Home Blog Page 215

Latin artist portrays life through paintings

Anyssa Staine
-
0
Latin artist portrays life through paintings

Victoria Maldonado has always been interested in the beauty of painting her whole life and would spend her childhood watching cartoons and recreating them with her own drawing style.

Maldonado’s father was the biggest influential person in her life, he impacted her with all what he knows about being a construction painter and what it really means to be a painter.

“My work before was more about loss and how I was coping with my dad’s loss, but now I feel that I have expanded my work about other things,” Maldonado said.

Being an introvert, Maldonado learned that being an artist is all about sharing about one’s own experiences and history through their art. Through her paintings, she became open to express herself.

Maldonado has explored beyond her traditional work and reached out with what’s going on more in the world.

“My work is really about identity policies, political climate, just basically figuring out what is a queers person identity,” Maldonado explained.

Right now in her current practice, Maldonado is making a statement with her work and wishes for the public to understand the story from what her work is portraying.

“Much of her work focuses on social political content,” Trevor Norris, the art gallery director said.

One of Maldonado paintings comes with a figure of a man wearing a shirt saying, “Abolish ICE”  with his arms holding a child and on his arm, “Families Belong Together.”

Painting by Maldonado influenced by her two family members. Provided by Victoria Maldonado.

The art piece represents a time where Maldonado found an old picture of her dad holding her cousin.

“For me the whole point was to see like the most intimate part of families, so for me that was such a compelling image,” Maldonado said.

Her art also reflects in identity policies such as queer and mainly trying to figure out what is a person’s queer identity and where do they stand in the political spectrum.

Maldonado has people within her circle who have faith and support her throughout every step of the way through this journey of her art career.

“I would say her work comes from the TOC queer latinx women, a lot of her work is coming from identity and how they navigate within the world and touch bases on the LGBTQ,” Vanessa Olivarez, a friend and supporter of Maldonado’s said.

Maldonado is one of many Generational: Local Latinx LGBTQI artists who will be showing some of her art pieces at the Surbiennial Art Exhibition at Long Beach City College on September 19.

Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks at fundraiser in West Hollywood

Sebastian Angulo
-
0
Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks at fundraiser in West Hollywood

Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg held a grassroots fundraising event at the Avalon, located

in West Hollywood, and spoke about his takes from climate change to being a pro-choice Christian.

The event was a “low dollar” fundraiser with tickets starting at twenty-five dollars in order to

make it more accessible for a younger crowd, and featured guest DJ Shepherd Fairey, creator of Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign “Hope” poster.

Buttigieg spoke about how important it is to change U.S. policies regarding climate change and suggested carbon pricing and more investing.

Buttigieg later emphasized the influence of local community efforts.

“A really big thing we need to do is unlock the power of local communities and cities to confront climate change,” Buttigieg said.

Pete Buttigieg is a former U.S. Naval Reserve officer and has served as mayor for his town South Bend, Indiana since 2012 for two terms.

Buttigieg answered questions submitted by attendees from a fish bowl which included measures

for gun control, reproductive healthcare, and making higher education affordable and more

accessible.

Bolstering federal tuition grants instead of promising to make college completely tution or debt free.

Buttigieg admitted to the audience that none of his plans were going to be easy to implement, but reiterated that all of his plans can be done.

The Mayor of Indiana went on and urged people to go out and vote, Buttigieg emphasized it to younger voters soon to come for election year in 2020.

“All the things young people are going to face are being decided and are on the ballot right now,” Buttigieg said.

Student Trustee intentionally stepped out during a vote that censured fellow Trustee

abel reyes
-
0
Student Trustee intentionally stepped out during a vote that censured fellow Trustee

While the Board of Trustees were voting on whether they should censure Trustee Sunny Zia, Student Trustee Donnell Jones deliberately stepped out during the vote to use the restroom.

In Aug. the Board of Trustees voted to censure Trustee Zia for referring to Board President Vivian Maluulu’s Christian faith during a public meeting.

Due to business he had to attend at Purdue University in Indiana, Student Trustee Jones was absent from the meeting when Zia commented on Malauulu’s Christian faith. 

Because Jones was away when the dispute happened, he believed that it wasn’t his place to take a stance.

“I wasn’t there and because I believe that it was an issue that should’ve and could’ve been resolved from the two of them, it was best for me to stay away from that,” Jones said.

“My only regret is that there are still unanswered questions that I have and I feel like maybe some of our students will have as well that I didn’t get a chance to ask.”

Questions Jones would’ve asked were regarding what the censorship of Zia means in the context of the board itself and what the precedent is for similar past issues. 

Video: Comic Con returns to Long Beach for the 11th year

abel reyes
-
0
Video: Comic Con returns to Long Beach for the 11th year

The 11th annual Long Beach Comic Con included die-hard comic fans of all ages, the diversity expanded in age as well as interests that can be seen in cosplay costumes.

Along with cosplayers, collectors and vendors showed their passion for comics, a world some have been a part of for over 5 decades. 

The event took place over the course of two days at the Long Beach Convention Center. 

Long Beach Comic Expo will be the next time cosplayers and collectors will return to the convention center, on Jan. 11 and 12 in 2020.

Vikings bounce back strong with win after loss in opener

Syan Haghiri
-
0
Vikings bounce back strong with win after loss in opener

With intense defense by the Long Beach City College women’s soccer team, they were able to leave with a win for their home game opener on Tuesday afternoon vs Golden West College with a score of 2-1.

The Vikings season opener vs Cypress on Sept 4th didn’t end in a win for the Vikings, but the team used that loss to gain more confidence within each other. 

Cypress was ranked second and Vikings were ranked 20th in the country in the preseason national poll. 

Although Cypress scored with one minute into the game, Long Beach came back with intensive defense to defend their home field for their home game opener.

Captain for Long Beach, Allison Rose Veloz, made both goals for Vikings with both goals being unassisted.

“I felt great, our first game I felt like we were afraid to make moves, but this game we came out to make plays, and I felt very accomplished” said Veloz.

The team has shown improvements on structure, communication on and off the field, and working as one.

“We have grown progressively as a team since the first few weeks of practice. We’ve gotten a lot better on working hard together and get plays off the ball” she added.

After losing their season opener the team knew what they had to do.

“We came back strong because we needed to defend our field.”

Vikings forward Allison Veloz(red) with an attempt at a goal hoping to put the team ahead as the defender tries to block it. Photo by Arlene Guerrero

Throughout the game, three yellow cards were called, two being from Long Beach from midfielder Yessenia Hernandez, and defender Emily Barham 

Goalkeeper, Almareli Quintero had a total of three saves.

“We need to continue doing what we’re doing as a team and work with each other,” said Quintero.

“We got our win, but we have to continue to work hard at practice and game to move forward”

Although Long Beach secured the win, Head Coach Eduardo Nunes will work on the offenses communication and on the defense not giving up fouls.

“Those little things are what make big differences in games,” said Nunes. “The exciting part is we are nowhere near our best yet, but getting better everyday”. 

Vikings are now 1-1 overall, and will play next vs Saddleback College at Orange County Great Park at 3pm.

Vikings soccer team falls to 1-4, after 4-3 loss on Tuesday

Isaiah Zuniga
-
0
Vikings soccer team falls to 1-4, after 4-3 loss on Tuesday

Lack of communication, on the field, caused the LBCC men’s soccer team to fall to a 4-3 defeat against the Chaffey Panthers on Tuesday afternoon, at the Viking Soccer Field.

Vikings have had a rough start this season, so far, they are 1-4.

“We have such a young team, we are still getting used to each other and most importantly communicating with each other,” said assistant coach Eric Leon.

Panthers struck the back of the net first within the 17 minutes in the game.

Midfielder, Jaelyn Agu, scored for LBCC, assisted by Sergio Flores, tying the game 1-1.

LBCC Freshman, Cameron Badal, scored for the Vikings, with the assist by Louis Arellano, giving them the 2-1 lead.

Photo by Arlene Guerrero/Viking Staff. Vikings fall to the Panthers on Sept 10, 2019 4-3 at the Vikings Soccer Field. Red shirt, Cameron Badal, trying to regain possession of the ball.
Photo by Arlene Guerrero/Viking Staff. Vikings fall to the Panthers on Sept 10, 2019 4-3 at the Vikings Soccer Field. Red shirt, Cameron Badal, attempts to keep possession.

Chaffey tied the game in the second half 2-2.

Pushing the ball and taking it through, Badal scored his brace, giving Long Beach the lead 3-2.

Both teams were back to back with plays and performance but, the Panthers didn’t give the Vikings a break, as they made two more goals and came out with the win.

Lack of communication was a large factor that led to the Vikings defeat to the Panthers.

“We could have communicated a lot better, I’m pretty disappointed in our lack of communication we had as a team” said Badal who scored two of the three goals for the Vikings.

“We need to take practices more serious, because what we bring to practice is what we bring to games and it definitely showed this game” he added.

Ivan Hernandez, assistant coach and trainer for the goal keepers, agrees that lack of communication caused the team to fall short.

“I didn’t hear them talking in the back, middle, or anywhere on that field,” said Hernandez

“When I work with my goal keepers I stress them to communicate with the defense, but I didn’t hear any of that”

Moving forward Vikings will push to communicate and work on adjusting together as a team.

Vikings will have their next game on Sept.13 at Golden West College at 4 P.M.

Sculpting professor wins international award

abel reyes
-
0
Sculpting professor wins international award

Clarification: The students that nominated Coleen Sterritt, Luis Moreno and Mariah Cool, were former students and not current students.

Long Beach City College professor and sculpture coordinator Coleen Sterritt is the first community college professor to be awarded the Outstanding Educator Award by the International Sculpture Center.

Sterritt has worked for LBCC for over 20 years and has held previous positions at the University of Southern California, California State University of Fullerton, Otis College of Art & Design and The Claremont Graduate University.

The International Sculpture Center established the Outstanding Educator Award in 1996, and until this year, it has been exclusively awarded to university-level educators.

Sterritt has earned several fellowships and awards in her years creating and her work has been showcased in exhibitions all over the world. Locations such as Los Angeles, New York, London, Japan, Kenya, South Africa, New Mexico, and multiple cities in California.

“A big thing that she pushes for… in creative fields in general, is just work,” James Davis said, a former student of Sterritt.

“She was strict on working hard and working constantly, even if you don’t like it.”

Sterritt’s work ethic and style are notable to many people on campus.

Gallery coordinator and art director of LBCC, Trevor Norris expanded on Sterritt’s style of artwork.

“A lot of it is sculpture and it’s pretty rugged but it’s not really outdoor stuff,” said Norris. “She disassembles and reassembles… It’s kind of evocative,” Norris said.

Photo By Martin Koev/Viking News. Long Beach City College art professor Coleen Sterritt, right, assists student Natalie Chan, left, with the initial molding of her clay sculpture. Sterritt makes sure to personally interact with all of her students in order to assist them with the expansion of their creativity.

Sterritt was nominated by her former students, Luis Moreno and Mariah Cool for the 2019 Outstanding Educator Award.

Traveling home from Japan, she was surprised when she received a phone call notifying her that she had won the award. 

“I was, of course, shocked…” Sterritt said. “But I was absolutely thrilled because teaching has been a very important and meaningful part of my life.”

Sterritt described the best part about being an educator as a privilege and an inspiration.

“For me, working with young artists has continually inspired me and gives me hope for the world. It’s both a privilege and a responsibility to aid in the trajectory of someone’s life, and it’s a very humbling experience,” Sterritt said.

Sterrit gave some words of encouragement to share with young artists, in regards to reaching their goals. 

“It takes a lot of dedication and hard work to be an artist, but I would say that what you have to do is try to be in touch with your artistic-self every day, in one way or another,” Sterrit said.

“You have to do your work with honesty and make it resonate with love, and that’s really what success is about.”

A sculpture exhibition and award ceremony will be organized at LAC in Sterritt’s honor, on October 24, featuring work created by her previous students that she has maintained relationships with from up to 20 years.

The award ceremony will be open to students with limited space and the exhibition will be open for students to view from Oct. 24 to Nov. 27, at LAC in the arts department, room K-100.

Incoming college students are now likely to have been born after 9/11

abel reyes
-
0
Incoming college students are now likely to have been born after 9/11

As the 18th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, students begin to reflect on their memories, feelings and the effect that the tragedy has left on America. 

Incoming freshmen at Long Beach City College can now have been born after the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Christine Torres, a biochemistry major who was born after the September 11 attacks, explains that she had to educate herself on the tragedy. 

“I had to kind of teach myself about it, I grew up watching adult cartoons and they would always joke about it, that was my exposure,” Torres said.

“My family never really talked about it.” 

Maliyah Mason, journalism major, was around five or six years old when the September 11 attacks occurred. 

“I was on my way to kindergarten and I thought it was a movie because it was so chaotic,” Mason said.

“September 11 negatively affected the United States because it gave a lot of power to the U.S. to control what it sees as terrorism, which is a vague word, it gave the U.S. too much control in controlling the rest of the world.”

Mario Garcia, a computer science major, was only 2 years old when the attacks took place. 

“I don’t remember much, but I do remember my mom telling me about it when she woke up, it was all over the news,” Garcia recalls.

Despite the downsides, Garcia believes that September 11 changed America and our security for the better.

“Just like with what happened with concerts two years ago, security got beefed up for the right reasons, although I hate the racial profiling that happens at airports and with police because of it,” Garcia expressed. 

David Lehman, the Department Head of History and Political Science at LBCC, explains where he was on September 11, 2001.

“I was here on this campus in 2001 and I remember the shock and the feeling that people had. 18 years is a long time, I realized when I teach my History 11 class that for most of my students, 9/11 is something that they can’t remember, it did not happen when they were aware of their surroundings,” Lehman said.

“You tend to remember things from your memory and when that no longer is a personal memory, yeah that’s going to be the response. Perhaps it also gets replaced by other issues, other things that happen, so it’s hard for people at this point to remember what it felt like at that moment.”

Lehman struggled with finding the right words to tell his students on the morning of the terrorist attack.

“What I remember is the uncertainty of ‘Should I go to class?’, ‘Will classes be held?’, ‘What should I say to my students?’ My memory when I think back to what I said to my students that day, I was trying to be reassuring and I’m not sure it was very helpful,” Lehman said.

Kim Porrazzo, a long time resident of Long Beach, explains the atmosphere in his middle school classroom on that day in 2001.

“Obviously everyone was kind of numb, you can just see it in their eyes. Nobody could really talk, it was a lot of quiet, and middle school and quiet… never happens,” Porrazzo recalls.

Porrazzo set up a 9/11 memorial on his front lawn in honor of the tragedy, it consists of string lights, American flags, and two stacks of bricks meant to represent the fallen Twin Towers.

“I’m patriotic, I love the country and I do what I can do. This is my way of doing things,” Porrazzo said.

LBCC welcomes students back with free food

abel reyes
-
0
LBCC welcomes students back with free food

Long Beach City College hosted the annual Welcome Back Barbecue at the Liberal Arts Campus last Thursday, students visited booths and gathered community resources while discovering clubs, groups, and new opportunities. 

A tradition for over 30 years, the event was organized by Student Activities Advisor Derek Oriee.

The staff spent the morning cooking up hamburgers and hot dogs as well as Beyond Burgers, a plant-based option to accommodate vegetarian students.

“It went well, our food didn’t even last an hour,” Oriee said.

The Order of Thor booth was filled with active members of the group, engaging students in conversation to inform them of the group’s goals for the semester. 

Originating as a “mens only club,” The Order of Thor now prides itself on being all inclusive with 13 active members of diverse ethnicities and genders. 

LBCC’s Ole the Viking stopped by the event to be photographed with the students and support the clubs and programs during the Welcome back barbecue and resource fair at A quad on August 29, 2019. Photo by Jorge Hernandez.

Kevin Rodriguez, the Candidate Foreman, is in charge of courting potential members and helping new members assimilate to club and campus life.

Rodriguez shared that the club’s mission is to give back to the community through volunteering while giving members an immersive college experience through participation in intramural sports and club events on campus. 

Along with the return of the fall semester, a reintroduction of classes in the trade program was added to the existing roster of classes and clubs available to interested students including metalworking and fabrication club.

When trade programs were temporarily removed from availability at LBCC that meant the main metalworking programs were removed with them.

Along with the trades making a return, the metal fabrication and welding club is back.

“No experience needed, we’ll teach you everything,” Club Advisor Damon Skinner said.

Skinner is also an assistant professor for the newly reinstated programs for both Metal Fabrication and Welding.

With the return of trade programs, a wide variety of classes is now open to help students develop or expand their skills while students can explore new career paths while still obtaining college credit and maybe even finding their passion.

A full list of classes and any related questions or concerns can be provided by academic counselors on both campuses. 

Students interested in participating in any of these programs may reach out to a counselor to see what is available to them.

Radio and TV students Kyle Davis and Dany Rafferey streaming in their tents promoting their program during the Welcome back barbecue and Resource fair on August 29, 2019. Photo by Jorge Hernandez.

Qless app faces criticism by students as it returns for its second semester

abel reyes
-
0
Qless app faces criticism by students as it returns for its second semester

Long Beach City College is using QLess for the second semester and there are questions from students regarding whether or not it is as successful as it was intended.

QLess is a virtual line system the Cashier’s, Admissions, and Financial Aid Offices have adopted  that holds a students place and sends frequent updates regarding appointment status through the phone, much like a restaurant pager.

There have been mixed reviews from students about the app, some think it’s a good method of saving time while others acknowledge its a good concept but difficult to put into practice. 

Haley Chojnacki, a LBCC student, spoke of her frustrations with the software.

“It still has it’s technical issues. Like you’ll type your name in the system but because so many students are also typing in their name yours gets lost. Also the wait times are still extremely long. I had to wait 2 hours just for one line,” Chojnacki said.

Students expected Qless to alleviate some wait time but many were left confused when their wait times seemed to have doubled when compared to just standing in a physical line. 

Student Support Staff have acknowledged that some students still want to wait around the offices despite the long wait time by adding a shaded area with chairs to make waiting a little more comfortable.

Mike Munoz, Vice President of Student Support Staff, explained “Qless doesn’t necessarily reduce the time you have to wait in the lines, it just allows you to not have to physically wait in a three hour long line in the heat.”

“Students are getting frustrated because they think that Qless is creating these wait times, but the long lines are due to the time of the semester and the fact that we have over 24,000 students all needing the services at once,” Munoz added.

Despite objections to Qless, some students like Daniel Degirolamo, believe the Qless system is convenient for students and their schedules. 

“I like it because you’re able to work around your class schedule. I find it the most effective to sign up between classes therefore you aren’t just waiting for your name to be first,” Degirolamo said.

With Qless, students now have the convenience of being able to wait in line without the fear of losing their place or the irritability that comes with waiting, which can allow for smoother interactions between the staff and students.

Federal Student Work Study Volunteer Wendy Ramirez explains her thoughts on the new method.

“Traffic flow is a lot easier now. Normally for the first two weeks there are lines out the door, but now we offer shade and seats. Something good about it is that you get to wait in multiple lines at once,” Ramirez said.

Munoz and the Student Support Staff essentially want to eliminate potential long lines with the Qless system. 

“In the spring semester the book loan EOPS will launch online. We are also going to be having a debriefing group, that will go over what we can improve with the system and also include students feedback. We know at first students are going to resist the idea of a new system but in the long run I think it’ll improve the overall student experience,” Munoz explains.

Along with the Spring EOPS book loan program, the Student Support Staff plans to add a feature for students to be able to upload their Financial Aid forms online.

1...214215216...261Page 215 of 261