, and they need proof of insurance with a valid registration,” Muñoz said.  

Students are assessed individually in order to determine what services or models would best match their needs through LBCC’s Basic Needs Program.

“Through our emergency student aid application, students who disclosed that they were housing insecure are managed through our office of basic needs,” Muñoz said. 

“There is usually an individual intake process, and you know these types of supports and services are not a one size fits all …but through the office of basic needs they assess each individual to determine what services or models would best match with that students needs,” he added, on how students were selected for the Pilot Safe Program. 

Students identified as fitting the criteria for the program are allowed to stay in the secured PCC parking lot structure for seven nights a week, between the hours of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. They will also have access to restroom facilities and Wi-Fi services throughout the night. 

A view of the PCC parking structure, where 15 housing insecure students can stay overnight in their cars. According to Interim-Superintendent President Mike Muñoz, the students must meet certain requirements, like a good GPA standing and valid car insurance. (Photo by Jorge Hernandez).

Additionally, they will be given access to the PCC shower facilities between the hours of 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. daily. 

Justin Mendez, the Pilot Safe Program director, was unavailable following multiple attempts for an interview set-up.

According to the college press release, the Pilot Safe Program is currently the only known program of its kind within the region for a community college. The program was created to help address the needs of LBCC’s unhoused students and provide a safe space for them to sleep in their cars overnight. 

In the press release, Muñoz highlighted that 70 or more LBCC students are currently experiencing houselessness. 

Muñoz believes the key to success for students experiencing houselessness is providing them with a safe place to remove the barriers which impact their responsibilities as students. 

The Pilot Safe Program has hired security outside of the Long Beach police department to watch the students overnight and maintain safety protocols. 

“We’ve partnered with Safe Parking LA to help design the model, and hired security to support securing the parking structure for the program,” Muñoz said. “The design is based around models of other cities and churches or nonprofits that have a safe parking program, so we are looking at their best practices and aligning our program in that way,”

“Keep in mind that the reason we selected PCC in contrast to LAC, is that the PCC structure can be fully secured, so once the students arrive and they park, they secure the structure so that no one can just walk up on them,” Muñoz said, regarding the program’s decision on where the students would be staying overnight.

Muñoz later discussed the possibility of the program’s continuation for future semesters at LBCC, once the data could be examined based on the program’s current success. 

“We want to make sure that we learn all our lessons through the pilot (program), so I don’t want to officially go on the record and say that it will be… in the absence of going through our process and reviewing the data to ensure that’s the right thing to do,” Muñoz said. 

Advantage Health Now discusses racism in the healthcare system

Marlon Villa
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Advantage Health Now discusses racism in the healthcare system

Advantage Health Now Executive Director and owner Alicia Coulter was the special guest of the ‘Amplify Your Voice’ Zoom event, where she discussed subjects such as maternal and Black mortality, prevention medicine, healthcare management and solutions to navigate the healthcare system. 

Coulter’s career took her on a path of healthcare within smaller communities as well as hospitals, hospice and managed care organizations. 

“She’s become so passionate about the matter that she feels as she becomes emotional when she presents topics like these,” said Sergio Grimaldi, student life coordinator and the host of the Zoom event. 

“The Black community’s mistrust in the healthcare system is earned,” Coulter said. 

“The countless experiments on Black bodies that helped develop modern medicine coupled with the maltreatment in the current healthcare system is beyond disgusting which fielded the community’s response to the current pandemic” Coulter said. 

Coulter explained how she feels that our healthcare system is inherently racist, and how many have had to face deadly consequences as a result of this.

Coulter talked about a story from 1951 of a 31-year-old African American woman who sought treatment for cervical cancer. Instead of getting treated appropriately, she was used, without her full knowledge, to experiment on cures for other diseases, such as polio and other cancers, which ultimately lead to her death.  

“Dr. Eric Betzig, Dr. Stefan W. Hell and Dr. William E. Moerner was awarded in the year 2014 for research of her cells,” Coulter said. 

Soon after awarding the doctors with Nobel Prizes, John Hopkins apologized for using her cells for research. 

Coulter discussed how history has impacted the healthcare system today, as there are many false beliefs that Black people can handle more pain. This also contributes to how they are more likely to have low quality medical insurance. 

“Black people are more likely to have diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure,” Coulter said. 

Coulter emphasizes how awareness in healthcare is important because Black communities are historically marginalized in the healthcare system. 

However, Coulter believes there are solutions to help against racism in the healthcare system. Some of those include ways of developing new systems of education within the healthcare system and helping put the medical system on track to being trustworthy. 

Coulter hopes she can continue to spread awareness by navigating the difficulties of a healthcare system that she believes is built on oppression.

Member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma shares his struggles with cultural identity

Marlon Villa
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Member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma shares his struggles with cultural identity

Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma member Stephen Jacob Price discussed the effects of forced assimilation of Native Americans and the struggles that he faced growing up with finding a sense of cultural belonging that eventually led him to an alcohol addiction.

This LBCC Zoom event, held on Nov. 17, was the last in a series of online presentations meant to spotlight and appreciate the culture and history of Native Americans. On this specific day, the conversation focused on Indigenous mental health and the issues facing Native communities.

Price pinpointed the Indian Relocation Act of 1956 to be the beginning of the “eradication” of Native American culture in the United States. As a result of the law, Native Americans were incentivized to leave their reservations and move into larger cities like Chicago, San Francisco and Oklahoma City.

“It’s a struggle to maintain traditional values while also living in the modern city,” said Price. “It’s what we call walking in two worlds. But ultimately, we were forced to assimilate.”

This assimilation produced a new group of people referred to by Price as “Urban Natives,” those who didn’t grow up on the reservation but instead away from culture and tradition. Price represents this group, as a member of the Skidi Clan who was raised off the reservation in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  

In fact, Price’s journey growing up as an Urban Native is what inspired Dr. Eric D. Becerra, the host of the Zoom event, to ask Price to speak.

“While (Price) certainly has the credentials and education that some audiences have come to demand, we wanted to deviate from this Western concept and invite you to learn from our speaker simply because he is human and his experience may differ from your own,” said Becerra.

Price recalled struggling while growing up, due to the fact that he was often the only Native American in the schools he attended.

“I remember in the first grade, I had long hair and I had it in a braid, which is traditional with a lot of tribes. But I was ridiculed and the kids at school called me names. They called me sissy and things like that to the point where I actually did cut my hair,” said Price. “To this day, I have not had long hair, I’ve purposefully cut it short and I think that speaks to a lot of cultural traumas that we face that we might not even realize at the time.”

As he got older, Price claimed that finding a sense of belonging is something he longed for but couldn’t get a hold of. During high school, he found support through being on sports teams, but after he graduated, he needed a new outlet and turned to alcohol.

Price cited a history of alcoholism that runs through his Native American side of the family and said that accounting for this was crucial in order to overcome his addiction.

“I’m thankful that I was able to be accepted into a treatment facility that recognized the cultural aspects of my problem and allowed me to bring my sage and bring some things that I do traditionally,” said Price. He’s been sober for four years.

Price is currently in his 11th year as a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) in Montrose County School District, a small community in Southwestern Colorado. Although he’s overcome a lot since adolescence, Price maintained that he still carries feelings of apprehension and invisibility that he developed when he was a kid.

“To this day, I don’t find myself to be a very confident person. I have degrees on the wall behind me and I feel like I earned them but I struggle with feeling like I’m not up to par with some of my colleagues and I think that comes from some of the trauma I experienced from my childhood and being separated from my culture as a whole,” said Price.

Price wants to help students who are growing up as Urban Natives, as he did, and said that it’s crucial for kids and teens to have a group that they can identify with.

Furthermore, he believes that there is a huge need in the field of school psychology for psychologists of differing cultural backgrounds. He stated that a common reoccurrence is the over-identification of Native Americans in special education. Specifically, those being labeled as emotionally disturbed or with an emotional disability.

“A lot of (the over-identifying) happens by non-native school psychologists who don’t recognize the historical trauma aspect,” said Price. “Our ancestor’s experiences are lived through us and we transmit that through DNA and the research shows that trauma is passed down.”

As of right now, there are 574 federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States and Price maintained that in order to keep the culture alive, their traditions and languages can’t be overlooked in mainstream society.

“With you guys being located there in Long Beach, it’s important to realize that there’s a large population of Native Americans located in L.A. either from relocation or from the reservations still remaining today,” said Price.

Board of Trustees select Mike Muñoz as LBCC’s superintendent-president

Veronica Towers
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Board of Trustees select Mike Muñoz as LBCC’s superintendent-president

Mike Muñoz was selected as LBCC’s next superintendent-president and will be appointed by the Board of Trustees during their meeting next Wednesday. 

“Serving as the new Superintendent-President of Long Beach City College is an honor of a lifetime,” said Muñoz in a college press release. “LBCC is an amazing community college with the most passionate employees I’ve met in my career. Thanks to the many years of hard work from our talented staff, we’ve celebrated a lot of success and recognition recently — from the $30 million grant from MacKenzie Scott to the launch of the Safe Parking pilot program.”

The Board unanimously chose Muñoz for the role during a closed session meeting. The other candidate who ran alongside Muñoz was Nohemy Ornelas, the current Associate Superintendent/Vice President at Allan Hancock College. 

Board President Uduak-Joe Ntuk notified the campus community in an email sent earlier today. 

“He’s done a tremendous job for the past three years as Vice President of Student Services as well as the nine months as the Interim Superintendent-President,” wrote Ntuk. “I know that he will hit the ground running, working to remove barriers to student success and lead our employees with his signature level of high energy and inclusion.”

Prior to coming to LBCC in 2018, Muñoz spent more than a decade at Rio Hondo College. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the National Community Colleges Hispanic Council and California Conference on Equality and Justice. 

“Dr. Muñoz has been a truly transformative leader who will lead our College as we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, modernize our student services, close racial equity gaps, and collaborate with our employees to ensure all students have an opportunity to reach their academic goals,” said Ntuk in a college press release. 

Muñoz will officially start his position as superintendent-president on Jan. 1. 

Superintendent-president finalists speak at virtual forums

Veronica Towers
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Superintendent-president finalists speak at virtual forums

LBCC’s return to campus and student challenges were among the topics discussed by the superintendent-president final candidates Mike Muñoz and Nohemy Ornelas during virtual forums on Dec. 1. 

The hour-long forums were streamed on LBCC’s Youtube channel and featured PPL Executive Vice President, Guy Lease, as the forum moderator. 

“The (presidential search) committee advanced three candidates, but one had to withdraw due to the competition that exists in our environment at this point,” said Loy Nasua, Vice President of Human Resources. 

Ornelas, who currently serves as the Associate Superintendent/Vice President at Allan Hancock College, has previously worked in the financial aid department at Cuesta College and Berkeley City College. 

Nohemy Ornelas gives her final remarks during the superintendent-president forums streamed on LBCC’S YouTube channel on Dec. 1. Ornelas currently serves as the Associate Superintendent/Vice President at Allan Hancock College. During the forum, Ornelas said she would prioritize mental health services and emergency planning at LBCC. (Screenshot.)

If chosen, Ornelas wants to emphasize mental health and wellness services for students and faculty next semester to recover from the effects of the pandemic. 

“We have to create spaces for us to feel safe and to feel open to be able to share our experiences,” Ornelas said. 

“Our experiences are real and everyone has been affected by the pandemic. Whether you’ve lost someone or whether you’ve experienced anxiety and stress, everyone has been touched by COVID.”

Ornelas has led Allan Hancock College’s emergency operations by managing the vaccination clinics, food distribution and the district’s overall response to the COVID pandemic. Ornelas plans to implement greater emergency planning and training efforts at LBCC if she is chosen for the position. 

“We, as a college, were prepared (for the pandemic) but we planned ahead. We started undergoing training … and I think that as your president, that would be one of my top priorities to ensure that our staff are adequately trained to respond to an emergency,” Ornelas said. 

Mike Muñoz, who serves as the current interim superintendent-president at LBCC, views the return to campus as an opportunity to reevaluate the college’s priorities to better serve students and faculty. 

“The pandemic has really, I think, put a spotlight on some of the long-standing challenges our students have faced, especially around basic needs,”Muñoz said. 

“It’s going to be really important to be a convener as superintendent-president and … to have these very important and meaningful discussions about what the new normal will look like as we continue to reopen.”

“I don’t think any of us want to go back to the old normal,” Muñoz added. “We were able to really prove to ourselves that we can adapt quickly. We can change our systems pretty quickly and be responsive to students.”

Muñoz will primarily make decisions about returning to campus, specifically returning to primarily face-to-face classes, based on enrollment data from the college. 

“We’re estimating of what the percentage of face-to-face demand will be for spring and we’re going to adjust accordingly,” Muñoz said. “We’re making data-informed decisions about what it looks like as we emerge out of the pandemic.”

Ornelas believes that college students are facing various challenges in their educational journeys, but especially with the cost and affordability of college. 

“One of the things that I’ve done at Allan Hancock College and also at Cuesta College is implement a comprehensive Promise program,” Ornelas said.

“What that Promise program means is that college is free for all students and that’s been an agenda, not only at the state level, but also at the national level,” she added. 

Bulldog Bound, a program that was developed by Ornelas at Allan Hancock College, focused on outreach for elementary, junior high and high school students in order to familiarize them with the college early on. 

Over 3000 elementary students were brought onto the college campus during its first year, according to Ornelas. 

Orenalas wants to revitalize the Promise program at LBCC, which was established in 2008. 

“The students that we were serving 10 years ago are not the same students that are here today,” Ornelas said. “It will allow us an opportunity to really reevaluate and put new pieces in place to enhance that program. As your president, I feel very comfortable and confident leading those efforts to ensure that all of our students have access to Long Beach City College and to an education.”

Muñoz believes that institutional barriers pose a large challenge for students, specifically Black and Latino, hoping to enter higher education. 

“It’s important that we have tailored services that reach out to those communities in a way that are culturally responsive, engaging and that are aware of the different types of barriers that stand in the way of students being able to enroll,” Muñoz said. 

According to Muñoz, financial aid is one of the barriers that many students face. He also highlighted how in the past few years, LBCC has restructured the financial aid process and has seen significant gains, such as an increase in Pell Grants and Cal Grants awarded to students. 

Muñoz said LBCC has also created special programs for students in order to help retention rates and guide them through their educational journeys. 

“We’ve been very intentional about how we’re supporting our first-year students, so we’ve created the Viking Advantage Program that is doing case management with student success coaches, counselors and financial aid specialists,” Muñoz said. 

The LBCC Board of Trustees will conduct their final interviews with Muñoz and Ornelas this week, and are expected to announce their decision on Dec. 15. The superintendent-president will step into their position on Jan. 1. 

Opinion: Support small businesses this holiday season

Samantha Cortes
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Opinion: Support small businesses this holiday season

Choosing to do your holiday shopping at small, local businesses instead of major retail stores is far more ethical and will help make your community a better place.

As a small business owner myself I can say it’s not just about money, but about being able to share my passion with people around me. In my experience as both a seller and customer, shopping small is a win-win situation.

Big corporations are definitely cheap to shop from because of their global outsourcing for cheaper labor, but this often comes at the expense of the employees who are significantly underpaid for the amount of work they are asked to do. 

A Business Insider article talks about recent strikes held on Black Friday by a group of Amazon workers and other activists called ‘Make Amazon Pay’. Their goal is to hold the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos accountable for his unethical labor practices.

“The pandemic has exposed how Amazon places profits ahead of workers, society, and our planet,” Make Amazon Pay activists claimed in the article. “Amazon takes too much and gives back too little.”

When you support small businesses, you can be rest assured that your money isn’t going towards any unfair corporate practices. 

Better yet, when you support local businesses, most of your money stays within the community. This is because local business owners use a large portion of their revenue to pay for other local goods and services, ultimately generating a more prosperous community.

“Studies show that if you spend $100 at a local business, roughly $68 stays within your local economy,” the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce wrote in an article. “It’s a chain reaction that serves the entire community.”

Local business owners also pay local taxes which can benefit your own community by improving its schools, roads, parks and much more. Contrarily, big corporations are notorious for not paying income taxes, serving no financial help to society whatsoever.

“55 of America’s largest companies paid no income taxes over the three-year period from 2018-2020,” an article from Investopedia claimed. “Many even received tax rebates adding up to hundreds of millions of dollars.”

When you shop from small businesses, you are guaranteed that the taxes you spend on that purchase will be used to make your community a better place instead of being hoarded by a big corporation.

Small businesses also provide excellent and personalized customer service that you won’t get when shopping with major retail stores. Small business owners can be genuinely good people who take the time to talk to you sincerely.

Another reason to do your holiday shopping with small businesses is because many of them need support now more than ever as a result of the pandemic. 

Small businesses were forced to temporarily close in 2020 and many didn’t get the chance to re-open their doors at all.

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) says that the pandemic particularly impacts small business owners in the food service and entertainment sectors. 75% of these small businesses claimed to have “laid off employees, decreased employee hours, or suffered revenue losses since mid-April (2020),” PPIC wrote.

Still, many people are hesitant to shop at small businesses because they’re under the impression that they’ll go over budget. This is not always true.

There are tons of small businesses that are affordable and offer deals that big box stores do not. 

If something does seem like it’s overpriced compared to popular chain stores, then there is a good reason for that, as it reflects the product has been fairly traded, handmade or the business pays its employees fairly.

You can make a big difference in your community by ditching the major retail stores and shopping small this holiday season. Small businesses wouldn’t exist without our support, so it’s crucial that we lend them a helping hand to make sure they stay here.

Education students discuss challenges of teaching and learning during COVID

Marlon Villa
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Education students discuss challenges of teaching and learning during COVID

Former and current LBCC education students spoke about the struggles they encountered while teaching classes and continuing their college education amidst the COVID pandemic during a Zoom event on Nov. 18.

The event was hosted by professor Melanie Levy, and included six panelists that were all in different places of their educational and career journeys. 

Panelist Ronal Mejia, a long-term Spanish substitute teacher at Los Alamitos High School, has faced challenges instructing his students in person after more than a year of distance learning. 

Mejia was concerned that his students did not learn much while taking online classes. 

“(Students) have confessed to me that they were distracted and they were not really paying attention. Because of the resources they have, such as the internet, they do (Google) translations to do homework,” Mejia said. 

Students in Mejia’s Spanish 2 classes are unable to properly respond to basic questions in the language, such as “¿hola, cómo estás?”  and “¿cómo te llamas?”. His Spanish 3 classes have lagged behind as well. 

“Spanish 3 students should be at a more advanced level. They should know how to talk in the past tenses in Spanish, such as the preterite and the imperfect. But … they learned so little through COVID, so they don’t know much,” Mejia said. 

Mejia has had to review past material with his students in order to catch them up with their current level. He covers different verb tenses and conjugations, which he said has been a big help to the students. 

According to Mejia, the Spanish classes at Los Alamitos have had 11 different substitute teachers since August, which only makes it harder for students to learn since they lack a steady environment.

“They haven’t had consistency. All subs do not speak Spanish and all subs do not teach the class, especially if they come for just one period of the day,” Mejia said. 

Panelist Roxanne Ebbat, a CSULB student in the process of applying for a master’s program, said the pandemic has also affected her students’ participation during virtual learning. 

“You don’t know if (students are) there or not because you’re looking at black boxes, but you still have to keep going and try your best to keep them engaged,” Ebbat said. 

“I view everyday as a new opportunity to change the way I present material or speak to students.”

Ebbat has looked to other instructors posting content on TikTok to find ways to keep her students engaged virtually. 

“I like to see how teachers are dealing with teaching at home. What I saw is that they keep this positive attitude. They’ll bring out props, they use hand gestures … that has been really inspiring for me,” she said. 

Ebbat later added, “You have to stay engaged, even though you’re not getting engagement back. And then, asking (students) questions. Have them talk about themselves.” 

Panelist Bridget Ramirez, a California State University, Long Beach student and former tutor for Long Beach BLAST (Better Learning for All Students Today), saw similar issues with student participation online. 

“Many times I did have just cricket sounds. The students were always quiet. But once I got relatable with something that had nothing to do with academics, like ‘What do you like to do? What’s your passion?’… That’s when they were more engaged,” Ramirez said. 

Panelist Marianna Miranda, a student at California State University, Dominguez Hills, has not taught students since the pandemic started, but has faced other difficulties in her educational journey. 

“When the pandemic first started I was very out of touch with technology,” Miranda said. “I used to rarely touch a computer or type. That really wasn’t my style. … With switching to virtual classes and virtual observations, I really had to navigate the online space.”

Miranda’s ability to participate in online classes was limited by the poor internet service in her area. She said there is only one pole that provides her entire block with internet service. 

“My connection is constantly going out,” Miranda said. “I got dropped out of my Zoom meetings. It’s a hassle to pick back up where I leave off on some lectures, or sometimes I’ll miss the discussions. I never had to really think about that before the pandemic.”

Panelist Alesis Alcantar, an LBCC student transferring to California State University, Fullerton next semester, experienced burnout while managing work and online classes during the pandemic. Alcantar said online learning is not as personal or interactive as in-person classes.

“I just don’t get the same interpersonal connection with how a student really works or how teachers really are in the classroom. It’s really hard for me,” Alcantar said. 

Levy shared a similar point of view. “There are fantastic videos and workshops and zoom things that we can send students to. But sometimes nothing beats just being in a classroom … and talking to a kid. It’s really really different.”
The LBCC Future Teachers Club will host their final meeting of the fall semester on Dec. 9 at 12:30 p.m. To join, click here.

LBCC faculty engage in email debates over vaccine mandate

Veronica Towers
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LBCC faculty engage in email debates over vaccine mandate

In the days leading up to the adoption of a schoolwide vaccine mandate, some LBCC faculty members engaged in contentious email debates that claimed the resolution promoted discrimination and segregation. 

All emails were acquired through the California Public Records Act, and were sent in a reply-all fashion to faculty members. 

Fire science professor Frank Hayes shared the public comment he sent to the Board of Trustees in an email on Oct. 13. Hayes declared his opposition to the mandate due to “religious beliefs, medical conditions, possible dangers, causing discrimination and segregation issues, damaging institutions and the infringement of personnel freedom.”

Hayes said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows a COVID survival rate of 99.997% for ages 1-19 and 99.98% for ages 20-49. However, the CDC has not released these numbers and an agency spokesperson said it does not have the mortality rates available to do so. 

These statistics were traced back to a tweet from a conservative user, and screenshots of the post were flagged as misinformation on Facebook and Instagram. 

“These statistics clearly show, that for healthy individuals with no underlying illnesses, the chances of dying are much lower than from other medical conditions, diseases or day to day activities (driving),” Hayes wrote. 

“By mandating a vaccination, you are practicing discriminatory behavior and are causing segregation between the vaccinated and un-vaccinated.” he added. 

Hayes believes that students who do not wish to receive their vaccination, and therefore do not enroll in classes at LBCC are “being deprived of a college education.”

Kinesiology professor Matthew Barbier wrote on Oct. 20 that there is hypocrisy in a “yes” vote on a vaccine mandate, because he believes it conflicts with LBCC’s mission statement. 

“The first 11 words of the LBCC mission statement are as follows: ‘Long Beach City College is committed to providing equitable student learning…’ Forced on-line only student learning is not equitable student learning,” wrote Barbier. 

Barbier continued, “Why would Long Beach City College impose a mandate which would discriminate against and prevent these minority groups’ ability to continue their education in an equitable manner?”

Math professor Pablo Bert was not planning to weigh in on the topic, but engaged in the email conversation after reading faculty emails that he believed contained “unsubstantiated claims or … fear tactics.”

In an email sent on Oct. 20, Bert cited an LA Times article that stated 99% of K-12 instructors at LA Unified ultimately complied with a vaccine mandate by the required deadline. 

“The bottom line: Vaccine mandates WORK in getting nearly all educators (even the hesitant) vaccinated,” wrote Bert, adding, “There is good reason to believe that the mandate would accomplish the same thing at LBCC as it did with LA Unified: extremely high vaccination rates (ultimately reducing the spread of Covid-19 and keeping us all safer).”

Political science professor Donald Douglas disagreed with the points made in Bert’s email and wrote a response criticizing the mandates. 

“Please don’t forget that in our country liberty comes first,” wrote Douglas. “More specifically, people should have freedom of choice when making their own medical decisions. No one can be forced, against their will, and against their God-given constitutional rights, to inject a potentially deadly, toxic foreign substance into their bodies.”

Physical science professor Nigel Hancock shot back at Douglas with an email response on Oct. 20. 

“While you are arguing for your liberty to infect your colleagues with a dangerous disease, your phrase ‘potentially deadly, toxic foreign substance’ is a wildly inaccurate way to describe substances that have been successfully administered well over 6. billion times to over 2. billion people around the world,” wrote Hancock. 

In a later email, Douglas wrote, “It is not wrong for individuals and parents to be concerned. This is not a partisan issue, although it’s made out to be. Skepticism of science is healthy — it is scientific — and without such otherwise potentially errant policy applications may cause irreparable damage to individuals, families, and society.”

The vaccine mandate for students and faculty attending in-person classes next semester was passed by the Board of Trustees on Oct. 22. 

Faculty members will be required to submit proof of vaccination by Jan. 3, while the student deadline is Jan. 24. 

Opinion: This Christmas, we can move on from COVID

alexisbru97@gmail.com
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Opinion: This Christmas, we can move on from COVID

Christmas is just around the corner and after multiple years of a not so merry holiday, it is time to make up for all the missed festivities and to focus on our mental health and wellbeing this year. 

Our mental health should be a main priority this year. For individuals who have been vaccinated and who follow CDC guidelines, holiday gatherings should be something you are finally able to do and have a little more peace of mind as you partake in .

 Knowing you are not alone and others have also been affected by COVID brings comfort, especially during the holiday season.

Dr. Rachel Goldman, a clinical psychologist, states, “This year, in particular, more of us may be celebrating the season with friends and family — as safely as possible, of course. Additionally, gathering reminds us “we are in this together.”

Following CDC guidelines, if you’re vaccinated, you can safely celebrate the holiday among family and friends. After years of uncertainty, uncelebrated holidays and zoom gatherings, it is time to celebrate with others again. 

Christmas is filled with many traditions and each individual family varies in how they celebrate. However, the biggest shared tradition is gathering together. A common tradition associated with the holiday involves picking out a Christmas tree (real or fake) and decorating together with loved ones.

This tradition dates back to the middle ages “and was eventually popularized in the U.S. during the 19th century,” a History.com article stated. 

Traditions for this holiday date far back and have continued to play a pivotal role in the celebrations we share in our modern day world.

Other popular traditions include baking Christmas cookies, watching holiday movies, caroling, family meals on Christmas day and many other unique festivities. Christmas brings comfort and joy for many people, therefore it is important that we go back to celebrating it, however we choose.

For many, mental health improves when gathered around a Christmas tree with close family and friends. Dr. Marcus De Carvalho of HPR Treatment Centers says there are studies that show decorating early has mental health benefits.

“What [the studies] found is that just by celebrating holidays early, we actually improve our mood,” Dr. Carvalho said. “It invokes good feelings from the past.”

Serotonin levels rise as the smell of fresh baked cookies and pine from the tree fill the air of a decorated home. COVID took away two years of celebrating together so the excitement is already starting when planning to celebrate finally together again, this year. 

Our very own Belmont Shore here in Long Beach once again had to postpone it’s Christmas parade due to COVID, but a replacement event called the “Winter Village” will be held on Dec. 4.

Christmas looks different for everyone, but the world seems to pause on that day and everything seems more peaceful. Traditions vary from family and religion, but the one common denominator is the joy and warmth the holiday season brings to so many.

With many unique ways to celebrate this year and the loosened restrictions from COVID, there is hope and excitement as we prepare to reign in the new year and hope for a healthier 2022. 

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