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Despite the pandemic, get to know LBCC’s Bakery and Bistro on campus

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Despite the pandemic, get to know LBCC’s Bakery and Bistro on campus

The Bakery and Bistro at Long Beach City College is located in the V-building. It is normally open to the local public and students at the college, but when the college fully reopens, the public, students and staff are able to eat at the bistro and bakery.

The LBCC Bistro and Bakery are both run by students who are in the Culinary Arts Department. Operation hours when fully open are Monday through Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m for the bakery. The bistro is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

Culinary students are able to experience hands-on learning in the settings of a kitchen, bakery, and restaurant management while taking classes and working on campus. 

Valentina Leslie, an LBCC Culinary Arts laboratory instructional assistant said, “Our hybrid classes are split into two parts, the lecture is the classroom part which is online. And the kitchen is considered the lab so our students only come to campus to cook or bake.” 

Upon graduation the students are well informed and prepared for many careers and jobs in the culinary arts field. To name a few; line cook, personal chef, caterer, restaurant manager, baker or pastry cook and a food blogger.

“In order to follow COVID guidelines we currently have less students enrolled. This allows our students to safely social distance from one another,” said Leslie.

Chris Young, chef instructor at LBCC is in her third year teaching as the head of the department in the bakery, which was under Chef Pierre Jues previously.

Young teaches the advanced bakery operations and practicum courses, which are required before a culinary student can graduate and transfer.

Young said, “Amid the pandemic, the bakery donates items to the Viking Vault and it is honestly a wide variety of awesome sweet and tasty baked items and whatever students want to prepare.”

According to Leslie, the Bakery and Bistro has a lot of options to choose from on the menu.

It is divided into two sections, the bakery, which has a selected variety of pastries, eclairs, cappuccinos, lattes, fruit tarts, cookies, and croissants.

When the bistro is open, they offer different cuisines from different regions around the including Mediterranean, Asian, Latin American, French, Southern and West coast.

“A few examples would be Chicken Provencal (Chicken simmered in tomatoes, olives, rosemary, and garlic). Seafood Bouillabaisse (Shrimp, mussels, clams, and fish simmered in a saffron broth) and there are many other delicious entrees the bistro offers as well,” said Leslie.

The bistro is usually $15 for a three-course meal that mainly focuses on cuisines from the many different regions and it includes your choice of any salad or appetizer, an entree, and dessert.

Reservations can be made when the bakery and bistro open again. The phone number is (562)928-4757 and email bistro@lbcc.edu.

Athletic director, Randy Totorp’s plan and goals for LBCC sports this season.

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Athletic director, Randy Totorp’s plan and goals for LBCC sports this season.

Long Beach City College Athletic Director,  Randy Totorp is in charge of organizing and managing the many sports within the Viking’s Athletic Department. On April 9, Totorp came back home to LBCC, just in time for the return of college athletes, last month on April 12 for the start of sports conditioning.

“At a certain point in coaching you realize that you want to make a difference for the young people you coach. As my career developed I realized that an athletic director has the ability to impact many more lives. I love athletics, I love community college education and so the opportunity to serve the community in this capacity is very meaningful to me,” said Totorp.

According to Totorp, one of his goals is to get students back on-campus. That is the first goal and plan, because during COVID it is a challenge.

“Right now we have successfully brought all of our programs back on-campus following protocols for conditioning.”

According to Lauren Sterbens, a sports information specialist for four years at Long Beach City college said, “Randy Totorp is a great colleague to work with, and I am excited for his determination that he is putting forward to getting student athletes back on-campus for conditioning and practice so we can safely move toward competition and games.” 

The next goal is to see all of the LBCC athletes compete during this upcoming 2021-2022 season school year. The normal fall competition for sports starts around September.

When Totorp was younger he played many sports like baseball, basketball, and soccer. 

“My favorite sport growing up was basketball. I still love watching basketball today. The sport I ended up with the most success playing was men’s volleyball,” said Totorp.

Totorp spent some of his career working at various schools like Riley Elementary, Star King K-8, St. John Bosco High School, Rio Hondo Community College, El Camino City College, Saddleback City College and Long Beach City College.

Totorp is a Lakewood High alumni. After Lakewood, he played two seasons of men’s volleyball at LBCC from 1994-1995 and then transferred and attended San Diego State University. 

In addition, he received his teaching credential from California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) in the year of 1999. He also received his bachelor’s degree from San Diego State in social science before earning his masters degree in physical education from Azusa Pacific University in 2001.

Totorp was first hired at LBCC as a part-time assistant coach from 1998-1999. Since that time, he has served many roles at the college; assistant women’s volleyball coach, adjunct faculty, interim athletic director and full time athletic director. 

“At the collegiate and high school level, I have only coached men’s and women’s volleyball,” said Totorp.

He coached the LBCC men’s volleyball team for eight seasons, successfully winning seven conference titles and three state championships (2004, 2006, 2009).

Totorp, Champion was the head coach of the LBCC men’s volleyball team, successfully winning seven conference titles, and three state championships from the years of 2004, 2006. and 2009.

Totorp said, “There is so much uncertainty even still with COVID and athletics, but I do feel good about where we are currently because it is very much so looking possible.”

Long Beach LGBTQ center discusses issues within their community at LBCC

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Long Beach LGBTQ center discusses issues within their community at LBCC

A virtual SafeZone LGBTQIA+ workshop took place on April 27. The Zoom event discussed current issues within the LGBTQ community. 

Sergio Grimaldi, a viking coordinator from student affairs at LBCC hosted the event. The guest speaker of the workshop was Joel Gemino, the youth and family services manager at the LGBTQ Center of Long Beach. 

“This is a very important topic everyone should know about starting with our local Long Beach community and I’m so glad all of you showed up for the presentation as participants,” said Grimaldi. 

Gemino discussed the topic of pronouns, and then conducted an exercise that involved participants renaming themselves on the Zoom app. 

The goal was to change to a pronoun one identifies with. An example would be he/him or she/her which are referred to as gender pronouns.

“We have to understand how students and people identify themselves, this is very important to learn,” said Gemino. 

According to Gemino, even before birth there is that idea that certain things are either for girls or boys. When you go to a gender reveal the colors are either pink for a girl or blue for a boy.

“If someone is telling you this is who I am, you accept it for who they are,” said Gemino.

Gemino said, “Just be open of what we are talking about because our system and institutions are all referring to certain types of identities, mainly the straight people and the cisgender people. We know the world is set up as a cis world.” 

This information is for everyone to puzzle the pieces though. This is not just for the LGBTQ people, everyone has their own sexual orientation and everyone has their own gender,” said Gemino.

Towards the end of the virtual workshop, Gemino also addressed the topic of bathroom usage faced by some members of the LGBTQ comunity.

Gemino said, “There has been incidents where some of the youth at my program get scared to use the restroom because their transgender and feel as if they don’t belong in society. 

In other words, transgender means when someone is not being aligned with ones’ gender at birth. 

“Being trans and in a world that doesn’t understand you, see you, or hear you is a mental health issue, you have to understand people’s preferences in society” said Gemino. 

The workshop provided information for members of the LGBTQ community and allies as well.

The LGBTQ center in Long Beach offers equity for the LGBTQ community through education, programs, services, and culturally responsive advocacy. 

Gemino has been working at the center for seven years and manages both group service and social programs for the LGBTQ community. 

This center is the one and only safe haven and retreat where people of all sexual genders, sexual orientations, ethnicity, cultural backgrounds and socioeconomic levels can be able to receive HIV information testing, counseling, healthcare referrals and also many other supportive services.

For support the local LGBTQ center in Long Beach can be reached via phone by calling (562) 434-4455. 

New LBCC fund created to support African American and Black students

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New LBCC fund created to support African American and Black students

On April 29, LBCC announced a new support fund that will seek to provide financial assistance and resources for African American and Black students. 

The African American/Black Student Support Fund (AABSSF) will provide a variety of services to students, including professional development, emergency funds, scholarships, and training.

The announcement was made on a Facebook livestream with the President of the Board of Trustees Uduak-Joe Ntuk and Interim Superintendent-President Mike Muñoz.  

Fundraising for the scholarship is currently ongoing in hopes that students can begin applying during the 2021-2022 school year, according to Muñoz. Muñoz said that the application process would be simple and students would be able to apply at the scholarship office. 

AABSSF seeks to address the performance gaps among students and improve educational attainment for Black and African American students at the college. 

“We continue to have an achievement gap. We continue to have African American students not transferring at comparable rates…yet we are the largest serving institution of Black students in Long Beach,” said Ntuk. 

As of spring 2020, there are more than 3,100 full time students at LBCC that identify as African American or Black, making up 14% of the college’s population. The average course success rate of Black students is currently 56%, which is both 11% lower than LBCC’s general student body and 18% lower than white students. 

LBCC is proposing AABSSF in hopes that it will assist the Long Beach framework for reconciliation that was adopted unanimously by the Community College District last year on June 23. The mission of the framework is to end systematic racism. 

“While we can’t undo the damage of centuries of racism, we can make change here at LBCC,” said Muñoz. 

Beyond the support fund, the college has launched the new Black Student Resource Guide and Black Lives Matter Resource Guide. 

The Black Student Resource Guide provides students with information about campus services, financial aid, transferring, and tips for academic achievement. The guide also features questionnaires with Black and African American faculty, staff, administrators, and student leaders. 

The Black Lives Matter Resource Guide, created by librarian Shamika Simpson, is a collective list of books, article databases, videos, and other online resources that address systemic racism and injustices faced by Black people. 

Camesha Maxwell, a student who attended the livestream, said that she is looking forward to the ways the new support fund will help her and other Black and African American students at the college. 

“I hope that (AABSSF) will give us an opportunity to have a space where we can talk about some of the challenges and concerns that we may have about succeeding, and about how to keep that GPA where it needs to be so that we can be eligible to transfer,” said Maxwell. 

“I remember not too long ago, I was feeling very overwhelmed with how I was going to pay my bills. I did have someone to confide in that’s oncampus and that I was comfortable with. They pointed me in the right direction…I’m really happy with everything that I’ve seen Long Beach City College doing,” said Maxwell. 

Currently, donations for AABSSF are open to anyone who wishes to contribute. Muñoz said that members of the community who are unable to donate can volunteer at future events for the fund if they want to support. 

Students use on-campus study space

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Students use on-campus study space

The on-campus study space has been open for three weeks now since April 13 at both the Liberal Arts Campus and Pacific Coast Campus and students are using it for a noisy free environment. 

Daniel Alvardo, a student who attended the study space at the LAC campus said, “I mostly just come here to leave my house since it is such a noisy environment and get my work done here for my classes without all the distractions at home.”

During the pandemic many students have been attending their classes through Zoom and staying home can make it difficult to concentrate or get work done. 

There are staff members available every day to assist students with any needs when attending the study space. 

Tevia Roberton, student life coordinator said “The study space is the perfect place for students to go during these times where we have been restricted to being at home and for some students it’s not the most quiet or best environment to work at.” 

The study space on campus provides a quiet environment and access to computers and Wi-Fi for students who need it.

Student Daniel Alvarado attending the on-campus study space located at 4901 E Carson St, Long Beach, CA 90808 on May 4th, 2021. Alvarado is taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi and quiet environment so that he can study with no distractions. Photo by Bianca Urzua.

Another student that also attended the study space at the LAC campus Vanessa Ramirez said, “I come to the study space because I need a noise free environment to work and get my assignments done, so when I received an email that the Study Space was available I came.”

Both campuses are taking COVID safety precautions. Students have to get their temperature checked at the campus screening tents before entering the space and are required to wear masks at all times, as well as social distance. 

The few times we’ve taken a look inside the study spaces, about two to six students were using the study space.  

With finals week approaching, students have the option to study on-campus and use all the resources available at the study space.

If students are looking for a nice silent place to work on any assignments, study, or use the computer lab the study space on campus is the place for it. 

For more information on study spaces or for in-person assistance check out their website https://www.lbcc.edu/carousel/computer-labs-and-study-spaces-now-open.

Fall reopening increases to 40% of classes to return in-person

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Fall reopening increases to 40% of classes to return in-person

40% of classes are expected to return to in-person learning, seeing an increase of about 10% since the announcement in March was made of 30-35% of classes returning to campus. As of today, a check-in process before coming to campus, gaps between classes for deep cleaning and a limited number of students in classrooms to meet social distancing are expected but subject to change. 

With California Governor, Gavin Newsom intending to reopen California on June 15, additional classes are now being offered for the upcoming fall semester. The schedule for the fall semester was launched on April 30 and classes will adjust based on enrollment patterns.

Kathleen Scott, vice president of academic affairs said, “We are working with our faculty and trying to meet the demands (of students). For example, what we saw from the student’s survey, we didn’t have enough hybrid classes, so we may be asking people to shift modality. Some of those discussions might’ve not happened, yet. I imagine most of them have but we are still making changes because we’re trying to be responsive to this very rapid changing situation.”

Professors are being encouraged to return to campus but they are expecting a demand of students enrolling in online classes. Student enrollment and ongoing health orders from the city and state are some of the determining factors that are depending on making any final decisions on what the fall semester will look like in terms of specific classes. 

Even though the schedule is live right now, there will be additional changes for students before students are able to register. It’s important they go back and continue to look at it because it may not be the same two weeks from now than it is right now,” said Scott. 

The same courses are anticipated but there could be some difference whereas one class that is online now can be turned hybrid. Changes are trying to be kept at a minimum to avoid disruption for students. 

“If we see there is a huge number of students who want to be on-campus and we don’t have very many on-campus classes then we may add more classes to meet student demand,” said Scott. 

For students going back to in-person learning, being vaccinated is not a requirement at the moment. However, the board of trustees will be the ones to make the final decision.

A survey conducted by LBCC shows 48% of students are minimally or not at all comfortable with returning back to campus in the fall 2021 semester. The student survey includes responses from over 4,000 students. 

Interim Vice-President of Student Services Nohel Corral said, “Our guidelines are going to be pretty consistent in terms with what we have now. Since May, we’ve had about 10% of our in-person classes continue with our CPE programs. We do have a process where students need to go through a screening table and go through the app to indicate they haven’t been tested positive for COVID or haven’t had COVID in the last 10 days. Those same processes and practices will continue.”

Corral sent out an email to the LBCC Community to encourage students to consider taking the vaccine if they haven’t done so already, the benefits of it and demystifying the vaccines. 

The number of students allowed in one classroom will depend on the classroom size. 

There will also be gaps between classes to provide time for classrooms to be deep cleaned and additional assistance will be hired to ensure classrooms are cleaned before the students’ arrival.

Corral said, “We do have facilities employees helping with some areas but we do have federal assistance through the HER funding. HER is the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.” 

With this fund, LBCC is able to bring in some temporary support to transition from remote learning to in-person. The goal is to be fully back in the Spring 2022 semester for in-person learning and eventually go back to pre-pandemic times. 

The people in charge of making decisions on reopening plans for LBCC are the reopening task force along with collaborative efforts from faculty and staff.

The task force is composed of representatives from the academic senate president, union representatives, the executive team such as the vice president of human resources and executive vice president of academic affairs and leads from different areas. Student trustee Richard Blackmon is also part of the task force. 

The full list of representatives can be found here.

“Long Beach is unique because we have our own local health authority so we also have to ensure we follow our health orders from the city as well. All that is shared with the steering committee. We provide survey info and survey data and really rely on departments who are on the front lines so staff, faculty and managers of those areas to help put together a draft of what a reopening would look like in those areas,” said Corral.

Once information is received, including facilities and risk management, it is ensured local health authorities are followed then those draft plans are seen at the steering committees. The executive committee also reviews the plans that are submitted for consideration before they end up to the steering committee for a final vetting of all constituent groups. 

This is the latest information provided on the fall 2021 reopening plans. As COVID-19 cases continue to decline and the color tiers improve, changes are still being made in regard to what is expected for the upcoming fall semester. 

No vaccination requirement for LBCC students today, board of trustees to make final decision

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No vaccination requirement for LBCC students today, board of trustees to make final decision

Correction: Featured image was changed to better reflect the story.

Students are not being required to be vaccinated before returning to campus but discussions on the matter are still ongoing. 

Both the CSU and UC system have made the decision to mandate vaccinations for the fall 2021 semester once FDA approval is made for one or more of the vaccines. 

The California Community Colleges (CCC) have not announced any decisions in regard to vaccine requirements. 

An email was sent out today letting students know why they should get the vaccine and how the vaccine is safe. CCC Chancellor’s office will be sending out a statement soon, “but they have given local districts the ability to set their own policies around requiring vaccines,” said Nohel Corral, interim vice president of student services in an email to the LBCC community. 

Long Beach City College has not mandated a vaccination at the moment but it’s not final until the board of trustees make a decision.  

A student survey conducted by LBCC shows 44% of students strongly agree that they would be comfortable if all faculty and staff are fully vaccinated before returning on-campus as well as students themselves. 45% of faculty and staff agree as well, but 11% of students strongly disagree and 8% of faculty and staff also strongly disagree. 

We spoke to Executive Vice-President of Academic Affairs, Kathleen Scott and she said she didn’t have an answer of what the vaccination plan will be for LBCC. “This question is for the board, it’s their decision. The board has the ultimate decision and it’s up to them if they want to seek outside input with any decision,” said the executive VP. 

Based on current circumstances, students will be still required to wear masks and social distance in classrooms. 

Scott said, “Before coming to class students have to complete a health screening app, they have to be cleared and get a green check-mark, they go to campus and go to one of the screening stations to get their temperature checked and then they will be given a sticker that says they can enter the building and classroom. I don’t know if that will still be in place in the fall.” These guidelines can be subject to change based on health orders from the state or the city, and final decisions will be made once a more clear plan is placed for the fall reopening.  

Students who do not feel comfortable with getting vaccinated or coming back to campus are not required to come back. The classes that are in-person and have been in-person since last year are classes such as welding, auto, health science and other CEP programs that can’t be taught online. 

There is a potential for classes to be hybrid, both online and in-person. The schedule for fall classes is now up and is subject to change based on heath orders and the number of students enrolled.

“Right now, I know we are very well prepared the way we are doing it now. So it could be that that system will still be in place (in the fall) to complete the app and get the sticker and do the temperature check. We’ve become quite skilled at that because 10% of our classrooms have already been back since last May. They’ve been here for basically a year. We’ve had hundreds of classes on-campus and it’s worked very successfully,” said Scott.

As fall approaches, students, faculty and staff will receive clear guidance on what to expect. Everything is contingent upon health orders, student enrollment and decisions made by the board of trustees in regard to vaccinations.

LBCC students practice financial wellness during a virtual zoom workshop discussion

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LBCC students practice financial wellness during a virtual zoom workshop discussion

Angela Fowlkes, Financial Aid Specialist and Dr. Amy La, LBCC Mental Health Clinician both teamed up and hosted a virtual workshop on Tuesday, April 20 for students interested in learning about financial wellness.

This financial workshop offered insight on how students can obtain more knowledge on budgeting, saving money, credit loans, credit cards, debt dumping, goal setting and how to meet any financial goals. 

La said, “You have to know what your financial goal and plan is. Are you saving for a vacation or bills? Are you planning to save for college? Buying a home, or perhaps a car?  Everyone’s financial needs vastly differentiate.”

Whether it is becoming debt free or wanting to travel and go on fabulous and luxurious vacations, your financial goals have to be clear. The way to do that is by deciding if your goal is long term or short term. 

“Instructor Grecia Iniquez teaches a non-credit financial literacy class called ‘Let’s talk about Money’ series and LBCC students should take advantage of this awesome class,” said La.

La explained to students about money management in a smart and adequate way, and also gave some tips on how to save your money.

La discussed the Latte effect, a theory that is mainly about small amounts of spending here and there, if we add up the cost of our daily lattes or any other purchases and saved it or invest it instead, we could possibly build wealth faster. The point of the latte effect is to make better decisions about your money by weighing your needs and your wants by focusing on values instead of just spending on unnecessary products.

During the end of the workshop, Angela Fowlkes, a financial aid specialist, was in charge of covering what financial aid is and how to apply for it. 

Fowlkes showed a mini presentation that introduced and showed participants what the Free Application Federal Student Aid  (FAFSA) is, how to fill it out, and information about different grants, scholarships and loans. 

“The financial workshops provide LBCC students with the help and resources they need, and I love to help students as best as I can by giving them the correct information so students can become aided for their semesters attending Long Beach City College,” said Fowlkes.

LBCC student Camesha Maxwell attended the workshop and asked a few questions to Fowlkes about financial scholarships, to make sure she had full clarity on the process.

Toward the end of the financial workshop Maxwell showed a feeling of relief, almost like all of her questions were answered, and in a way that she felt like this was a helpful guide. 

Other students like Brenda Gertman had been aware of these virtual events and wanted to learn more about money management and investing money instead of saving it.

The main objective for these workshops are to allow students to gain an understanding and to increase awareness in financial literacy skills. 

Long Beach May Day event gives local organizations a voice

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Long Beach May Day event gives local organizations a voice

As April came to a close, the beginning of May was commemorated this year at Houghton Park in Long Beach as 21 different organizations hosted an event for International Workers’ Day. 

Hosted by the May Day Long Beach Coalition, 21 different organizations sponsored this event including the Long Beach Area Peace Network, the Coalition for Latino Advancement at LBBC, and the Palestenian Youth Movement among many others. 

May Day is a public holiday started in 1889 to commemorate the Haymarket massacre in Chicago, a tragic event in 1886 that left eleven people dead and countless injured after a bomb was thrown into a crowd of workers striking for an eight hour work day. 

The event became an example of the social unrest from the working class. In the present day, activists use it as a day to organize and educate others about racial, economical, and political inequalities affecting their communities. 

After a nearly two hour caravan ride stretching all over Long Beach, activists  from local organizations such as the Long Beach Immigrants Rights Coalition, Black Lives Matter, and the Long Beach Tenants Union addressed the crowd about the importance of standing together on such a historic day.

Dancing and photo ops took place as the park began to fill with more organizers and curious people from the surrounding neighborhoods. 

The event was formally kicked off with a land acknowledgment from Tahesha Christensen, an activist with the Puvunga Wetland Protectors. They are dedicated to protecting the Los Cerritos wetlands, a portion of land covering hundreds of acres in Long Beach, Seal Beach, and the San Gabriel River.

They also fight to protect tribal cultural landscapes as well as the preservation of local land, waters, and wildlife.

Christensen spoke to the crowd about the importance of fighting against oil expansion on native lands. She announced that their organization is suing the California Coastal Commission for their plans to severely damage the land by adding oil drills.

A sign that read, “Sanctuary City For All” was held by two organzers as speakers representing the May Day Long Beach Coalition voiced their support for abolishing ICE and cancelling Title 42, a provision of a U.S. health law that allows for the CDC to turn asylum seekers away.

They specifically addressed Mayor Garcia’s recent decision to house unaccompanied minors from the U.S.-Mexico border at the Long Beach Convention Center in downtown. 

They had also urged Mayor Garcia to reunify the children with their families and close the encampment by August 2nd.

Hoku Jefferson, an organizer for the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary, or BAMN for short, thinks this issue falls on the President.

“President Biden needs to grant the children and their families refugee status now and declare a humanitarian crisis at the border in order for [the] children to be freed from the detention centers and be reunited with their families,” Jefferson said.

Even though Mayor Garcia has ensured the public that the migrant children are being taken care of accordingly, activists believe the conditions are still inhumane.

The next speaker was Carina Rodriguez, a community organizer for Long Beach Immigrants Rights Coalition.

Standing in front of a sign reading, “LBCC Says Protection Not Detention,” she spoke about how the children being held at the convention center is a direct result of the Biden administration’s inability to address systemic issues.

“Children belong with families and not in convention centers,” Rodriguez claimed. 

Next was Jazlyn Tabar, a representative for Anakbayan Long Beach, was next to address the crowd. She spoke about the importance of supporting activists in the Philippines who are fighting for democracy. Anakbayan is a local organization led by Filipino youth to address issues that are happening in the United States and the Philippines. 

“We are here because we are agitated. We are angry that every day millions of workers are losing their jobs, we are struggling to make a living wage, we are forced under unsafe, unfair, and abusive working conditions,” Tabar claimed. 

Other speakers addressed issues such as the fight to raise the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour as well as the need to demand affordable housing in Long Beach.

Steven Estrada spoke as the representative for the Long Beach Communist Party of the USA and encouraged the crowd to hold elected officials accountable. 

“The Communist Party USA thinks it’s time for workers of the world, those of us living in the valley… to climb that mountain top and kick those who exploit us… those who oppress us off from the top [of] it,” Estrada said. 

Estrada also announced that he would be running for District 1 Long Beach City Council member in the upcoming election.

The event ended with organizers leading the crowd in a chant demanding justice from public officials. Attendees cheered as the speakers gave their demands for equality in  all aspects of life. 

There was a sense of mutual understanding that laws and legislations will only change through the power of the people. As the DJ played “Celebration” by Kool & The Gang and the crowd dispersed, people talked about meeting up for more rallies in the future. 

If you are interested in learning more about any of the 21 organizations that fight for Justice in Long Beach, visit the May Day Long Beach Coalition website at: https://maydaylongbeach.wordpress.com/about/ 

The 2nd year of Cap and Go event, LBCC Cap and Go 2021

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The 2nd year of Cap and Go event, LBCC Cap and Go 2021

Long Beach City College held its first ever drive-thru Cap and Go event last year for the 2020 graduating class amid the pandemic, and this year the tradition will continue for the 2021 graduating class.

The 2020 Commencement Team started and also developed Cap and Go last year because the traditional Commencements were being canceled due to COVID-19.

According to the commencement team, Cap and Go is bigger this year, and only 600 graduates will be invited to this Cap and Go event. 

Deborah Miller-Calvert, LBCC Director of Student Health and Student Life, and the 2021 Commencement Cap and Go Lead said, “The 2021 Cap and Go Team is excited to celebrate our graduates.”

Graduates must apply to graduate first with Admissions and Records. LBCC hired a company called Full Measure to help personalize the Virtual Commencement.

Full Measure’s goal is to help customize the graduation with any of your success at LBCC. Full Measure allows you to say your name, so the professional voice pronounces your name precisely during the roster roll-call of the commencement.

Students who complete the personal slide for virtual commencement, will be invited to RSVP for the Cap and Go event. The event is invitational only and a first come, first serve event so graduates have to complete their personal slide before they are given the RSVP link.

LBCC Veterans Memorial Stadium, graduation ceremonies are held here but during the pandemic it will be virtual this year in 2021 also. Photo by Amira Haynes.

In addition, take into consideration that once the RSVP list reaches 600, the link to access Cap and Go will not be active anymore.

There are two different drive thru event dates at both LBCC campuses, so the May 14 event is going to be held at the PCC campus and on May 21 it will be held at the LAC campus. 

Miller- Calvert said, “We will be giving the graduate students commencement swag and also cheering them on throughout the Cap and Go drive thru.”

As far as swag goes, graduate students are able to receive items like; free bags, and degree holders. There will also be some other fun and useful memorable surprises during this fun and free event.

Dr, Alisia Kirkwood, LBCC Dean of Student Affairs, and the 2021 Commencement Chair said, “I’m proud and excited for the 2021 graduating class, especially during the pandemic it is a challenge. So, I’m glad as a Commencement Team we were able to come up with this idea in order to allow students to celebrate and at least be happy for their success through their many semesters of hard work spent as a LBCC Viking. The graduate students deserve this event.”


LBCC Viking 2021 graduate students, you can check this link for more information and apply by following each step: https://www.lbcc.edu/icon/cap-go

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