Several students came to eat, relax and paint at the Diversity Equity Inclusivity Accommodation or the DEIA awareness month sip and paint on Apr. 22.
Though the sip and paint started with only two participants, the event ended with more as people came to grab a plate of food but stayed for the art and community.
“I feel like I never get to be creative,” said Faith Okwuoha, a student who came and participated later in the event.
For the event, sip and paint coordinator and administrative assistant Brianna Pinkerton led participants through the sip and paints prompt.
Student Joannah Mclarty draws her art piece at the DEIA Sip-and-Paint event in the SJIC room in the E Building. (Marty Triplett)
The prompt was inspired by the poem “The Rose that Grew from the Concrete” by Tupac.
The concrete in the art represents the hardships and challenges that students might face but even through the hardships a rose can grow.
The prompt connected to several of the students.
“As a black queer woman growing up in a gang-impacted environment and being the first of my family to intend higher education, it feels like I’m always defeating the odds,” said Kyshia Hearns.
The sip-and-paint events create a space of peace and creativity that makes people want to come back to each event.
Student Joannah Mclarty paints her art piece at the DEIA Sip-and-Paint event in the SJIC room in the E Building. (Marty Triplett)
“This is my second sip and paint event…I brought a friend with me this time,” said Monica Barbosa.
The sip and paint events provide a space for people to paint, relax and come together while meeting other people.
Many students were singing along to music while painting and learning about each other.
“These events are always really great to go to,” said Joey Smith.
These sip-and-paint events are something that anyone can enjoy whether one likes to paint or not. It’s a way to come together, meet new people and learn about each other.
The recent construction starting on an esports lab in the M building on the Liberal Arts Campus is a huge step for the esports program at Long Beach City College but also raises the question should esports be receiving the same financial support that traditional sports do?
The potential opportunities that come out of esports expand outside of just scholarships and schooling. Esports experience is now commonly leveraged into careers in content creation and major social media presences as well.
Esports needs financial support, it opens pathways for people in a field where they may not get much support otherwise.
Despite creating unique opportunities and being a program on the rise, esports should not get the same financial backing as traditional sports because of how ingrained sports is to the college’s identity.
One day esports might reach the level of traditional collegiate sports but as of now it is not and until it has equivalent numbers of students it should not get the same financial backing.
With the recent success of esports LBCC started their own official esports program in the fall of 2022 and in only two years of existence it is already taking a huge step by receiving a lab to practice and play games in.
The esports program mainly features four games, League of Legends, Valorant, Rainbow Six Siege, and Rocket League.
LBCC esports has been on an upward trend since conception with the Rocket League team, recently making a deep playoff push as well as the school’s League of Legends team making it their conference semifinals in 2023.
The debate on whether esports should be equally as valued as traditional sports is one that has been very volatile, especially since the emergence of esports post-2015.
This is a significant dilemma since sports is one of the biggest financial investments the college makes every year and giving esports the same kind of investment would be a big chunk of the school’s budget.
Overall the esports program may not create as many opportunities or scholarships as those available in traditional sports but there are still scholarships available for esports at colleges throughout California.
Students should make their voices heard about the topic, as esports is a very new addition to the college and what they do with it could help it thrive or risk taking away from other programs that could better utilize the financial support.
At April’s board of trustees meeting, students from different areas, including Los Angeles Community College and Long Beach community members, gathered at the event to protest LBCC’s investment choices.
The protesters took to the stand during public comments and voiced their anger and concerns with the schools investing, asking for a divest of funds in a petition they claim was signed by 300 members of the community.
“We the students, staff, faculty, and community of Long Beach City College, call on you to divest all worker benefit funds from BlackRock,” said one of the protestors who took to the stand.
According to The People’s Forum, an activist informational group, BlackRock is a New York City-based investment company that invests in companies that actively make weapons for Israel.
In the annual report of July 2023, BlackRock was listed among the many companies that LBCC had put money into.
“It’s sh-t like this that makes an actual change in our community,” said one of the onlookers who eventually joined in.
Protesters wore masks to protect their identities out of concern of being harassed or even doxxed, a means of leaking information by online technology, by other community members.
“We’ve seen a pattern of kids on college campuses being doxxed and targeted, we have even shut down an Instagram account targeting supporters in Long Beach,” said one of the protesters.
Pro Palestinian protestor holding up a Palestinian flag during the board of trustees April 18, 2024 meeting. The meetings are held once a month at in the T building.
They’re attending this meeting to bring attention to the conflict in Gaza, and the plight of the Palestinian people. And telling the school to not invest in BlackRock, which is a company that has financed other companies that make weapons for Israel.
(Zuri Minor)
The protest occurred just hours after the board had passed the Arab-American Heritage Month proposal.
When asked about the claims the board declined to give any comments other than their final statement to the community members who arrived
“It is against protocol for us to comment on what you have stated,” said Board President Vivian Malauulu, “However, it is not against it to comment on the fact that the Long Beach City College Board and our Superintendent-President have always been very supportive of First Amendment rights.”
The board ended the meeting shortly after going into their closed session concluding any more public comments.
College students, community members, and several community programs came together at the Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility Awareness Month, or DEIA month kick off event at the Pacific Coast Campus.
DEIA Awareness month celebrates diversity, equity, and inclusion accessibility. The annual kickoff event was held at PCC for its 4th iteration.
Director of Student Equity Eric Becerra talked about the growth of the DEIA kickoff event since the first kickoff event.
“It (the DEIA kickoff event) has been getting bigger each year,” said Becerra.
Becerra credited the turnout to the many different community programs that came out to share resources and their programs at the event.
Justice Scholars Director Joes Ibarra speaks at the DEIA kickoff event at the Pacific Coast Campus for DEIA month. Long Beach City College will be holding events for DEIA month in April. (Marty Triplett)
Some programs at the event included counseling and therapy, services for single parents, and different programs for the formerly incarcerated.
Stanley Thermidor is a policy and advocacy strategist for A New Way of Life Recovery Project. Thermidor said that they came to support this event because of the work that the LBCC’s Justice Program does.
“This is the perfect opportunity to connect with many different people,” Thermidor said.
Becerra also credits LBCC’s DEIA committee as well as Jose Ibarra, the Director of Phoenix Scholars.
Ibarra talked about the benefits of having this event on the Pacific Coast Campus. “It’s more accessible to students and people in the community at PCC,” Ibarra said.
Several programs come to show support at the DEIA Kickoff event. Long Beach City College will be holding events for DEIA month in April. (Marty Triplett)
During the kickoff event program, Ibarra opened up about why he thinks DEIA programs are important as the child of an immigrant, battling addiction, and his sexual identity.
Executive vice president of student services, Nohel Corral, was also one of the speakers at the kickoff event program.
He brought up how many different DEIA programs are in danger of being shut down in other states and ensured that LBCC would not be shutting down any of the DEIA projects any time soon.
“Embracing diversity makes an impact on our campus and our society,” Corral said.
More DEIA events will be held at the Liberal Arts campus throughout this month.
Long Beach City College’s mental health workshops continue to be hampered by low attendance; at a recent event held on the PCC campus, only two students attended.
This low attendance is indicative of a larger pattern; one example is a previous session that prioritized black mental health but had to be canceled because of low interest from students.
Nursing major Severiana Jimenez of LBCC voiced dissatisfaction over the lack of publicity for these sessions.
“I feel like it is not well advertised,” Jimenez said, “ I feel like I need to go and look for these workshops if I want to get help; it is something that nobody really knows is happening on campus.”
Social Work Inter Rachel Reyes expressed her concerns considering the low attendance issue.
“It’s been a lot of times throughout the semester where LBCC events overlap with ours (Psychology department), where they offer free food, free drinks and all this stuff students tend to go for and we don’t have that here,” Reyes said.
Social Work Intern Nohely Ramirez emphasized the difficulties students face when dealing with mental health concerns.
“Low attendance could also be because dealing with mental health can be challenging for a lot of people,” Ramirez says, “Everybody is dealing with their own barriers, and it could be challenging for them to show up to these workshops.”
Despite the low attendance, this workshop provided insightful information about thinking and goal-setting.
Nohely and Rachel discussed ways for effective goal setting, emphasizing specificity, measurability, achievability, relevance, and time-boundness. Students also gained knowledge about the differences between a fixed and a growth mindset.
Students engaged in a craft activity intended to reinforce workshop themes after the lecture.
On separate colored paper sheets, they drew two tree leaves, one listing their positive habits and the other noting areas that needed work, including behavior or character traits.
Severiana Jimenez shared her sense of empowerment and comfort as she reflected back on her experience.
“After experiencing this workshop, I feel relief,” Jimenez said. “It makes me feel like now I have the tools necessary to work on my social anxiety.”
The “Prioritize Your Mental Health” program left a lasting impression on those who attended, despite the low turnout. LBCC will continue to prioritize removing obstacles to attendance in order to promote students’ mental health.
A grand staircase, stunning statues, distant music growing louder with each step, the excitement of hundreds of L.A. college students, including LBCC students, was palpable as they made their way to the Getty Museum’s main plaza for College Night.
With the opportunity to view many of the Getty’s exhibits for free, as well as a complimentary meal and drinks many people came to the event with their friends, happy to spend an evening with some of the museum’s most interesting exhibits.
Two LBCC students, Jourdan Freeman and Loren Layla, found out about the event through instagram.
As friends, the two often go out together to explore L.A. and have fun.
Allison Burke and Dave Olson, student attendees at the Getty Museum College Night, join in on the Camille Claudel exhibition tour on Apr. 15, 2024. (Andrea Lawrence)
“We’ve been trying to go to more college events, any chance to do something different,” Layla said.
Students could view exhibits that the Getty houses through guided tours or solo exploration, including “Blood: Medieval/Modern” an exhibit focused on cultural perceptions of blood over time.
The exhibit includes a pair of “satan shoes” from musical artist Lil Nas X’s collaboration with Mschf. The shoes were rumored to come with one drop of real human blood within the air bubble sole.
These shoes, alongside other medieval and contemporary artworks, all play into the story that museum curator Larisa Grollemond hoped to tell with this exhibit.
Touching on subjects such as menstruation, the AIDS/HIV crisis, and feminism through the analysis of blood’s status in medieval manuscripts, “Blood” aims to mix the contemporary with the historical to start a conversation on the power blood still holds in modern culture.
“I hope a show like this will give people the tools to make these connections,” Grollemond said.
Ali Astin, student attendee at the Getty Museum College Night, joins in on the Camille Claudel exhibition tour on Apr. 15, 2024. (Andrea Lawrence)
As a medievalist historian, Grollemond recorded a series of videos about medieval-era daily life, which eventually helped her find inspiration for this exhibit in particular.
“By far the most asked questions were about menstruation, and the nitty gritty of how women dealt with it in the past and the social status of women’s blood in such a time,” said Grollemond.
On top of exhibits, students were able to participate in various hands-on activities, including silkscreening, candle making and print pulling at various stations set up around the Getty’s central plaza.
Those interested in viewing any of the exhibits hosted at the Getty can do so for free by reserving a timed-entry ticket in advance at the Getty’s ticketing website.
The second day of the 49th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach continued to blaze up the tracks at Long Beach this Saturday with multiple races including the IMSA SportsCar Grand Prix, Stadium Super Trucks (SST) race one, GT America race and the Formula D Super Drift Challenge Competition two.
The first race that kicked off the Grand Prix after the practice rounds for the Indy cars was the Historic Indy Car Challenge(HICC).
The victor for the HICC was Tim DeSilva, the driver of number 120, with an overwhelming lead staying in 1st place for the whole race.
“It’s more just about the fun experience getting to drive a car like this in Long Beach especially a car that raced here in 1995 and did well so it’s fun to get to experience that 30 years later,” DeSilva said.
The 1995 Lola T9500, DeSilva’s vehicle for the HICC, was bought by his father in 2016 and it finished second in Long Beach back in 1995.
“If you look at the Indy car teams there’s like forty people..my dad owns the car I drive it and then we have a team who works on it for us it’s about three or four people,” DeSilva said.
When asked what his favorite part about racing was, DeSilva stated the experience with his father and how they’ve been working on the car for so long together was why he liked the races.
Historic Indy Car driver Tim DeSilva drives down Shoreline Drive during the Historic Indy Car Challenge. DeSilva placed first, driving a 1995 Lola T9500 at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Apr. 20. (Izzy Juarez)
After the HICC the Indy Qualifiers took place, the qualifiers were two segments, the first segment consisted of two groups of 27 racers each competing for the top six spots, those twelve racers then moved on to the second segment which included the Firestone Fast Six section of the event.
The fastest out of the Firestone Fast Six was none other than Felix Rosenqvist with his fastest time being 01:06.0172.
The rest of the Fast six were Will Power with a time of 01:06.0211 in second place
Josef Newgarden with a time of 01:06.1059 in third, Colton Herta with a time of 01:06.3784 at number four, Marcus Ericsson with a time of 01:06.4039 at number five, and finally Alex Palou with a time of 01:06.5444 at number six.
The next event, IMSA SportsCar Grand Prix of Long Beach, was a race in which both the GT Prototype(GTP) and GT Daytona(GTD) classes mixed and competed for first place.
GTP race cars are the newest and most technologically advanced prototypes that feature a common hybrid powertrain for all entries;Acura,BMW, Cadillac and Porsche are the automotive manufactures for GTPs.
IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden curves into turn eight during second practice. IndyCar raced on Sunday as the main event of the 49th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. (Ian Salazar)
GTD cars are enhanced technology and use the global FIA GT3 specification; Acura, Aston Martin, BMW Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche are leading manufacturers for GTD.
Each class had their own prospective winners, the GTP winners were Sebastian Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, driving number one, and the GTD division’s winners were Parker Thompson and Ben Barnicoat, drivers of number 89.
Bourdais placed first overall and his fastest time was 1:12.626 with a total of 68 laps.
Thompsone started at pole and had a good start however in the first twenty to thirty minutes he was surpassed yet he was able to reach the leaderboard settling into 2nd place with 45 min left on the clock.
In second place for the GTP section was Pipo Derani, driving number 31, who got a total time of 1:40:07.882 having a gap of 0.564.
Winners Sebastian Bourdais and Renger van der Zande celebrate with their car in the Winners Circle. IMSA headlined Saturday with their race at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. (Ian Salazar)
After the IMSA race the Stadium Street Trucks race took place around 4 p.m.
The SST race resulted in 15 year old Max Gordon, the driver for truck number 77, winning first place and leaving Robby Gordon, Max’s Father and driver of number seven, as the runner up.
When asked how it felt to beat his father in the race Max said “I thought it was something super cool to do at first but now it’s coming natural.”
Earlier in the conference Robby joked that he taught Max too much but from the SST results and Max’s statements Robby has been a great model for Max throughout his progress.
Super Trucks driver 15 year old Max Gordon, 77, placed first during the SST Challenge on Apr. 20. Robby Gordon, his father placed second behind his son at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. (Izzy Juarez)
Robby also remarked that not only did Max drive the car he also did all the preparation and work for the car.
“The three of the orangutans (referring to Max and two companions) put this thing together and knock on wood we have not had a drip of oil they run flawlessly every session,” Robby said at the media conference.
The first race for GT America started off with Johnny O’Connell, driver of number 3, at pole followed by James Sofronas, driver of number 14 and Jaosn Daskalos, driver of number 27.
The race ended with Daskalos in first place, O’Connell in second and Sofronas in third.
The second night of the Grand Prix ended with the second Super Drift challenge with Robert Thorne and Connor O’Sullivan advancing to the finals where Thorne came in first, O’Sullivan in second and Forrest Wang in third.
Excitement is evident for the final day of the Grand Prix and the main event, the Indycar Grand Prix of Long Beach.
The community gathered on Mar. 24 to hear the harmonious and angelic sounds of LBCC’s Viking singers, Viking chorale and Jordan High School’s Cantique choral singers performing in a show called, “Our Souls Shall Sing.”
This performance was directed by Skye Angulo the Viking Singers director, Juan-Jose Garcia, the Jordan High School choir director, and Andrew Kyuyoung the Viking Chorale director.
“I chose a piece that’s by Jake Runestad, and his song is called Your Soul is Song. I really love the poem and the story behind that composition, and I thought this is a great theme for an overall concert. When you think about it, music and singing are a part of human nature. We all sing, we sing to celebrate, we sing to comfort our sorrows, and we sing to learn… We are all connected to one another through music,” said choir director Skye Angulo.
The concert started with the Viking singers in the audience surrounding them while singing God is Seen by Alice Parker, the sound resembled surround sound audio with voices coming from all around.
In honor of Women’s History Month, the choirs chose pieces composed by women that evoked uplifting and empowering emotions.
“They (audiences) should look forward to a Smile on their face, and they should look forward to feeling better than when they came in, that is our goal. We want to uplift everyone’s spirits, we want to make them feel good, and we want you to forget the troubles that are going on outside of the concert,” said Angulo.
Viking Singer soloists (left) Nalilah Lewis and Cristian Luevano (right) perform Rise, Shine! at the Our Soul Shall Sing concert on Mar. 25, 2024, at Long Beach City College at LBCC’s Bob and Barbara Ellis Auditorium. (Lineth Murillo)
This is not the first time LBCC and Jordan High School choirs have joined forces. They have been singing together for the past couple of semesters, and LBCC’s choir has gone to their high school auditorium to perform.
Jordan High School just returned from performing at Carnegie Hall in New York, and LBCC’s choir also just returned from a busy weekend.
“Last night, my choir and I were at Cal State Fullerton, and we sang at their Invitational festival, and that was a really great event, so we all slept in today for sure. It gets busy around this time of the semester and that can be a bit of a challenge too. Making sure you’re balancing your workload, your school load and having a bit of time for yourself is important,” said Angulo.
The students have been rehearsing outside of class time, with section leaders taking it upon themselves to gather their sections and practice together.
This concert is one of two performed each semester, and it serves as an opportunity for students to gain experience performing in front of a crowd..
“It was just a beautiful feeling, the conductor was so positive and happy, and I think that it made the audience feel that as well. I think they all did wonderfully, it was very fun and I’m looking forward to the next one on June 1st,” said audience member Marty Ornelas.
During the concert, it was mentioned this semester would be student assistant director Justin Parron’s last semester at LBCC.
“They did great, they lit up the room, and I just think they were very impressive,” said audience member Ivette Lopez.
LBCC’s Viking choir, Viking chorale and Jordan High School’s Cantique Choral program join in song. (Lineth Murillo)
Toward the end of the concert, the drumming ensemble surprised audiences by bringing out trash cans to play Fresh Trash by Ed Arginziano.
“I like that Fresh Trash song they were very good it was different and unique,” said Ornelas
The drumming ensemble, a new class that began this spring semester, meets on Saturdays for practice and is open to everyone, regardless of major.
The last two closing songs were Rise, Shine and a mashup of I Love You and What a Wonderful World.
“The last song was my favorite seeing everyone being united of all different ages, I thought that was powerful..brought me happiness, hopefulness and peace,” said audience member Ivonne Lopez.
Audiences can look forward to seeing the choir perform in John Rutter’s Gloria on Saturday, June 1st, at 7 pm in the Bob and Barbara Ellis auditorium.
Long Beach City College hosted an informational workshop for prospective students and family at its annual College Family Night on Mar. 28.
The LBCC event took place at the LAC campus from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., alongside many campus staff and students.
This College Family Night was one of multiple College Family Night events that took place throughout the semester for incoming students between both the LBCC LAC and PCC campuses.
“The event was pretty well attended and there was plenty of student and parent engagement,” says Director of High School Outreach and Educational Partnerships Lupe Pasillas
The College Family Night event was geared toward enhancing educational outreach for LBCC and promoting student involvement.
Pre Williams answering prospective student and family questions at Long Beach City College Family Night on Mar. 28, 2024, on the LAC campus. (Yesenia Zamora)
“The goal of today’s event was to inform all students and families about the Long Beach College Promise Award and about Viking Advantage and walk them through the financial aid process, letting them know about deadlines and our important events. Specifically highlighting our learning communities. And we were able to hit the mark on all of that.” said Male Success Initiative Outreach and Recruitment Specialist, James Ceja.
This year, LBCC also included both a financial aid representative and a campus club representative to speak on behalf of the services offered to students on campus.
“Today we helped the Financial Aid representative present for us answering any questions that students and parents had about their students’ next steps and registering, completing the financial aid and also about making counseling appointments,” said High School Matriculation Office – Outreach and Recruitment Specialist, Pre Williams.
The College Family Night event also had catered food and informational flyers dedicated towards incoming students and their families regarding both future LBCC events and LBCC support services.
“The hope is that through these events students can find community,” said Lupe Pasillas
“We want students and family to associate that LBCC is a place of student community, a place where they can make friends and feel that they belong and just another place in higher education where they can explore different career goals and education goals where they can feel safe and heard,” said Williams.
The Long Beach Community College Outreach Program looks forward to hosting many more events for incoming students in the future.
The yearly Mini Grand Prix event had a new spin put on it with a remote control car race and a tournament for the Gran Turismo game.
This was a spin on the usual event that has traditionally entailed contestants creating push carts and racing around a large track outside.
The Nordic Lounge where it was held was packed with the cheers of students and loud music playing over the races.
The first event was a single elimination remote control car tournament where students who signed up took turns racing in two large tracks they put together.
Students playing around with some of the RC cars before the tournament begins. LBCC held its annual Mini Grand Prix on April. 16, 2024. (Ian Salazar)
Automotive Student Sam Summers took home first place in the tournament in dominant fashion only ever being close in the final match.
“The event was pretty entertaining, it was fun. I liked the music, I liked the energy that came from it and I overall enjoyed it,” Summers said.
The Mini Grand Prix is largely promoting the Long Beach City College sponsorship for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in which the school now has notable promotions around the track.
The event also ended with a screening of the 2023 movie Gran Turismo on a large screen in the middle of the Nordic Lounge.
The event had one of the best turnouts of events in the spring semester with the event never feeling empty or losing energy.
“I got an email about it, I heard people talking about it, and I saw posters and fliers about it,” said Summers.
RC car racing tournaments were held as apart of the Mini Grand Prix held on Tuesday. LBCC’s annual Mini Grand Prix are apart of the festivities leading to the Long Beach Grand Prix on the weekend. (Ian Salazar)
Unlike many events during the Spring 2024 semester the Mini Grand Prix was advertised heavily through many mediums and should be an example for how to promote events at the school.
“Now since we transitioned to having remote control racing as well as the video game tournament along with the movie screening, I think it’s pretty great that we transitioned and are getting the name known in the student body,” Participant and Student Ash Lopez said.
When asked to comment the main event organizers told the newspaper staff they would not talk without clearance from the communications department.
The Mini Grand Prix changes were popular and looks to be the new way this event will be run for the foreseeable future.
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