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ASB President sends ‘passionate but misguided’ message to reporter, accuses paper of Black misrepresentation, being ‘anti-student’

Kay Pham-Nguyen
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ASB President sends ‘passionate but misguided’ message to reporter, accuses paper of Black misrepresentation, being ‘anti-student’

LBCC’s Associated Student Body (ASB) President Priince Bass accused The Viking of being anti-student and misrepresenting Black students when confronted about a text message sent to a reporter where he labeled most petitioners on campus as “panhandlers,” and said “we have raised it (petitioners) as a safety threat with student affairs,” on Tuesday night, in response to an article about a signature gatherer getting assaulted in front of the LAC library. 

Bass told The Viking he did not want his initial texts to the reporter published, but The Viking made no assurances to him that they would not run when he sent the initial texts or when he later said he did not want them to run. 

Screenshots of the initial set of texts sent to a reporter by LBCC ASB President Priince Bass, in response to story published about a signature gatherer getting pushed and having his belongings taken, on Tuesday.

“Okay, first I’d like to say there’s been a gross misrepresentation of Black students in the school media, in the newspaper and just media in general, right? It’s the culture. It’s not the school’s culture, it’s the media’s culture, but our school is so diverse, and as I go through this newspaper and look through the newspaper, each page is not many, it’s not any Black students,” Bass said in an over-the-phone interview, intended to clarify his text messages.

Bass called attention to page five of the fall semester’s second print issue, which included a story about LBCC’s HBCU Caravan event, claiming that due to other stories in the print issue, they did not leave enough space for Black students.

“And then you get to the page where the Black college recruit fair for transfer, which was the biggest event for our Black students who are trying to feel belong, they’re trying to close these equity gaps. There’s no pictures of that beautiful encouraging event. I mean, we have an airplane landing that didn’t land on campus, but we have pictures of that and the police officers, right? But those take up so much room that there’s no room for any Black students, any Black schools or anything on this page. So, I know that our staff at the newspaper is so diverse and intellectual and so quick when it comes to putting up news, but we’re just assuming that there is a blind spot when it comes to Black students, as if they are invisible, and we want the newspaper’s help to become more visible at the school. Because part of the culture, that’s part of the Viking culture, that was part, that was voted in 1927 when the school had zero diversity. No, it was only white students, no Blacks were allowed, no Asians, no Hispanics. This is the culture we need to change, right? Because so when I receive pushback and resistance to saying, hey, why is, why do you care about an inclusive mascot?,” Bass said. 

Bass is currently spearheading the movement to change the LBCC mascot from Ole the Viking to a dolphin named “D.A.N.I.E.,” an acronym for “diversity, accessibility, neutrality, inclusion, equity,” according to its Instagram page.

Bass denied knowledge of the Instagram page before Nov. 18 in an interview with a reporter.

On Wednesday, the account was seen passionately responding to comments made on an Instagram post by news outlet Long Beach Post about the want of mascot change.

The account has Bass’ online survey for the mascot change linked to its bio, as well as multiple posts that repeatedly advocate for the change.

Bass claimed that he did not create the account himself.

“All my information is public record and I’ve sent all my information to dozens of people, but no, that’s cool. This is my survey like this is the information,” Bass said. 

During the initial phone call, The Viking tried to redirect Bass to clarify his texts that said, “Most of them are panhandlers, they always say it. ‘Why are you bothering me I’m just getting these signatures to get paid?’ I don’t have anywhere to live. Someone gave me a job and sent me here,’” and “I have to make sure we are not enabling the threats we have on campus,” reporters were told not to interrupt him.

Bass abruptly ended the 30-minute call where he did not leave room for reporters to speak or ask follow-up questions, and called back about an hour later. 

In the later call, Bass said that his original statement wasn’t intended to infringe on anyone’s rights. 

“That wasn’t the basis off of it and it wasn’t my idea because, you know guys, I’m supportive of civil rights and supporting the petitions or whatever person wants to do, just, free rights, right? We are highly, highly in support of that. Nobody would ever infringe on anybody’s right to petition,” Bass said. 

When asked to clarify what the threat was, he shared that students have voiced concerns about the signature gatherers being aggressive and said that “some students say, ‘I didn’t know that I could turn it down. I thought they were at the school and I had to help.’” 

Within Bass’ original text message, he stated that he told a petitioner, but did not clarify who, that “it’s my responsibility to look and protect my students however I can and if you’re getting paid $3 per signature and your making student sign 5, 6 times and misleading them while they give you all of there personal information, name, address birthday email I wanted to know the purpose.” 

He then stated in the call, “There’s no crime in being aggressive and getting petitions signed and actually, I found out there’s no crime in lying to get petitions signed, right? So once again, these are all civil rights. We don’t care, I support it.” 

Bass’ first of three follow up texts sent on Tuesday, before the call, claimed his belief that signature gatherers, or petitioners, were casing LBCC students.

“There have been a string of crimes directly associated with these petitions: we have raised it as a safety threat with student affairs because the are exploiting our students ; taking there information and casing them. If you read any of the petitions they are not valid and they as misleading students to sign it . I should have told you all about this last month but was told that they are under investigation,” Bass said in the message.

His verbal response regarding the text, in its entirety, was that it was not towards petitioners as a whole, but claimed it was specific towards an isolated incident that involved a Black student getting his diamond chain stolen, which Bass did not witness.

Bass said the man who stole the chain was recognized by another student as someone who was collecting signatures earlier that day, and the petitioner was under investigation. 

“Towards the evening, when it got darker outside, around 5:30, 6 o’clock, one of the guys that was with the group of petitioners, they saw, one of, there was a, a student standing. His name was Oscar. He used to be a president of Umoja. His name is Oscar and Brian Burten was out there. And while they were standing there talking, one of the guys that was a petitioner that they remembered from earlier, grabbed Oscar’s diamond necklace off his neck and took it from him and ran away. Right? Oscar tried to chase him. A couple other people tried to chase the guy, couldn’t get a hold of him. Now, when they confronted the other petitioners, ‘hey, that guy, that guy that you guys are with, took this dude’s chain,’ They all instantly said, ‘we don’t know him, we don’t know who he is. He’s not our guy, dot, dot, dot. We have nothing to do with him.’ Right? That’s one incident,” Bass said.

Bass shared that the student did not file the report, but that an officer filed for the student.

Campus police officer Kevin Stinson, who did not file the report, confirmed that there was an open investigation for the specific suspect, but “we (the police) had no knowledge of hearing that he (the suspect) was a petitioner.”

Bass said he would not be able to pick the man who stole Oscar’s necklace out of a lineup because he was not there when the incident happened. 

“I don’t know any of these people personally, and I don’t know who was affiliated with who, right? So I don’t, I just, when the dude’s chain got snatched that night, the only witnesses were like the officers and the students that were there. I was not there that night. Right? But when they saw it, but when these people saw these specific students, again, they said, ‘oh, those are the guys.’ Once again, I didn’t take pictures of them. I didn’t get their names or emails. I couldn’t pick them out of a lineup. … I don’t want to infringe on the investigation that’s going on with the police officers by saying that they are affiliated or not when I literally would be lying. If I do, like I can only be honest with you. So I have no idea if these people are affiliated or not affiliated,” Bass said.

LBCC’s head of PR Stacey Toda sent an emailed statement, after denying requests for live interviews on the subject, regarding Bass’s initial text messages and if there was an ongoing investigation regarding all the petitioners on campus, due to how Bass worded his initial message.

“Long Beach City College allows members of the public, including petition gatherers, to be on campus in designated areas as permitted by law. At this time, Long Beach City College has no active investigations concerning petition gatherers. Statements made by individual students or student leaders do not represent the official position of Long Beach City College. LBCC remains committed to maintaining a respectful and inclusive environment for everyone on our campuses,” the statement read.

The Viking reached out to LBCC President Mike Munoz directly, before receiving the emailed LBCC statement, requesting an interview with the context of Bass’ initial messages, but was unable to talk due to a busy schedule.

“I’m sorry but I am scheduled through the day with meetings and hosting our employee holiday party this afternoon. Since this is a matter involving the ASB President you may want to connect with Dr. Corral Vice President of Student Services since ASB is under his purview. If not please continue to work with Stacey to see if we can find time tomorrow,” Munoz said in his text message.

A voicemail requesting an interview with Corral was left for Toda, but The Viking only received the written statement as the official response from LBCC.

The Viking gave the administration a second chance to comment on Thursday, but did not hear back from Toda.

Bass said he does not feel responsible for the students’ lack of knowledge when it came to signing petitions, saying “absolutely not” when asked.  

When asked why he advocated that students deserved to know what they were signing, he responded with, “No, I’m saying we’re college students. These are college students, we’re educated students. This is higher education. This is education, right? This is an educational place. This is a school, right? Right. So, there’s nothing wrong with a person having more knowledge. Are you anti, is this an anti-education question or anti-knowledge, or is this one of those things where like turn the other cheek, right? You know how back in the day when stuff would happen at homes and if everybody was to speak about it, then we just ignore it for generations. Is it one of those things where even if we know what they’re doing, we might not, they might not be doing the thing, let’s justify it. Is that the way you’re trying to ask? Because I can give you that angle and support you on that angle in a way that justifies the petitioners being rude and belligerent, and one of them assaulting and stealing something from a student, if you’re on their side, but I thought you were in support of the students.

He later said, “If y’all gonna just, you aren’t gonna communicate, at least represent us. It represents students, the students concerned, the people, like, don’t seem like y’all, like, sometimes the paper seems anti-student. I’m like, dang, like, I thought this was our school. I thought it was our school.”

Bass’ original message to the reporter on Tuesday said, “Internally there have been discussions to put signage around campus warning them not to give out all of their personal information to people if there are unaware of the source or what they are signing. It could lead to extreme liability, if one of our students gets seriously hurt or exploited.”

Bass told The Viking that the Dean of Student Affairs Deborah Miller-Calvert approved putting up signage around the school warning students to be aware of what they’re signing, stating he knew wasn’t supposed to share the information.

When asked about Bass wanting petitioners to not be allowed on campus due to student safety concerns and included the mention of the First Amendment right that allows freedom to petition, especially on a public campus, Bass responded, “Once again, I love that we know our rights, right? But once again, don’t our students have a right to feel safe on campus? Once again, I don’t feel like I’m — y’all are anti-student. Y’all are so anti-student. I don’t even know who I’m talking to sometimes. I feel like I’m talking to like one of the uppers at the school because y’all sound anti-student right now. Y’all sound very anti-student, as if you aren’t a student, as if you are not.”

He then repeated that he was supportive of civil rights and was asked what his preferred plan of action was, regarding the isolated incident of necklace theft, and responded “I don’t have any preference on what to happen, like I’m not a judger or an executioner. I just highlighted the concern and I just exposed it and put spotlight on it. However, the school wants to go about doing, finding the most safe way to do things with students, it’s completely up to them, but it’s very far in between me because I’m super pro-speech and pro-protest and pro-petition.”

Bass referred to the initial messages sent to the reporter as “passionate, but misguided.” 

“It’s not my responsibility and honestly, the message I said was just might have been passionate, but it was misguided. It was misguided. It was just a little too passionate, right? It was just a little too passionate. It was actually just a reaction to the fake news or the misinformation that was put out on The Viking engagement,” Bass said, who claimed in the text messages that the signature gatherer in front of the library was not pushed, despite what the police told The Viking.

After the over-the-phone interview with The Viking, Bass, an elected government official, sent multiple text messages saying he did not consent to The Viking publishing his messages sent to the reporter. 

“I don’t want the text messages to be posted , my phone autocorrected a lot of works (words) and it’s out of context . It started filling its own words as I read it back . The clarification of my statements shall justify. I don’t give my consent to use the text messages,” the first post-call text message read. “The text messages don’t fully express or accurately express my concerns.” 

The post-call text messages are shown below. 

Screenshots of the text messages sent to reporters after two over-the-phone interviews by on Wednesday.

Black and Latino students supported in STEM majors at LBCC

Jacyn King
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Black and Latino students supported in STEM majors at LBCC

The city of Compton hosted an Air and Space Fair on Nov. 1 aimed to encourage young Black, Latino and other people of color to join STEM careers, through connecting them to Black aerospace and aviation professionals. 

This event allowed them to feel represented in the STEM field and learn more about their careers.

Programs like MESA and the DESTINO Science Resource Center are working to make science and engineering more accessible to Black and Latino students through academic counseling, talk circles and professional connections, allowing them to find community,  leading them to academic success

Founded through a Department of Education grant in 2019, DESTINO which stands for Developing Engaging Science Through Innovative New Opportunities, offers tutoring, workshops and resources that aim to close equity gaps, and create a welcoming space for students who might otherwise feel out of place in STEM.

“A lot of times students in STEM struggle with identifying themselves in the classroom, especially when maybe there are professors that don’t look like them, their peers don’t look like them,” said Leslie Ortega, DESTINO Lab Coordinator.

The program’s mission extends beyond academics by helping students find community and reassurance through hosting talk circles where students can express their emotions, struggles and concerns. 

“So we’ve started a series called “STEM Identity” to create space for those conversations. You know, some of the workshops we had were conversations beyond the tip of the iceberg, the tip of the iceberg being, passing grades or passing a test and success. Bottom of the iceberg, like the tears, the all-nighters. So we want to create a space where students feel seen and heard,” said Ortega. 

The MESA program, which stands for “Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement” provides career counseling, tutoring, professional networking, and research opportunities designed to prepare first-generation and low-income students for transfer and STEM careers.

Both programs emphasize mentorship and exposure, and MESA offers partnerships with university labs where students can gain real research experience.

In partnership, the centers host a series called “Sip N Science” which spotlights guest speakers in the STEM industry, giving students a chance to see professionals who share their backgrounds and stories. 

With the efforts of both programs, they intend to shape the next generation of nurses, scientists and engineers. 

Women’s soccer wraps up season 18-2-2, place fifth in southern regionals

Bella Schultz
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Women’s soccer wraps up season 18-2-2, place fifth in southern regionals

Women’s soccer fell short in the final Southern Regionals round against Santiago Canyon for California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) Southern Regional Finals 4-2, ending their strong 18-2-2 record for the season on a bittersweet note on Saturday. 

“Yeah, obviously tough way to get out… we had a lot of belief that we can kind of get to the next round and you know, we were hoping to be part of the final four,” Tino Nunez, head coach for women’s soccer said. 

Throughout the season, the Vikings won the 3C2A South Coast Conference Tournament 2-1 against Mt. SAC on Nov. 13.

The Vikings had a 7-0-1 record in their conference, and their only loss came against Chaffey, which ended 3-0. 

They scored  51 goals in 21 games totalling an average of 2.24 goals per game and goals against the average was 0.84 per game.

“I’m proud of how far we went this season, and I think we are a really good team, but we still have to get better defensively,” Viking midfielder Sky Demelo said. 

Forward Lorena Moreno had both the most goals with 12 and assists with 7 for the vikings this season. 

“I think the experience the team was able to get. Ultimately, if we’re able to create an experience that they’re able to take on until the next thing or next chapter for those sophomores. I can see they were able to create kind of a family environment,” Nunez said. 

Their biggest win came against Fullerton where they won 8-0, adding to their total of 10 shutout wins this season. 

Nunez said his goal for next season is to build off this season. 

“I think we just continue to build off of this and have this feeling, like something was taken away, kind of motivates us to come back and work even harder,” Nunez said. 

Next soccer season will start in August of 2026, with the team looking to go farther than they did this season.  

Back-to-back championship title caps off LBCC’s women’s water polo dominant season 

Heaven Herrera
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Back-to-back championship title caps off LBCC’s women’s water polo dominant season 

LBCC women’s water polo continued to reign in the pool as back-to-back state champions following a win over Riverside College on Nov. 22 at UC Merced, a title bolstered by the team’s tenth SCC championship win in a row just a week prior.

The win wrapped up the team’s season with a 40-2 overall record to earn them the number one seed in the conference.

The two losses were to Biola University, 11-10, and CSU Northridge, 12-10 in non-conference matches. 

Vikings water polo players ,left to right, Jennifer Connelly, Shahar Rokach, Ada Fite Colino, pose with the state championship trophy after winning it back to back in season 2024-2025. Including this double LBCC has not won the state championship since 2006. (Jose Calix)

“This is the largest roster that we’ve ever had considering there was 29 women, plus this is this the first time in our women’s water polo history of going undefeated against community colleges and winning our 10th consecutive conference title and our second consecutive state championship,” Chris Oeding, LBCC’s women’s water polo head coach, said.

The team put up 720 goals during the season,with the highest number of points scored per game being 23 in three separate games, one of which was against Ventura, who did not score any goals against the Vikings.

Vikings utility Audrey Bonelli spoke about the goals set for the season.

“Our main goals were winning the conference, regionals, and state. We reached those three goals,” Bonelli said. “The end goal was something big for us, and we were just glad that we reached it.”

The Vikings had one game where they scored fewer than ten goals, a 4-2 win against Santa Barbara, and had three shutouts against Ventura, Chaffey and Pasadena. 

Left to right, Viking goalkeepers Maya Jennings, Hailey Suttle,Sophia Santsche-Chavez, Olivia Birdsall and Marlene Isaacson celebrate their second consecutive victory of the state championship. (Kay Pham-Nguyen)

Even though the Vikings are  no stranger to playoffs, the highlight of this year was the thought of being able to become back-to-back state champions.

The final game was played using the communication that they worked on throughout their time playing together and as well as those skills that they learned.

“I think playing together as a team is what sets things in tone for us this season, and just making sure that we put everything in the pool that we worked on in practice,” Vikings attacker Bella Perez said.

Vikings attackers Irene Pueyo Caballero and Mar Bernal scored a combined total of 141 goals of the 720  that were made.

Viking women’s water polo goalkeepers celebrate their second consecutive victory of the state championship, the team has not won the state championship since 2006. (Jose Calix)

The state championship win was the perfect way for Bernal and 11 of her fellow sophomores to end their water polo career at LBCC.

LBCC women’s water polo will continue to work to maintain their dominance in the water.

“Keep on working, practice, train, and come out ten times harder next year,” Perez said.

The women’s water polo will return in the swim season, which starts in April 2026.

Left to right, goalkepers Maya Jennings, Hailey Suttle,Sophia Santsche-Chavez, Olivia Birdsall and Marlene Isaacson celebrate their second consecutive victory of the state championship. (Kay Pham-Nguyen)

Signature gatherer assaulted outside of library, police respond

Kay Pham-Nguyen
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Signature gatherer assaulted outside of library, police respond

A signature gatherer for seven ballot measures was assaulted and had his belongings taken after a verbal altercation between him and a man exiting the LAC library between 2 and 3 p.m. today. 

His clipboards of signatures, briefcase, cart and sign attached to his table that read “Save patients” were taken. 

The victim had another sign taped to the front of the table that read “Save lives with a signature”.

The petitioner, center, whose things were stolen, talks with two people who were walking by after the incident at his stand in front of the LBCC library today. The incident occurred at approximately between 2 and 3 p.m. (Dom Maddan)

“He’s collecting signatures, somebody approached him and started talking to him, (the suspect) became upset with his message, put hands on him, pushed him and then grabbed his signs and them off the table. Then, he grabbed his petition signatures, put them in his little cart, … and wheeled it off towards the K Building,” police officer Kevin Stinson said. 

The verbal altercation between the two involved the suspect asking what the petitions were about and the petition gatherer not having further answers.

“(The suspect) was just combative, argumentative and I told the man, ‘I don’t have the energy to argue with people. I am not here to debate people, either you want to sign the petition or you don’t want to.’ If I meet anyone that’s combative, I encourage them to leave. … this man simply would not leave,” the victim, who refused to give his name, said.

The police responded to a strong-arm robbery call, but were called after the incident occurred, according to Stinson.

The suspect was last seen running southbound toward Carson Street, but Stinson confirmed that the police did not see or make contact with the suspect because they arrived on scene after the incident was over. 

The victim found his belongings hidden inside the K Building after chasing the suspect.

Although the suspect left the victim’s belongings behind, police still filed a police report because the crime was still committed. 

“(The suspect) wasn’t able to complete the crime by keeping it. Took it, fled and left it behind. I don’t know if he (thought) he’s gonna come back and get it later. I don’t know what his motivation was. The victim’s not injured, so we’re going to file a police report,” Stinson said. 

 Vikings men’s water polo earns third place in state championship

Liam Hollon
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 Vikings men’s water polo earns third place in state championship

The Vikings Men’s Water Polo team has completed its 2025 season, boasting an SCC tournament championship and a 3rd place finish in the 3C2A State Championships. 

During the season, LBCC had a perfect 7-0 record in conference games this season and had an overall record of 26-8. 

“This is just a really hard working group. They got around a lot of tough games and they always came out ready to battle,” head coach Djoko Radunovic said. 

Much of the team thinks the success they had this year is because of the relationships they formed and how much effort every individual put in equally in training sessions and games. 

“I think they formed a real brotherhood in a really short period of time. That just helped us play much better as a team,” Radunovic said. 

After an underwhelming 3-3 start to the season, LBCC got into a good rhythm and went 23-5 for the rest of the year.

“Our men’s team has been really strong throughout history. Back-to-back conference champions. I think this year they really performed at a very high level. I know that early on against Golden West and West Valley, we had some losses, but they were really close contests. Going into the playoffs, we really felt good. Unfortunately, we played the defending state champions in the semifinals. And you know, you get that loss, but all in all we are really proud of their performance and their growth,” Dean of Athletics Randy Totorp said.

LBCC attacker Federico Gulisano led the Vikings in both goals and assists, boasting an impressive 97 goals and 28 assists during the season.

LBCC’s Water Polo team has many different players from all over the world, which can make forming good relationships with teammates difficult. 

“We have many international players from different water polo backgrounds, so building chemistry took time. We trained hard together, listened to our coaches, and you could really see everyone’s teamwork improve week by week,” Viking attacker Thomaz Figueiredo said. 

Having now played an entire season with each other, conditioning and playing games week after week, this group is as close as it has ever been. 

“We’re a very united team. It really became a family environment and it feels great to be a part of a group like this,” Figueiredo said. 

The Vikings will look to improve on their third place finishes in the state championship and the SoCal Regionals tournament next year with talented returning players and some exciting new additions. 

“With the new players coming in, the team will be even stronger. We have everything we need to take a big step forward and have a great season,” Figueiredo said. 

Free food given to thousands at Veterans Memorial Stadium

Diosa Hippolyta
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Free food given to thousands at Veterans Memorial Stadium

Hundreds of vehicles filled with families lined up as early as 6 a.m. to receive food support from the Free Food Giveaway at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Nov. 21.

Long Beach City College’s Basic Needs, in collaboration with the offices of Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, organized the event that drew thousands to come throughout the three-hour drive-thru only service.

“It’s great to see more than a hundred volunteers up early, meeting the needs of our community. It is the spirit of unity that is unmistakable in Long Beach,” Richardson said. 

No identification was required to receive food packages from organizers serving up to six vehicles at a time in organized drive-thru lanes, where they took a family count per vehicle.

“I was surprised when I came out this morning and saw the line all the way to Carson. Times are hard,” Ruben Amador, a library systems technician and adjunct instructor who volunteered to direct lane traffic for the drive.

LBCC students, administration members, and other groups volunteered to serve fellow students, staff and local community members in need by loading vehicles with food packages that included fresh produce, dairy products, eggs, rice, canned goods, and a whole chicken provided by the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

“I feel grateful, you know, sometimes we need a little help to get through, and I hope one day to be the person helping,“ student Jessica Morales said, who brought her sister Emely Morales and cousin Pricilia Narvaez who are also LBCC students.

The impact of the recent government shutdown on families who received late SNAP benefits and federal employees who were not paid during the shutdown’s duration were driving forces for the giveaway.

“I am really happy we are doing this because obviously people need the food that we are giving away, but it kind of breaks my heart that we have 4,000 people that are expected today,” Hahn said.

This was the largest food distribution in the 4th supervisorial district of LA County, which Hahn represents, and is home to more than two million people stretching from Torrance, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Long Beach and the Gateway Cities.

“We are here to support the students. A few years ago, when we realized that some of our students were homeless, it was eye-opening for a lot of people. You didn’t think that our students were struggling to find a place to sleep every night while trying to go to school and study to earn their degree,” Hahn said. “The fact that (students) are here today helping, I think, says a lot about them because sometimes when people are in need, they can only think about themselves, but it just shows that even in their time of need, they are giving back and that shows.”

Viking News reported in a recent article that food insecurity is an issue for students on federal programs, a concern that will still hold with winter break coming soon.

“When we know that things are uncertain based on federal shutdowns, federal budgets, and ICE raids on communities, we know what to do to step up,” Richardson said

Free groceries available every Wednesday at LAC

Matthew C. Bautista
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Free groceries available every Wednesday at LAC

LBCC hosted their weekly Viking Village Market that provided students with free produce, community interaction, and information on services offered to those in need on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.

Free fruits and vegetables were given out to students for the entire duration of the event, with students needing only to provide their student ID numbers for eligibility.

The Viking Village Market is held every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the A quad at LAC and is open for all students and staff who may be interested.

Students and staff alike were also encouraged to paint on a community mural that will be hung on one of the walls in the Viking Vault.

LBCC student Jade McNeill paints on a community canvas that will be displayed in the LBCC Viking Vault during the weekly Viking Village Market on Wednesday, the eve of Thanksgiving. The Viking Village Market is an event held every Wednesday of the week to provide food and services for students and staff in need. The event informs those in attendance of the wide range of services that are available to them, that they may not know of. (Matthew C. Bautista)

The Viking Village Market acts as a resource to all students and staff, serving as a weekly hub for those in need, hosting stalls from numerous different departments, with assistance ranging from the Metro Transit System to Calfresh.

Dorothy Valerie Cardenas, student success coach for Community Advancing Student Achievement (CASA), opts to participate in the market due to how much it increases her ability for outreach.

“We’re able to reach so many more people and show them resources they might not have even realized we have,” Cardenas said.

Some of the resources mentioned by Cardenas involve basic needs, mental health, transfer counseling, and career placement.

CASA director Justin Mendez has helped host these events for over a year now, originally starting the Viking Market with the same ideals they adhere to today.

“A big part of it is destigmatizing the kinds of people that need basic services,” Mendez said. 

He hopes that these events serve as a catalyst for those ideals, allowing those in need to actually access the resources available to them without dealing with negative connotations often associated with them.

Pallary Noen, LBCC Student Ambassador for the Foundation for California Community Colleges, discusses with LBCC student James Bates about the services available at the weekly Viking Village Market on Wednesday, the eve of Thanksgiving. The Viking Village Market is an event held every Wednesday of the week to provide food and services for students and staff in need. The event informs those in attendance of the wide range of services that are available to them, that they may not know of. (Matthew C. Bautista)

Pallary Noeun, Student Ambassador for the Foundation for California Community Colleges, held many of the same sentiments as Mendes and Cardenas, providing information ranging from mental health hotlines to affordable auto insurance.

While she typically interacts with students online, Pallary hosts the booth to bridge that gap and create a more human interaction between her and the people she wishes to reach.

“I just want to help people get the help that they need, and being here means that I might be able to make more of an impact,” Pallary said.

The show must go on: Background actress steps up for the lead role in ‘Rough Magic’

Rafael Gomez
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The show must go on: Background actress steps up for the lead role in ‘Rough Magic’

A background actress took over the lead role for a showing of Long Beach City College’s last production of the fall semester after the lead had to call out due to her admission to the emergency room.

Sophia Zwillinger, an 18-year-old freshman who originally played two side characters with 11 lines total, was put into the lead role for Nancy Tran’s as Melanie Porter for the evening showing of LBCC’s production of “Rough Magic” on Nov. 22.

Director Eric Lauritzen found out that Tran was in urgent care the morning after the first show, showing symptoms for what he believed was appendicitis, but turned out to be from an accumulation of stress.

“We got to a point where we’re like, first things first, hopefully she’s ok, she needs to figure out what’s going on, and secondly, if she doesn’t come within 15 minutes we can’t do this matinee, she could probably show up an hour before and get ready, but if she’s been up all night long, who knows about her physical state at that point,” Lauritzen said.

By noon, the decision to cancel the matinee was made as Tran was barely sent to the ER for further evaluation at that time, and uncertainty set in for the remaining showtime later in the evening as no understudy was selected for this play, but Lauritzen had a solution in mind.

“Sophia’s been part of the production since the beginning. She has just, opened herself up to us. Whatever we’ve needed, she’s been there to assist. She even picked up a secondary role when we lost an actor and then another that had to be let go because they weren’t showing up on time, … She was such a team player and a good actress at that, so we asked her ‘hey, would you be willing to do a couple of rehearsals and go up this evening on book as this character,’ and she was super excited about it,” Lauritzen said.

Zwillinger only had about five hours to learn the entire script and put together a costume using clothes she had at home that resembled what Tran wore.

“I was terrified to be completely honest. This was my first show at LBCC. I’m fresh out of high school, and I’ve been doing theater for a long time, but never as the lead,” Zwillinger said. “It was either cancel both shows or have me read the lines, and we ultimately decided to give the audience one show that night. … Everyone was really stressed and kind of shaken, … but everyone was very reassuring and supportive. Everyone offered to help out and I appreciated it so much. Luckily for me, I was also doing sound for the show, so I saw the show over and over again,” Zwillinger said.

Zwillinger described the experience as ultimately fun, and was glad to be able to deliver a performance in the stead of Tran’s absence.

“Nancy is a fantastic actress and a total trooper. I know she would’ve been here if she was feeling up for it,” Zwillinger said.

Tran was able to return for Nov. 23’s matinee, and shared that while she was happy to showcase the character of Melanie Porter when she did, she was still devastated at not being able to perform.

“I love doing what I do, whether there’s no one in the audience or a hundred people in the audience. That was the only night that Tony Carreiro, one of our theatre professors, was going to be in the audience. I wanted to be in the lead for him to see what I can do. I know it’s not the last time he’ll ever see me, but I was bummed. I’m glad he got exposure to a new actress. I was crying when I found out he was in the audience, because I was so sad. Things happen for a reason, so I’m not too sad over it,” Tran said.

Tran mentioned that although she and Zwillinger are mostly acquaintances who share a costuming class and a passion for acting, she feels obligated to encourage and guide student actresses like Zwillinger.

“I was actually the one who encouraged her to audition. I told her please don’t make theatre the only thing you’re doing. There’s life out there, especially at your age, so please make time for life. I feel like a mentor to younger students because I am older, and a lot of characters you may portray may have experience that you might not have because you’re in the theater all the time. But, I do love her. … I wish I got to know her more, but I’m always on stage so I never get a chance to relax and get to know her like other cast mates. I haven’t seen anything yet, but I heard she was phenomenal,” Tran said.

Both actresses also auditioned on Monday for the same role for the upcoming Musical “Into the Woods”.

Looking back on the second day of production, Lauritzen described these obstacles as the “magic of theater.” 

“Everyone was so scared and excited because nobody knew what was going to happen and the energy was so pungent and full and raw, but it was like, this is exactly what theater is all about. We’ve created a really beautiful show, but for the first time, everybody got to live in the unknown, … (Sophia) shined, she was gorgeous, she acted her brains out. She did a wonderful job and got a standing ovation at the end, and it almost makes me want to cry when I think about it. It was so good, it was so magical. I’m so proud of her for taking on such a scary responsibility, and not only just going through the motions, but giving it her all and hitting it out of the park. It was so impressive, and I think it’s a lifelong experience for her that she should revel in and just really take the heart for the rest of her life to know that she can do anything after doing this,” Lauritzen said.

Lauritzen also had nothing but praise for Tran’s return to the stage.

“It was just a lot of life and stress and combinations, and pushing ourselves to the limit. We have to take care of ourselves is the bottom line of this. But like a true professional, Nancy came back on Sunday and, while Sophia deserved to have another show, I’m so proud and happy that Nancy came back. She was great, and for her to be able to come back after all that and have one final performance and have it be a really awesome performance, it was really great that she could end it on a high note, because it really would have been hard for her to put all that work in and then not get to finish it and and she’s the type of person that you know wants to do everything right as well,” Lauritzen said.

Overall, LBCC’s production of “Rough Magic” had its ups and downs, but the perseverance of the team shone through for both the audience and actors to see on and off stage.

“Everybody got to see two examples of the brilliance of theater in two different performances from the magic of a human thrusting themselves into the moment and hitting it out of the park on Saturday and then seeing the main actress come back and be such a professional on Sunday and hold the show up to the freaking promise it’s supposed to be and go out with a bang, was just lessons for everybody across the board, and I’m so proud of everyone. I’m totally honored to be a part of that experience. I’m so tired and so happy that the show is done, but I am so fulfilled by the fortitude that everybody had and the love and support that everybody gave. This wasn’t a community theater show. This was an Off-Broadway show, these people were professionals, and they showed it, and everybody grew so much during that whole performance time that I am just blown away, and it made it all worth my while, that’s for sure,” Lauritzen said.

Campus police respond to agitated student at mental health office

Kay Pham-Nguyen
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Campus police respond to agitated student at mental health office

A student was sent home today after four campus police officers responded to a call about an uncooperative student at the mental health services office, after the student’s professor realized they could not deal with the disruptive situation on their own.

“We had a student who had some sort of, we’ll just say, mental episode. The instructor escorted him to student health to try to get them some help, but they were very animated, very agitated, so very disruptive. They called us to see if we could come help,” officer Kevin Stinson said. 

Stinson and the student talked about the best outcome for him even though the student wanted to resume getting ready for his next class, but Stinson did not want the student to disrupt other students. 

“He was so agitated that I was like, ‘I don’t want you to go to the library and have that happen again.’ So we decided, ‘why don’t you take the day off and get some fresh air, you know, get some cool water and come back tomorrow with a new attitude,’” Stinson said. 

Before sending the student home, campus police called their mental evaluation team and the student was assessed for a 5150, but did not meet the criteria to be considered a danger to themselves or others. 

The student was offered mental health services even though he did not meet the criteria, but declined.

The student did not want to interact with the police, but calmed down once he realized Stinson was not part of the Los Angeles Police Department.

“He looked at me again and said ‘Oh, you’re not LAPD. You’re okay with me,’ so he calmed down on his own. We talked to him in a humane way and so he felt at ease, but he was just very animated. His whole demeanor was loud and he was all over the place with his statements, and we just listened,” Stinson said. 

Although the cause of the incident was not clear, police chronicled the events in the student’s statement to identify the cause.

“He claimed that he was on the metro or the blue line earlier today, and had some sort of incident that triggered him. He wasn’t clear about it because he was saying a lot of things about demons and what not. … He came to class and when he got to class instead of focusing on the lesson, he kept going back to ‘Oh man, I was on the metro and something happened,’” Stinson said. 

Police spent around 30 minutes responding to the call. 

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