Steven Acosta is an artist and owner of Advanced Dermagraphics Tattoo which has been located in Long Beach for 41 years. He opened his studio in 1979.
“I have been in the business since 1977,” he said.
Since tattoos studios are not part of the essential businesses, they were closed for months and their process to re-open was complicated and uncertain.
Acosta explained how overwhelming his experience was with his business since COVID-19.
Acosta had to close and open his studio several times throughout 2020.
He said, “In the middle of March, they closed everybody down. Then, we were allowed to open back up June 19th. And then July 13th, they closed us down again. We were closed until October 22nd.”
He also mentioned that he could not do piercings.
“They suspended our ability to do anything under the mask. We couldn’t do the nose, we couldn’t do the tongue, couldn’t do the lips. We couldn’t do any of the piercings under the mask, which eliminated half of my services.”
Still Life Tattoo studio’s sign located inside of the shop on November 4th, 2020. (Photo by Viking News/Marcelo Osterloh).
Tim Shelton is also an artist and owner of his own tattoo studio, Still Life Tattoo, located in Seal Beach. Shelton’s studio has been in service since 2011.
Shelton has been a tattoo artist for 15 years and focuses on black and grey art, specially lined and illustrative designs.
Tim Shelton is a tattoo artist that focuses on black and grey designs for the last 15 years. He opened his studio called “Still Life Tattoo” on 2011. On November 4th, 2020. (Photo by Viking News/Marcelo Osterloh).
In a phone interview on December 4, he commented that when the pandemic started impacting the United States, “Along with everybody else, we did close our doors. There is no financial help that we were ever given from any kind of forgivable loan or any kind of loan.”
Shelton did not have to lay off anyone since the artists and space at Still Life Tattoo are very limited. “We are a very small shop. There are two of us working and the clients are completely spaced out.”
When tattoo shops were permitted by Gov. Newsom to reopen, Still Life Tattoo adapted to the required regulations and modifications.
Tim Shelton tattooing a client named Mike Johnson at Still Life Tattoo studio on November 4th, 2020. (Photo by Viking News/Marcelo Osterloh).
“We kept it very safe. We received a set of guidelines to follow which did not allow people to bring extra people. We got an air filter and hand sanitizer. We already had a very clean protocol. We just make sure to clean down wherever the client sat and wear a mask, which is stuff we would normally do,” Shelton said.
It was the same case for Acosta.
Acosta explained, “We had to do appointments only, and we couldn’t allow to have anybody observing it. So if someone came with a person to get a tattoo or piercing, they had to wait out in the car. They are social distancing and there is a lot of cleaning and sanitizing in between each client. Tattooing and body piercing is the tightest regulated business there is, next to being a doctor or nurse. Even before COVID-19, we’ve always been very regulated by the health department.”
On December 4, Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued another stay-at-home order which temporarily closed all personal care services in regions where ICU capacity has dropped below 15 percent, which includes the Southern California region.
Acosta had to close his studio once again and said, “They closed us down again December 7th,
and now we are closed down for at least three weeks, but it will probably be longer until next year.”
Throughout the remainder of predominantly online learning, Long Beach City College should allow students to withdraw from courses without penalty through the end of the semester.
The “EW” does not count towards academic progress probation and does not count as a repeated class.
During the spring semester, Long Beach City College extended the deadline to withdraw from courses, however, this was not offered for the fall semester.
Allowing students to withdraw without penalty throughout the semester extends empathy to students who are experiencing sometimes unsurmountable hardships due to the pandemic.
School is even more challenging now, and while education is of course important, it can’t always be a top priority for students, especially in a pandemic that continues to worsen.
Some students are experiencing job loss, and some are experiencing the stress and increased hours of being an essential worker. Students have had to care for sick relatives, or even gotten COVID-19 themselves. Some students have to manage online classes while sharing an apartment with their entire family, who are also struggling to work and do school from home in a shared space.
Maintaining the same academic expectations as if times are normal, when circumstances are highly abnormal does more harm than good for struggling students.
It is also substantially more difficult for students to get the academic help they need, as tutoring and other resources are all remote and could be inaccessible to students already struggling with remote learning.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that things are unpredictable, and especially now, situations could arise at any point in the semester that make it difficult or impossible to successfully complete a course.
For some students, they may not even be aware of their grade until late in the semester of online learning, as many professors do not regularly update Canvas grades.
As many schools are already experiencing drops in enrollment, providing students with the safety net of an extended excuse withdrawal date would support retention efforts through lowering the risk for students to enroll.
Community colleges are meant to provide academic flexibility to students, and if students are unable to complete their online learning courses throughout the pandemic, they deserve the opportunity to not have their academic records negatively impacted.
In an immensely challenging year, Long Beach City College students deserve this support.
December marks the 8th anniversary of Jenni Rivera’s death, a top-selling regional Mexican singer and Long Beach City College alumna.
She would sell out shows at the Staples Centers, and was one of the few females that dominated a genre typically made up of male singers. Rivera always attributed her success to a loyal fan base that followed her everywhere she went.
Rivera’s legacy left a generation of Latinas to build confidence through her music. Some of her songs discussed themes of overcoming domestic violence, body positivity, and poverty.
She contributed most of her life to giving back to Long Beach by donating money to different charities like the Children Millers Foundation and the New Life Beginnings shelter.
Rivera was an open book to the public that followed her around and was never shy to discuss the struggles that she experienced.
From a high school teen mom that finished her education with an A.A. in real estate from Long Beach City College to a musical sensation, all her achievements never matched the humble persona she was.
Viking News interviewed Rivera’s family in December 2017 to ask about the “Diva of Banda,” and they said nothing but good things about the city. One of the emerging questions from the last time we spoke to the Rivera family was an excitement for a Jenni Rivera Center that would serve as a museum, music center, and shelter for abused women.
The city of Long Beach was going to lease a building to the family at a low cost.
“We weren’t able to conclude the transaction. We never actually leased it because of the parking,” said Rosie Rivera, Jenni’s youngest sibling and chief executive of Jenni Enterprise in a phone interview on December 2.
“Jenni, you know, has always served her community, and she was so proud to be from Long Beach. So, we want to keep it in Long Beach, but due to parking that’s the only thing that’s stopping us, is the location,” she said.
Jenni Enterprise is the intellectual property and publicity rights of Jenni, in which the family gets involved through different projects, such as Jenni Rivera Fashion and benefit concerts. Last year’s benefit concert funds help undocumented farmworkers in Fresno and Gilroy suffering from the pandemic.
“We gave them free courses, self-improvement business courses, and then a lot of products, you know, cooking. We gave them free COVID testing. That’s what we did this year in honor of her,” said Rosie.
Jenni Enterprise is also working on a children’s book geared to young girls to learn about Jenni’s story in a way the kids could understand and feel inspired to tackle their hardships.
The concept of a doll for Jenni Enterprise allows young girls to empower themselves by learning about the story of a young girl that was able to do anything. Rosie’s idea for the doll stemmed from the empowerment that Jenni’s life story gave her girls growing up.
“So, the child will forever know from the age of four that she can do anything, that she is strong and she’s beautiful and she’s bold and whatever she puts her mind to, she’ll be able to do it. So that I’m super excited about the book and doll that will come out next year,” Rosie said.
Rosie is a mother of three, and her sister changed the lives of everyone within the Rivera household. Rosie’s youngest daughter did not know Jenni as a singer, but a beloved sister and daughter.
“I just tell her, the qualities because my daughter’s middle name is Chay. So Chay was my sister’s nickname. So, I want to teach her the qualities of Chay – hardworking, loving, passionate, compassionate giving so many things that Chay is to me so that my daughter can have those qualities. That’s why I named her that. Yes, she was famous, but she wouldn’t act famous,” Rosie said.
The Rivera family has always been an open door to the media and public to the point that Jenni’s fans leave homemade fan art, roses, and balloons at her mothers’ home in Long Beach.
A fan of Jenni’s named Maria Ramirez recalled her encounter with the “Diva” at a restaurant in East L.A. where the Jenni Rivera Fashion store is located.
“I was eating with my dad, and suddenly a bunch of people started crowding up a table and shouting out loud. We had no clue what was happening until we walked over, and saw Jenni,” said Ramirez.
“The restaurant owner said no more pictures, but Jenni said it was fine until her food arrived, everyone should stop asking because she was hungry. Oddly, enough she had no security guards around her. But she was a platinum artist already,” she said.
Pedro Rivera, father of Jenni, instilled humble values in his kids into anything they decided to do from the oldest to the youngest in any profession.
Rosie said that her father did not care what career they would take in their lives, as long as they treated people with respect.
“So, we’ll never forget that when we were at the swap meet, how we were treated for good and for worse. Some people loved us, now and then.”
“Then some people would discriminate against us because we were ‘dirty.’ After all, we were poor because we were immigrants, Mexicans. And so, when you don’t forget those things, it’s not that it hurts still, but we said, we won’t do that. I won’t do that to someone else” Rosie said.
The Rivera family is well-said to value everyone with respect despite their success in the Latino community, which made Jenni into a loveable persona on the “I Love Jenni” reality TV show and onstage at the Billboard Awards.
Rosie also attended Long Beach City College for her general education, and then transferred to University of California Irvine, but Jenni inspired her to finish school.
During Rosie’s last year at UC Irvine, she was going through heartbreak and family issues which led her to experience depression. She attributed the success of earning a degree to her family that always pushed her to do better for herself.
According to Rosie, Jenni was notorious for giving personalized gifts to her family, and knew that year was difficult for Rosie because she felt that being a single mom was going to be hard to manage.
“So, by the time Christmas came up, it was still difficult. You know, I was still hurting. But she gave me this gift, and it’s a plaque. She got a golden plaque with a picture of me as if I had won a huge award. She put on it, forever respected and admired for her strength.”
Jenni reminded her that she was with Rosie every step of the way, and Jenni’s gift made her reevaluate the issues that she was facing at the time.
“She was the woman I most admired in life, and she was saying this to me. That moment is when I remember I began to think about loving myself like, wait a minute. I’m strong. I’m admirable. I should respect myself because she did. She admired me and she respected me,” said Rosie.
Obstacles are part of life, and stories of struggle inspire others to do better in their lives, that is what Jenni Rivera was to the public that adores an inspirational “Dama Divine.”
Jenni inspired generations of Latinas to come, just like Selena Quintanilla did, with efforts to stay true to their upbringings.
Rosie explained that her family never let the money or stardom affect their simple values of being humble and having a discipline to finish the projects that they started.
When asked about the dropout rates of students during the pandemic, Rosie said, “Whether it’s school, finishing school or anywhere you go, it’s building your character. It is a test of your character more than it is about math, history, art, or English literature. It is a test of your character, so community college is a good place to build your character.”
The Rivera sisters are yet to be inducted into the hall of fame at Long Beach City College and may be placed within the next year, according to the Alumni Association.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and Steven Goodling, the President of the Long Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau hosted a virtual tree lighting event on Wednesday.
The event started out with “The Spirit of Holidays Past,” which showed off footage from previous years like parades, singing, and the gatherings at the Long Beach Terrace Plaza.
The configurations of the Christmas Lights around downtown Long Beach, Shoreline Village and the lighthouse were also shown.
The event opened with Goodling welcoming those at home to the live event. Goodling explained that this is the 6th year the City of Long Beach has held the event.
He said, “Six years ago, Mayor Garcia called, and said ‘Steve, I’d like to create a community event, something that brings people together at the holidays.’”
Goodling said that the event is cooperation between the CVB Board and ASM Global, who have sponsored this event for the last six years.
SoCal Vocals, a choir group, has performed a cappella at the event for the past three years, and this year was no exception.
As they sang, footage of the singers was cut in combination with videos of past events.
Not long after the singers finished, Goodling said, “Next year when we have all of you back, all 5,000 of you, we’ll have SoCal back with us, and we’ll have another great event in the Terrace Theater Plaza.”
He also introduced a Christmas message from the City Council after introducing Garcia.
Garcia spoke from Long Beach Terrace Theater.
“Normally we would have thousands of people here, I’m actually here alone bringing this to you virtually,” Garcia said.
He went on to talk about how COVID-19 has impacted this year’s celebration.
“I wanna also say that, it’s been a tough year, we are in the midst of the biggest challenge our country has faced in a generation.”
Garcia then gave a message for those affected, including workers and medical staff, and acknowledged the families that have lost someone due to COVID-19.
“So now, we’re going to light this tree and it’s gonna stay lit for the holiday season,” he said.
Then, he flipped the lever and the tree lit up.
The tree can be viewed at the Long Beach Terrace Plaza.
Throughout the remainder of the pandemic that has caused Long Beach City College to transition most of its classes to online, class sizes should be decreased to improve interaction. This will benefit students struggling through procrastination this semester.
Since the start of the pandemic and the closing of the campus in March, students and professors have struggled to transition to online schooling that has been extended at least through the spring semester.
Many classes have a maximum space of up to 30 students per class depending on the subject, which doesn’t transition well to the online environment.
Professors have to either face teaching students via Zoom, while lecturing students in their respective subjects, with little to no checking in with students individually to help them throughout the day or week.
This leads to students struggling to succeed with their studies due to procrastination throughout online learning due to distraction, along with other circumstances such as taking care of a family member or work in general.
A solution is possible. By splitting the class size by half of the large class sizes and shrinking medium sized classes by one fourth of the size, it would result in a higher chance of succeeding in classes, according to a study done by Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley.
With large class sizes, professors are less likely to have the time to help each and every student during the semester, with time spent grading and other means of work the professor has during the semester. With this model, professors and students could meet individually for feedback and critique.
With smaller class sizes, professors will have more spare time to help students to solve situations the students are facing during the online semester and align their schedules that can help them improve and achieve academically.
With students facing procrastination during the semester, it can harm the students’ routine and academic progress overall with grades being lowered down, and wasting their hard earned tuition money they have put in for their futures.
Long Beach City College should hire temporary professors with the same benefits and pay as current professors specifically for the pandemic, so that new sections of the same classes can be offered to students who need that course for their major.
These temporary professors can have reserved spots for any future hiring through Long Beach City College and other community colleges.
This would definitely help students and professors ease the situations during the full online semester until the end of the pandemic when in-person classes can return.
It was weeks into the pandemic when Long Beach City College student Jonathan Ramirez found himself living in his car after he suddenly became homeless.
Ramirez, 28, had been driving for Uber, and business had drastically slowed as the state went into lockdown in March.
A week before rent was due, his roommate abruptly moved out of the converted garage the two shared in Los Angeles.
For the next six months, Ramirez would spend most of his time in his car, occasionally staying in his mother’s one-bedroom that she rented, or couch-surfing.
As the state remained in lockdown, Ramirez’s options were limited.
“I think I read ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ like 10 times,” said Ramirez. He still keeps a copy of the book in his car.
While the state was in “Safer at Home,” Ramirez said that, “There really wasn’t anything to do. You get so bored of even being on your phone. I hate this phone so much, because like, I would be on it all the time.”
Ramirez said oftentimes he would just walk down the street, until eventually he’d have to turn back and return to his car.
“I would want to go out and run or work out or something. But then at the same time, it’s like, okay, if I go run and work out, I’m gonna get sweaty, and I can’t just hop in the shower whenever I want to.”
“It’s hard to explain the feelings of being confined to a car and being confined to very, very limited options during a pandemic,” he said.
“You wake up, and it’s like, I’m here again …every day, it’s like, here again, I’m here again, and I’m here again. You just kind of wonder, when the hell am I gonna wake up and it’s not in this damn car? … It was like a shelter, but kind of like a prison at the same time.”
Ramirez hadn’t had a stable living situation since he was 18, 10 years prior. After high school, he was recruited by Mexico’s national under-20 rugby team, but after returning to the U.S., he was greeted by a far different situation.
When he returned, his mother had moved to Wisconsin, leaving Ramirez to couch-surf and stay with friends.
Following his success abroad, Ramirez was recruited by a number of colleges, and he briefly attended school in Ohio.
Then, his uncle, who Ramirez considered to be his only father figure, passed away from colon cancer.
His uncle had covered the cost of the plane ticket for Ramirez to go to Mexico City when he was recruited at 18.
“That really got to me, and I kind of just didn’t do anything after that. I just basically shut myself out, I stopped going to class. And, you know, in hindsight, I regret it, because I know that he probably would have wanted me to continue in school and, you know, continue in my sport, because after that, I didn’t even play sports ever again.”
In the years following, Ramirez continued to spend time living with friends, couch-surfing, and then renting different rooms.
“It was never like a place of my own,” he said.
By the time the pandemic hit, Ramirez had already taken the spring semester off of school, but by the fall, he was ready to return.
“I felt like I just threw away a semester, which, that’s a long time. That’s a lot of things I could have knocked out,” he said.
After learning that he had been awarded a scholarship, he enrolled for the fall semester, then to realize he was without a computer, without Internet, and without housing.
Long Beach City College was able to provide him with a Chromebook, but internet access remained a challenge, and Ramirez was close to dropping his courses.
One professor even advised him to do so.
It was then that Ramirez got a call from the basic needs department at the college.
Ramirez was connected to the organization Jovenes, that helps to provide housing to students in need.
By the end of September, after around six months of living in his car, Ramirez was moved into a hotel for three days.
Finally with both a Chromebook and WiFi, he spent the entire three days successfully completing all of the school work he had missed.
That Sunday, he was taken to get a COVID-19 test, and Monday, he was moved into his current housing, a four-bedroom townhouse that he shares with three roommates.
Ever since Jonathan Ramirez moved into housing through the organization Jovenes, he has cooked every day. “All I’ve done is cook everything. I don’t buy fast food anymore because I just, I hate it. I’ve been dropping weight. I dropped 15 or 20 pounds easily since I’ve lived here, just eating right and running a lot. And you know, but that’s all I was doing, was eating out when I was homeless, was just eating fast junk food, and it was nothing healthy,” said Jonathan Ramirez, who lived in his car throughout quarantine until October. Photo by Tess Kazenoff/Viking News
Previously, Ramirez had been unable to receive any financial aid, due to an outstanding loan that he had from his time in Ohio, years before.
With the help of the basic needs program and Jovenes, the loan was paid off, and Ramirez is now able to receive financial aid.
He also received $1,400 to fix the faulty transmission in his car, his former shelter.
“I don’t have a bad head on my shoulders. I just, you know, I was given like a pretty, pretty (expletive) hand of cards.”
For Long Beach City College student Joshua Elliott, he was thrust into homelessness for a year after his grandmother, who he had lived with, moved away.
Elliott, 21, automotive tech major, maintained a full course load while working two jobs, all the meanwhile living in his truck.
He worked as a student assistant for the NextUp program for students at Long Beach City College formerly in the foster care system, and at a security job by night.
He would often park near the school to get WiFi to complete his school work, but his grades suffered.
“I think last semester was my first time I’ve ever been on academic probation. And so that’s what I noticed, I was dropping on, I fell a little bit off my path, and stuff like that.”
“I’m actually going to take a break on working at the school, so I’ve been focused more on the school itself, my schoolwork itself, because now I’m noticing, since I (was) homeless … I (was) focused on the job first, because you know I make money from that, and then the schoolwork second,” he said.
Elliott, who grew up in the foster care system, never intended on going to college.
After concerns that he was not going to be able to graduate from high school due to missing too much school, it was a bet with a guidance counselor that changed his path.
“If she could help me graduate high school, I would attend college,” he said.
“I actually graduated with a 4.0 and stuff. The problem was, I missed, I think 64, or some 67% of like school out of the whole four years total,” said Elliott.
In November, Elliott secured housing with a friend’s family. They had often allowed him to use their shower during his time living in his truck.
He said, “One thing I do like, is to have somewhere to sleep and rest my head without having to worry about an officer pulling up and telling me I can’t sleep here.”
“I had a lot of problems with the police, and like just people period, they’d call the police on me,” he said.
Elliott said he would tell the officer he was homeless and had nowhere to go, only to be told not to sleep in his car and to go to a shelter.
However with the pandemic, Elliott did not see that as an option.
“Usually I go every three months, I go back to my grandma, just to make sure her car is good. I don’t want to be going to places where there’s a lot of people, and I don’t want to catch COVID and then have to go all the way over there. She’s 77 years old,” he said.
His grandmother was somewhat aware of his situation as well, but Elliott did not tell her details as to not worry her. “I was more concerned (about) making sure she had a place than before I have one. I’m kind of like a grandma’s boy, so I want to make sure she was good there, before me.”
Elliott is one of 12 siblings, but he did not want to reach out for help from them either.
“I’m big on family, so usually I’ll help out my family before I help, or I usually help out people before I help myself out. I helped my sister get a place in Arizona and stuff like that, and I’m very close to my siblings. I just don’t like bothering, or owing people favors,” said Elliott.
This semester, 1,450 students at Long Beach City College requested housing support, according to Basic Needs Coordinator Justin Mendez.
He estimated that 70 of those would be considered homeless, sleeping in a car, a shelter, or couch-surfing.
There are racial disparities for students who experience homelessness, with African American males experiencing the highest percentage, and Latino males following, said Mendez.
Across California, 151,278 people were homeless in 2019, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Community college students are impacted by homelessness to a different extent than at four-year schools, partially due to a lack of dorms or on-campus housing, creating more of a reliance on community support, said to Mendez.
“We have a really big housing feasibility study that’s going on right now. We have a research group that’s been conducting focus groups with our students to learn about what is the student experience and the need and the perspective about bringing housing to LBCC, that’s in the works,” said Mendez.
Basic Needs offers community referrals to housing agencies that provide direct housing for students experiencing homelessness, such as Ramirez.
Jovenes, the agency that provided Ramirez with his current housing, has provided bridge housing to eight Long Beach City College students so far.
“Their goal is to, you know, help the students receive income, so they can be financially independent and stable on their own,” Mendez said.
Long Beach City College student Jonathan Ramirez takes advantage of having a kitchen after months of living in his car. “I’m in there like you know, sauteed veggies and steak, fish and shrimp and like, like it’s just I enjoy cooking so much. I cook every single day. I’m like I’m getting way better at it too,” he said. Photo by Tess Kazenoff / Viking News
The transitional housing program has been active since 2015, and partners with six colleges and universities in the region.
Jovenes officially partnered with the college in August. Students need to have completed nine units, and currently be enrolled in nine to qualify for support.
The school still extends support to students who do not meet these requirements, referred to additional community resources, such as Helping Homeless Student Associate Group.
According to Mendez, Long Beach City College has worked to support the variety of housing difficulties students could be experiencing, from being literally homeless, to students who are at risk of homelessness or in an unsafe environment.
“In California, we have some of the highest housing costs in the nation, and then when you bring it down to Southern California and Long Beach specifically, housing costs are ridiculous. Our community college serves a large population from low income communities. A single bedroom could be over $1,400.”
“And when you add the current situation of the pandemic, where so many students are struggling to find employment, and having a steady income is so connected with homelessness. If students can’t secure employment, then how can we expect them to secure housing too?” he said.
A lot of minimum-wage jobs that would usually provide income to students are no longer available or have been inconsistent amid the pandemic, such as retail or restaurant jobs.
As of September, the unemployment rate in California was at 11.0%, up from 3.9% in September in 2019.
To combat this, the basic needs department also attempts to connect students with career and employment services.
“I think for our students who experience homelessness specifically … I admire the resiliency and how persistent so many students are, and continuing to pursue their educational goals,” Mendez said.
For Elliott, who has been in his new housing situation for only a couple of weeks, it has been an adjustment so far.
“It’s kind of a weird, a different type of feeling because my body adjusted to staying in a truck,” he said.
In his truck, he would be woken early every morning by the sun.
“I can sleep in a little longer and stuff like that,” he said.
“My body’s trying to get used to the bed instead of a hard surface … Now I have a stable place to use the restroom when I want to wake up and use the restroom. I think that was like my biggest thing I had, like, I never missed a toilet that bad in my life.”
Elliott did not tell anyone at Long Beach City College about his situation until September.
“I’m a little stubborn. I’m old school, I want to … you know, try to do things myself as best as I can and. So, I felt like before, like asking for help was weak in a way … I didn’t want to go ask somebody for help, and like owe somebody a favor.”
Elliott is hoping to be able to complete his associate’s and transfer within a year. He wants to earn his bachelor’s in business for automotive technology..
Ramirez is studying nursing, hoping to be able to transfer into a nursing program next year.
“I’ve always wanted to help, like, I’ve always been someone that likes to help others. Like, even when I can’t help myself, I still would want to help others,” he said.
Nowadays, Ramirez said he has enjoyed cooking and utilizing his kitchen, after months of relying primarily on fast food.
“I was always the guy that would, some Saturday mornings, I would make breakfast for everybody. And I just, I enjoyed the kitchen. And now that we have a kitchen … I enjoy cooking so much. And I cook every single day. I’m getting way better at it too,” said Ramirez.
“Now that I’ve moved in here, I can’t remember the last time I bought chips, or candy or anything like that … And that has been my goal lately, was just to cook and eat and work out. And I’m like, how many times like I tell myself, days where I’m lazy, like at home, I’m just laying in bed watching ‘Game of Thrones’ or something- I’m like, how many times did I tell myself when I was in my car, like, I wish I could work out, I wish I could go run. I was in a position where I’m like, dude, put your running shoes on go run, you know. So now that I can do that, I’ve been doing that.”
Ramirez has even returned to rugby, a sport he hasn’t played in six years.
“I’m like driving, and like, the whole time it feels like a first date or something because I have like, butterflies and my heart is kind of beating like, out of my chest, and my hands are getting sweaty,” said Ramirez of his first day back on the field.
“I legitimately cried of happiness,” said Ramirez.
“I go every Saturday now and I practice with some of the Cal State Long Beach guys and some Belmont Shore rugby guys. And it’s like, I wanted to legit scream from happiness on the field. It’s like, man, these people don’t know my journey to getting back to playing and for me, it was such a huge deal to getting back on a field, and like playing and having a ball in my hand, and it was liberating.”
“That alone was like, so good for my spirit and my soul. Like, it was just so like, I don’t know how to explain it. It was just so refreshing. Like, for my mental health.”
“It was just like, telling me like, ‘Dude, you just lost your way. You know? You had some bad luck but you’re there. That you’re still who you are, or who you were, that’s you, like it’s always been you, it’s just bad luck.’ And that’s really it.”
For students in need of housing, email basicneeds@lbcc.edu.
For students in need of groceries, the drive-thru Viking Vault at Liberal Arts Campus is open every other Tuesday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., with a school ID or proof of registration, or by appointment every Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Although Long Beach Transit is currently not charging, the college also provides free bus passes for students enrolled in 12 units and in good academic standing, that can automatically be accessed through the Viking portal, however the school can attempt to assist students who do not meet these requirements.
For mental health assistance, mental health clinicians are available to meet with students by appointment.
The budget for police and dispatcher services at Long Beach City College is currently operating month to month, as the Board of Trustees did not approve the amended budget at their November meeting.
In June, the Board of Trustees voted to review their $3.3 million contract with the Long Beach Police Department.
The campus police force consists of four sworn police officers, a police lieutenant, and then 13 professional service officers, who can make private citizen’s arrests but are unable to make arrests like a police officer, according to Kevin Stinson, acting manager of the Long Beach Police Department at Long Beach City College.
Officers working on campus do receive some college-specific training, said Stinson, although not all officers participate.
Police have had a presence in American public schools since the 1950s, with colleges and universities establishing campus police in the 1960s amid mass student protests that often turned violent.
During the 2011–12 school year, 68% of four-year schools with 2,500 or more students used sworn police officers to provide law enforcement services on campus, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
After nationwide protests erupted in June following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, schools across the country began to reevaluate their ties to city police departments as public opinion of police decreased to record lows.
“Confidence in the police fell five points to 48%, marking the first time in the 27-year trend that this reading is below the majority level,” wrote Megan Brenan for “Gallup,”
Notably, among Republicans, confidence in the police rose seven points to 82%, while it dropped six points to 28% among Democrats, according to “Gallup.”
“I think ‘Defund the police’ has been taken as if it’s a slogan, as if it’s a radical slogan. ‘Defund the police’ is a policy,” said Annahita Mahdavi, associate professor of human services, addiction studies at Long Beach City College.
“Defund the police” entails reallocating money for policing into programs for rehabilitation, mentally ill, the homeless, and other social services, said Mahdavi.
Mahdavi said that for an establishment that is recognized to be built on the systems of institutionalized racism, calls to defund the police do not mean to completely abolish the police department.
“Unfortunately, people in opposition always try to label people with things like ’radical’ or ‘socialist’ … to literally change the meaning of what you’re trying to deal with. But as a policy, I don’t think anybody wants to abolish a police department,” she said.
“I think we all need to know that we can call the police department, and we can tell them that, ‘hey there’s a robbery going on,’ or ‘someone is in my house’ … we’re talking about changing policy. We’re talking about not allowing police officers to kill people in the daylight as they have been,” said Mahdavi.
Mahdavi said that more transparency is needed from the college regarding the police budget.
“What is the $3 million? Where’s it going? And why don’t we have more programs?” said Mahdavi.
“I think it should be a town hall. I think it should be an open discussion,” she said.
Jimenez recounted a recent Board of Trustees meeting, where the officer present was unable to disclose how many incidents in 2019 involved people of color.
“…Around racial profiling, like, wasn’t there full discussion? Why is that continuing to be hidden? This is the discussion, the topic of today … we need to be aware, more aware now than ever, we need to be a progressive community. And this is how we do it by small institutions right here,” said Jimenez.
“In order to, like, fix the problem, we need to be real about the problem that’s at hand. And I can’t assume that there is a problem, I only asked the question, but they didn’t have the information. So I mean, we don’t know what the actual statistics are. But, you know, having transparency, I think is super important for a school,” she said.
Board of Trustees President Vivian Malauulu said that she has only heard from teachers requesting to not remove police, and she was not aware of any concerns regarding a police presence on campus.
As for students who may feel unsafe with Long Beach Police Department officers on campus, Malauulu said that those students should reach out to her.
Amid the pandemic, for the Associated Student Body, which acts as a student voice on campus for administrative decisions, determining student opinion has been a challenge, said Jimenez.
She said that concern has stimulated her to create a project around building a better and more accessible website for the Associated Student Body.
“One of the ways I want to hear the student voice on a stronger level, is creating ways on the website where students can know what the Board is discussing at upcoming meetings, and then email me or cast their own info … (to) get the student voice in a more efficient way,” Jimenez said.
Prior to the pandemic, the Associated Student Body previously relied largely on tabling events to gather student opinion, but Jimenez said this was also not entirely effective.
Jimenez said that she requested a survey to be sent out on the cabinet level, “But it’s really a work in progress,” and the potential survey could not be uploaded onto the official website until next semester.
Jimenez said this was “really unfortunate, because now I’m really relying on just my cabinet to give me their ideas about how they feel about campus police.”
To connect with students, Stinson said that the police have made outreach efforts such as presentations, oftentimes facilitated by instructors for their classes, and questions-and-answer sessions with students prior to the pandemic, although efforts have stalled following the transition to remote learning.
To Black students in particular, Stinson said that the police have been asked to participate in a couple of events previously for “usually Black, African American, young men that come from all over the city … they’ll have like a presentation, and they’ll have different segments of the society, you know, successful business people, politicians and whatnot. And they’re trying to mentor them. We’ve taken part in that.“
Regarding if Stinson believes the police should do more outreach with Black students, he said, “It can’t hurt to get your message out or get your message across, especially if they had a request, of course.”
Following the pandemic, Stinson said he would like to see specific outreach between the police and the Black Student Union and other Black students on campus with open communication and dialogue.
As a replacement to campus police, Jimenez said that security guards are a worthwhile consideration, although entirely removing police from campus may also send a potentially harmful message.
“I think if we were to literally say, okay, campus police, like you have to not be on campus ever, then we’re telling the community, ‘let’s not associate ourselves with them.’ But then that creates more misunderstanding, there’s less like communication. And I think it’s important for police officers to have the opportunity to have that bridge,” Jimenez said.
“For right now, the way I’m seeing change is that it’s not as difficult as it seems like if we have to make a change, because it’s way too expensive to keep police, and their line of work could be used in such a better way.”
As for considering security guards as a solution, Jimenez said, “I would not be opposed to considering that because it’s efficient. First of all, it’s cost effective. Second of all, it gets the same work done. Third of all, the police are being put in situations where they can be better suited … out in the community.”
As for the feasibility of replacing armed police on campus with unarmed security guards, Mahdavi said first gun laws would need to be modified.
“It’s hard to say, because we live in a country that guns are free. And, you know everybody owns guns … The way our country’s gun laws are, we definitely need to reform. But we’ve had these debates before. And the question always comes up, that if there was an intruder with a gun … I don’t really like to see campus police walking around with big guns … We still need more debate, because things are intertwined. If you’re going to change a policy that we don’t want to see our police officers with guns walking around, or looking like National Guards, and as if they’re going to war, a war to the Middle East, that’s how they look like, we also need to change the gun laws here and not allow everybody to carry a gun with them as if they’re carrying a bag of candy.”
Mahdavi said, “So I feel like in order for us to deweaponize the police, first we need to deweaponize civilians as well.”
“There’s this sense of fear when they’re around us. That’s completely understandable. I’ve had that myself. And I’ve even mentioned that in the Board of Trustees meeting, like, I have no reason to be afraid, right? But I’m walking around automatically feeling defensive and intimidated. And that just goes to show like there’s something about police in the communities that need work on, like, how to connect with people. There’s a lot of work and healing that needs to be done there,” said Jimenez.
While Stinson said that this dynamic between the police and the public is nothing new, he said the needs of the community have also changed.
“Because you see what happened with George Floyd? There’s no justification for that. You can’t explain that away.”
“The community sees that, or the world sees that, then there’s a need for things to be explained. And then if there’s a problem that needs to be addressed,” he said.
Regarding the “Defund the Police” movement, Stinson said, “As the police officer, of course you’re gonna say ‘Wait a minute,’ you know … But then also as a person, you say, ‘Well, I can understand where they may want to do things a little bit differently.”
California Department of Justice statistics show that the Long Beach Police Department killed or seriously injured people at a significantly higher rate than other large California cities, however the police department responded by saying the statistics were flawed due to lack of transparency of other departments, according to Jeremiah Dobruck for “Long Beach Post.”
California Department of Justice statistics demonstrate that “ … among the dozen biggest cities in California, only Bakersfield and Riverside police killed or seriously injured people at a higher rate than the LBPD. Looking solely at fatal police encounters in the biggest cities, only Anaheim police killed civilians at a higher rate than officers in Long Beach,” wrote Dobruck.
As a response to the Black Lives Matter protests in June, the Long Beach Police Department eliminated the use of the carotid restraint, which Stinson said officers were receptive to.
Some divisions were also eliminated, said Stinson.
Stinson said he does believe that some funds should be reallocated to different resources to benefit the community, such as having specific mental health professionals to assist with relevant calls.
He said he would like to see the lines of communication opened between the school and the police.
Stinson said that the need for policing has not decreased since the pandemic, when the number of people on campus have been drastically reduced.
As far as how Long Beach City College is addressing the issue, Jimenez said that ultimately, “This is a big decision that is going to be made. And it’s going to sway the way that we are answering the Black Lives Matter movement. This is showing how we support our community and what you know, what are we trying to say to our community? And it’s not like, oh, if they don’t take out the police, they don’t support Black Lives Matter. It’s more of like, do they have a constructed idea of why they made the choice that they made? Do they have all the resources? Do they have all the opinions to make the choice that they think that that’s something that they need? Because they serve the students at the end of the day.”
For students who would like to offer their thoughts on campus policing, Jena Jimenez can be reached at studenttrustee@lbcc.edu.
The holidays are just around the corner, but with a spike in new COVID-19 cases the future seems uncertain, leaving many college students around the country to face the difficult decision to either go home for the holidays or to stay at school.
Boston University student and Long Beach native, Stephanie Eggers, had bought her ticket to come home for the holidays but is still uncertain if she will be returning.
“I have flights to go to California but I’m seriously considering cancelling and staying in New England where there aren’t quarantine requirements between states,” Eggers said.
A Southern Californian style Christmas tree in Naples Long Beach. Photo by Victoria Tafoya- Turoldo.
“I’ve had a lot of anxiety realizing the decision to fly home with my boyfriend completely rests on me. He really wants to go but I’m super unsure and stressed due to quarantine requirements for work if I choose to go,” Eggers said.
Eggers is not the only student experiencing these challenges.
Noah Russell, a student at Long Beach City College has been faced with the same decision.
“Usually for the past nine to ten years, we would have Thanksgiving at my aunt’s house, but now we’re going to stay at home with my immediate family,” Russell said.
“I plan to have a lazy afternoon, but I want to keep the regular tradition my family has of putting up the lights and the tree to make it seem more normal,” Russell said.
Long Beach City College has extended support to the local students staying in Long Beach throughout the holidays.
On November 24, the Viking Vault Grab & Go was open from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m, where Basic Needs provided free groceries for all students on a first come first serve basis.
These groceries were mostly Thanksgiving themed with items such as cranberry sauce, green beans, and stuffing. Frozen turkeys were also included. As of November 18, they had 200 turkeys to distribute.
Justin Mendez, Basic Needs Program Manager said, “We want students to know we are here for them and they are not alone.”
“We have more students amid the pandemic due to unemployment and food and housing insecurity,” said Mendez.
On November 25, the Basic Needs program, the Culinary Arts program and the Helping Homeless Student Group at Long Beach City College joined forces to provide a hot meal for students with housing struggles. This was only available for students who were already working with the Basic Needs program due to housing issues.
November 15-21 was Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.
Healthy Viking Initiative shared on their Instagram ways they are helping students who are facing hunger and homlessness.
Follow them for more information and stay up to date with events @lbcc_healthyvikings.
If students feel they can use the help of the services provided from the Basic Needs Program, students can call them at (562) 938-3241 or send an email to basicneeds@lbcc.edu.
A Christmas Nativity set up in the front yard as locals try and get into the holiday spirit. Photo by Victoria Tafoya- Turoldo.
Although The Salvation Army was determined to be an essential organization, their adult rehabilitation centers have had to operate understaffed during COVID-19.
The pandemic forced The Salvation Army to lay off some employees due to mandatory shutdowns to help protect the health and safety of their beneficiaries, interns, staff, and volunteers.
“Seeing people lose their jobs during a pandemic was especially disheartening,” said Denise Voss, grant writer.
Nigel Campbell, a graduate of The Salvation Army’s one-year rehabilitation program, said, “I think the most disheartening thing about the COVID-19 restrictions are that they increased homelessness. If the Salvation Army has to limit its occupants, then not only are they forced to lay off workers, but the beds that are not filled means more people are on the street.”
The Salvation Army began in 1865 in London, England as a Christian rescue mission to convert “thieves, prostitutes, and drunkards” into disciples of Christ, according to the organization’s website.
Today, The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the Christian church, is an international movement located in over 100 countries, with 18 locations across the U.S. Western Territories.
The Salvation Army aims to help men and women who struggle with homelessness and substance abuse. Their programs provide food, shelter, clothing, health care, counseling, and rehabilitation services as they work to combat the root causes of prolonged alcohol and drug dependence.
The Salvation Army’s occupancy is not full due to quarantine limitations, however, the COVID-19 health crisis has allowed for extra time to reorganize, regroup and recalibrate their programs.
In a normal year, the West Coast locations house over 1,800 people. equating to over 650,000 nights of shelter and two million meals. This year, those numbers will be lower due to government restrictions.
Locally, The Salvation Army of Long Beach houses up to 92 individuals seeking rehabilitation. The organization is one of the few places that offers a no fee 6-12 months residential program for men and women ages 21 – 65.
“We did not close our adult rehabilitation centers despite the cost to operate them, and since March, we have reopened most of our stores. Our house counts are starting to increase as we continue to recuperate from the effects of the pandemic and adjust to the new normal,” said Voss.
While The Salvation Army’s housing has been restricted, their thrift stores are thriving, with an increase in clothing donations.
The primary source of revenue for The Salvation Army are sales generated by donated clothing and household goods from the public.
However, in March 2020, as COVID-19 spread across the country, The Salvation Army had to pause retail operations and temporarily close four Salvation Army Family Stores in Long Beach.
Now that the thrift stores are back in business, the organization urges people to continue donating clothes and household goods by dropping into one of their locations. In addition, monetary donations are appreciated as well. give.classy.org/longbeacharc
The feminist organization and anti-racist learning group LB Grrrl Collective hosted an event on November 17 to honor murdered, missing, Indigenous women (#MMIW), as part of Native American Heritage Month in November.
The featured speaker at the event was Cheyenne Phoenix, a Native activist who was involved in the protests at Standing Rock. Her talk centered around the alarming rates of women who go missing or are found murdered on Native-owned land. She also spoke of forms of trauma that also affect many Native people.
The workshop began with a land acknowledgement to the Tongva and Kietzh people, and an intentional dialogue to delve into a deeper understanding of class, race and gender.
According to the National Institute for Justice, some 84% of Native women have experienced violence in their lifetimes. The discussion called for sharing stories of people who go missing on social media and in community dialogue.
Because many of the attacks occur on lands held by Native people, assaults, kidnappings and murders of Native women are often even harder to prosecute. Native women are murdered at a rate 10 times higher than other ethnicities. According to the Center for Disease Control, homicide is the third leading cause of death for Native women.
Phoenix also mentioned other issues in the Native communities that create conflict with non-Native society. She referenced sports mascots as an example of how to this day Native culture is tokenized for entertainment. While some sports teams have begun abandoning the practice, there remain dozens of major league and college teams that continue to use Native mascots and imagery.
While it is becoming more common for ceremonies to begin with acknowledging the names of the tribe which once lived on the land in left-wing and environmental groups, Cheyenne also spoke directly about giving land back to Native communities. While it may be implied that she was referring to the nation, she also encouraged people to consider leaving land to indigenous people in their wills should they be given land.
Native poverty was also discussed, and it was mentioned to keep in mind that the root of Native poverty came from the removal and continued occupation of Native lands, referred to as “the American genocide.”
One way people give back to Native communities is by donating directly to Native organizations.
Phoenix mentioned ways to help, including local efforts like the 100 Acts of Kindness (Wathin’ethe), which is an Indigenous woman-led organization focused on helping elders during the pandemic. She also mentioned joining the political battle to preserve the Los Cerritos wetlands, by preventing more oil drilling and fracking-like techniques.
There is also an effort underway to protect an area known as Puvugna, which according to various California native peoples, is the space where creation began. The area is under the management of CSULB where the institution has faced scrutiny by Native activists for having construction soil recently dumped on it.
Phoenix described a future where society can exist according to a Dine principle, Hózhó, a word which describes a world of balance, beauty, harmony and peace.
Speaker Iyapo Ngina called for white people in particular to consider what ways they can help remove barriers in society that perpetuate inequality. She called for “rebuking so-called privileges” or using privileges to stand in front of police in cases where it appears the police are behaving aggressively.
Ngina mentioned fasting for Thanksgiving as a form of consideration for Native people. She said fasting can be a form of demonstrating genuine solidarity.
“How far are you willing to go for someone else?” she said when describing what solidarity means.
Ngina mentioned how those who are aware of the issues have a challenge considering whether or not to celebrate Thanksgiving. She said she believes that solidarity means taking up the struggle alongside those who are experiencing oppression.
Ngina asked the group to self-reflect on what they are willing to do for others and what personal sacrifices they are willing to make to help build a better world.
“This is not an isolated incident. We have to see the world as a web. Everything is intimately connected. This issue, that there are murdered, missing, indigenous women. It’s not a Native problem. It’s all of our problem” Ngina said.
Ngina identifies as a woman of African heritage who believes in living her life for the cause of social justice. She said she has been active in the struggle for social justice for over 30 years and was delighted to see young people actively holding discussion groups and bringing the community together to tackle the work of breaking down systems that perpetuate injustice in society.
Phoenix remains active in local Native-led land struggles and environmental causes. Phoenix once served as the chair of the cultural affairs committee of the Long Beach City College student government. While attending the college, she helped found the Native American Student Association which she said was a way to connect Native students as well as expose the campus to Native culture.
LB Grrrl Collective co-hosts a monthly healing circle specifically for people who identify as queer, black, indigenous, or a person of color with Mama Maiz of Flora y Tierra every second Wednesday of the month.
Additionally, they host an open mic every first and third Wednesday of the month.
The anti-racist learning group meets every Tuesday, from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Event fliers and links to join the events on Zoom are available on their Instagram, @lbgrrrlcollective
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
_gac_
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
