Daily Forty-Niner; May 8, 2023

Graduating senior Luk-Mattew Phanbandith is one of the many students that is happy to have made it to graduation. After challenging school semesters and the impact of COVID-19, Phanbandith is rounding the corner on his education to bring home a degree.

The journey is the reward

For the longest time, I had no idea what I wanted to do in life and no idea how college would help me figure it out. I didn’t have the most straight-line path in pursuing higher education but then again, most of life is never going to be a direct path. But what I’ve learned in the last few years of being back in college is that the journey is the reward.

People will think that they’ve made it when they’ve gotten to the end of the rainbow and found the pot of gold. But to me, that seems like a dangerous tactic in life. All of us possess an aspect of creativity and will always find a new way to do something, a more dynamic way to share what our intricate minds come up with.

Our goal as a newspaper is to make something wonderful. Something that keeps a more informed public. One of the most rewarding times of my life is being surrounded by such like-minded individuals where we come together and create. I encourage each and every one of you, to keep looking for that great work. To keep telling stories that move people, to keep seeking the truth and to keep shining a light on the darkness. Because that’s what we do.

There will be days when it all feels like too much. When the weight of the world sits heavy on our shoulders. When we question if what we do matters at all. And on those days, I want you to remember something:

You are not alone.

You are part of a community of storytellers, truth-seekers, and world-changers. And even when it

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feels like the world is against us, we have each other.

So I want you all to think back on these last nine months when you begin to wind down, know or figure out what you’re going to do next year and begin to have a strong intuition about the world you will encounter in life.

Maybe you see yourself immersed deep in your Latinx culture and storytelling the voices that go unheard. Maybe you’re photographing some of the most important moments that history will ever remember. Maybe you’re on the other side of the country, walking on a cobblestone street, the sound of Fenway Park roaring in the distance. Maybe you’re in a different country, expanding your editing skills and discovering that new After Effects plug-in.

Steve Jobs once said, “To be a creative person, you need to feed or invest in yourself by exploring uncharted paths that are outside the realm of your past experience.”

I challenge everyone to reach beyond what you think you’re capable of and stay in pursuit of your

Land acknowLedgment

dreams. Think outside of the box.

I’ve met a lot of different people in my walk of life so far and what’s stood out to me the most is that you can’t plan to meet the people who will change your life.

It’s hard to say goodbye to the people we admire deeply, even when we know we’ll see them again soon. Your strength, intelligence, and perseverance have always inspired me, and I am grateful for the opportunities we’ve had to learn and grow together.

As we all say our farewells for now, know that I will carry your lessons with me always, and that I will continue to draw inspiration from your example.

Until our paths cross again, know I deeply appreciated and admire you all.

Richie Rodriguez Community Engagement Manager

Here at the 49er we acknowledge that the school we report on is located on the sacred site of Puvungna, “the gathering place”. We are on the land of the Tongva/Gabrieleño and the Acjachemen/Juaneño Nations who have lived and continue to live here.

We also acknowledge the Gabrieleño/Tongva (pronounced: GABRIEL-EN-YO/TONG – VAH) and Acjachamen/Juaneño (pronounced: AH-HACH-AH-MEN/JUAN-EN-YO) as the traditional custodians of the Los Angeles region along with the Chumash (pronounced: CHOO-MOSH) to the north and west, and the Tataviam (pronounced: TAH-TAH-VEE-YUM) and Cahuilla (pronounced: KAH-WEE-YAH) Nations to the east.

We respect and value the many ways the Tongva/Acjachemen cultural heritage and beliefs continue to have significance to the living people and remind us about the sacred and spiritual relationship that has always existed here at what we now call California State University Long Beach.

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Letters Policy: All letters and emails must bear the phone number of the writer and must be no more than 300 words. The Daily Forty-Niner reserves the right to edit letters for publication in regard to space.

Editorials: All opinions expressed in the columns, letters and cartoons in the issue are those of the writers or artists. The opinons of the Daily Forty-Niner are expressed only in unsigned editorials and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the journalism department or the views of all staff members. All such editorials are written by the editorial board of the Daily Forty-Niner.

Photo courtesy of Patrick Dinco Community Engagement Editor, Richie Rodriguez will be graduating this year with his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

A tale of 2 commencements

Administration at CSUF made a program for graduation including students in the planning which is something that CSULB has yet to develop.

BY RICHIE RODRIGUEZ Community Engagement Editor

There are just two weeks left before graduating seniors gather at Angel Stadium for commencement, and despite repeated chants and calls for Long Beach State administration to alter the format, students say they’ve remained silent.

Over the last few months, and even since 2022, students demanded that commencement go back to the traditional format that includes walking across the stage and having their names called out.

“It’s a great school, but this isn’t just about commencement; it’s about how administration listens to the student body,” Zeina Elrachid said. “It’s completely doable to change the ceremony, and it should have been done after the class of ’22 graduated, but it just wasn’t.”

Just a few miles away, students at Cal State Fullerton are gearing up for a graduation ceremony that promises to highlight them in the way a traditional ceremony is expected.

Despite facing similar challenges, CSUF’s administration said they were determined to give their students the celebration they wanted.

Three key things that students highlighted in a survey sent out by the CSUF administration were walking the stage at graduation, having their names read aloud and having access to more friends and family to celebrate with them.

“We actually put together a committee across campus made up of students, faculty, staff administrators, and we designed a new program,” CSUF President Framroze Virjee said.

The program consisted of using the intramural field and Titan Stadium on campus to put on the $1.2 million ceremony. This also meant they could increase access for the number of guests.

Virjee added that, with the savings in the new program, the ceremony will include a few upgrades, including big screens and software that reads pre-recorded names.

Instead of having physical name readers at each ceremony, which can be tiring, taxing and expensive, the graduating students read their names and a software link uses an automated voice to say their names. Students scan a QR code that is provided as they reach the stage to cross, and their name is announced.

Sacramento State also uses a similar name-reading software that displays and reads students’ names along with their degrees on the jumbo screen.

In 2022, the CSULB administration sent out a survey to the graduating class, giving them three options for a commencement ceremony. Despite survey results, however, there was no change in the decision by the administration, who cited costs and staffing as the major challenges of doing a traditional ceremony at Angel Stadium.

“By doing it at Angel Stadium, we can have, you know, 2,500 people come in at once, that reduces the number of ceremonies,” CSULB President Jane Close Conoley said. “But by doing that, of course, we make other parts of the ceremony impossible.”

Having a ceremony with as many students as

possible does allow CSULB to have fewer ceremonies, and Conoley cites that it reduces the costs from the 2019 $1.01 million ceremony.

The cost of the on-campus ceremony at CSUF is $1.2 million for 12 ceremonies on campus, according to Virjee, a number that is equivalent to what CSULB would potentially spend if the ceremony included name reading and walking.

Commencement at Fullerton was organized by a campus-wide community consisting of faculty, campus workers and students. The committee oversaw where each ceremony would be and when it would take place, and afterward, each college figured out the specific details.

“Our faculty love being involved and seeing the students that they have been mentoring and teaching and working with and doing research with,” Virjee said. “They love their students just like I do.”

Virjee added their ceremonies were switched from weekends to weekdays to align with campus workers’ schedules and create less of a burden for the ceremony workers.

“People are already at work,” Virjee said. “This is part of their workday, and they show up more now as a result and are more enthusiastic.”

When asked if students were involved in the planning of commencement or if a similar committee exists at CSULB, a campus official stated, “No, there is not a committee.”

Graduating student Rosie Mount said she understood the accessibility reasons for the commencement at Angel Stadium but stated that the administration’s choices didn’t reflect what students have asked for over the last two years.

“It’s important to have students on board and that communication so students know what is going on and what the actual work and logistics of a commencement like that actually is,” Mount said.

CSULB switched to the ceremony format at Angel Stadium to spread out students and their guests in the 40,050-seat stadium. Though the college campus has stopped enforcing the safety measures over the last year, hosting commencement off-campus leaves graduates asking the question of “why?”

Even though petitions and student protests gained momentum since last year, the administration continues to affirm that this style of commencement is the best possible experience for graduating seniors and their families.

Conoley states that another reason the ceremony remains at Angel Stadium is to reduce the stress on staff having to reboot between the nine ceremonies and not expand to the 12 that CSULB foresaw before the pandemic.

“That’s pretty exhausting, you know since I go to every ceremony, I can feel by the end of the 12 ceremonies, that’s pretty tiring,” Conoley said.

In an e-mail to students in late March, administration said it would continue with their existing plans, which do not include name-reading at the main ceremony.

Despite continued reluctance from the administration for changes to be made for the class of 2023, students on the CSULB campus continue advocating for change with few weeks left until graduation.

“I just think that as a university you should be able to manage commencement a little bit better,” Elrachid said. “At this point, Cal State Long Beach is just mass-producing thousands of bitter alumni.”

Meet the new ASI President Mitali Jain

BY ANTHONY ORRICO Staff Writer

With the upcoming graduation of current Associated Students, Inc. President Isaac Julian, incoming president and current Vice President of Business and Finance, Matali Jain is preparing to begin her term.

Jain first emigrated to the United States from India when she was 14 years old and went to high school in Cypress. She said her experiences as an immigrant student inspired her to get involved in student government.

Jain said she didn’t fully understand the culture when she first came to the U.S. and knows other students share the same experiences.

“If I’m struggling [with the culture], there’s definitely more students out there who are struggling. So that was the passion that sparked me to join student government,” Jain said.

Jain, a nutrition major going into her senior year, got her start in student government as a member of the ASI Beach Team and worked her way up to trustee at large on ASI’s Board of Trustees.

She said one of her proudest accomplishments as vice president of finance was successfully amending ASI’s policy on student origination grants.

Jain’s priority as president is to increase student awareness of ASI’s resources and get more student feedback on their needs.

“The resources that already exist. I want to highlight those because sometimes

a matter of things are there, but students don’t see them,” Jain said.

Jain said that getting the message out to parents of students about the resources ASI offers is just as important as getting it out to the students.

Greater collaboration with student orientation, advising, and registration is something Jain talked about as being one way to help incoming first-year students understand what their annual fee is going towards.

“They could join clubs; they could apply for grants if that’s not their thing; they could travel to conferences, get research funding. All these things are just to say it’s there,” Jain said.

A more specific goal that Jain has in mind is a pilot program to give a set amount of free TAP cards out for the Long Beach transit system.

As vice president of finance, Jain is in a unique position as she has a significant say in the ASI budget for the next fiscal year. She pointed out that in this upcoming year’s budget, there will be more opportunities for students to work part-time in the various departments of ASI.

Jain said she and Julian would be holding transition meetings in the weeks following the conclusion of the semester. She said she hopes to begin the fall semester by attending Week of Welcome and introducing herself to the student organizations and the student body.

“I do believe that I need to make the first step to students once students feel comfortable talking to me,” Jain said. “I think that they would reach out to me more and tell me more.”

ARMANDO JACOBO / Daily Forty-Niner

Cal State University Long Beach ASI president elect, Mitali Jain, speaks at an ASI meeting.

Photo courtesy of ASI Jain has spent almost all her time at CSULB involved in student government and hopes to merge her nutrition major with her work in politics once she graduates.

Graduates ready their tassels for cultural graduation ceremonies

BY RENZO POCASANGRE Photo Assistant

commencement. The primary concerns for many students were not only the lack of a traditional name-reading ceremony, but also the cost of the graduation fee, which is only expected to increase graduation fee for the 2024 CSULB graduates.

pening at actual graduation, they are going to be heard.”

The Pilipino Graduation Ceremony will provide a stole and certificate for graduates with a traditional name-reading.

made up 34.50% of the graduating population for 2020, according to the California State University of Long Beach’s website.

As the semester comes to a close, graduating Long Beach State students are taking their hard-earned graduation robes to The Walter Pyramid and University Student Union Ballrooms for a conventional graduation with Cultural Graduation Ceremonies.

There are nine Cultural Graduation Ceremonies taking place for CSULB students. Both the Black/Pan African and Chicano/Latino graduation ceremonies will be held at The Walter Pyramid while others are taking place in the USU Ballrooms.

Cultural graduation ceremonies begin to kick off May 13 and will carry through the following Sunday, May 21.

Many graduates have sought out applications for Cultural Graduation Ceremonies in lieu of the commencement debacle.

Graduating students have expressed concern throughout the semester about

“The main thing on my mind is they’re really having us pay $100 to graduate where it doesn’t even feel like an actual graduation,” said Louie Calzado, a fourthyear molecular biology major. “It doesn’t feel like the school provided me, with what I spent four years here for.”

Calzado said he will be attending the Pilipino Graduation Ceremony, which is the first ceremony taking place. CSULB’s Pilipino American Coalition organizing and hosting the event.

Fourth-year political science major Gerdon Donaire is the Cultural Chair for PAC and is also chairing the graduation ceremony. Donaire said PAC hopes to provide a space for graduates to be celebrated.

“We’re really excited to have an outlet for students to come to, even when the actual school graduation isn’t providing them what they wanted or expected,” Donaire said. “Even though it’s not going to be hap-

Chicano/Latino and Black/Pan-African graduates will have graduation at The Walter Pyramid to look forward to. The Chicano/Latino Graduation Ceremony committee has worked to put together a traditional experience for students, while managing to accommodate for over 1,000 students and their families.

Second-year psychology major Teresa Falcon is actively involved in the planning for the Chicano/Latino graduation celebration, as she holds the chair position for the committee. Falcon helps to represent the Latinx Student Union in graduation committee meetings while helping to navigate the busy influx of graduate applications.

“There’s been a shift,” Falcon said. “A lot of people have said that they opted out from the regular ceremonies to do the cultural graduation.”

Students who identify as Hispanic or Latino that graduate within four years

“The application sold out in six days,” Falcon said. “It’s honestly never sold out in the past I don’t know how many years.”

Although only a fraction of graduating students will be able to experience graduation at The Walter Pyramid, the experience will be a cherished moment for the few. Participants in the Chicano/Latino graduation celebration will receive a graduation sash, certificate and grad gift commemorating their accomplishments.

Falcon said said she hopes graduates can take away a positive moment from the Cultural Graduation Ceremonies.

“They’ve all endured the challenges of upper education,” said Falcon “They were able to persevere their four plus years of education.”

Cultural Graduation Ceremonies are completely student-run and organized by volunteers. The many multicultural campus organizations like LSU and PAC along with their advisors have been diligently working to provide gradates with what they hope to be a traditional commencement.

Photo courtesy of Latinx Student Union Cultural Graduation Celebrations are taking place starting Saturday May 13 and will be going on until Sunday May 21 spreading across nine different ceremonies.

An international student's experience at CSULB

BY AHRAHM JOO Staff Writer

Asof spring 2023, there are around 1,241 international students at Long Beach State with most being graduate students.

One of these international students is Alan Lim from Cambodia, who is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration in entrepreneurship and innovation and received his Bachelor of Science in business finance at CSULB.

Lim is originally from Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia and moved to the United States when he was 17-years-old to attend CSULB. Ever since he was young, he always desired to study abroad.

“Coming to the U.S. for my degree was a great opportunity for me to not only gain a quality education but also experience a new culture and a different way of life,” Lim said.

He added that Cambodia had a limited higher education system which often has outdated curriculum, while in the U.S. the curriculum is more up-to-date.

Some of Lim’s favorite memories home away from home was spending time with his friends that he made. One of his favorite places in the U.S. is Yosemite National Park.

“If I were to pick one state to stay, California is still on the top of my list,” Lim said. “From the breathtaking beaches of the Pacific Coast to the stunning scenery of Yosemite National Park, there’s always something to do in California.”

For international students, it’s not just moving away from home to a whole new country that’s difficult, there are dozens of other challenges that come into play once you start school.

One of Lim’s challenges was managing his academics and personal responsibilities. At first, it was adapting to the American education system and the teaching style, which was entirely different from Cambodia’s.

To overcome this, he created a routine and prioritized different tasks to help him be on track between school life and personal life. He also got help from pro-

fessors, advisors and fellow students.

Another challenge Lim faced was homesickness.

“Being away from home for an extended period of time, was challenging for me, especially since I was in an unfamiliar place and culture,” Lim said.

As an international student, Lim experienced many culture shocks of things that were normal in the United States but were are not normal in Cambodia.

Some of it was how people talked in the U.S.

“[People here are] more direct and assertive in their speech, while Cambodians often use more indirect language and avoid confrontation,” Lim said. “These culture shocks were challenging at first, but they helped me to grow and learn more about the world around me.”

He also added that this took him some time to adjust himself to the new surroundings and culture. But with the help from his friends back home and new friends he made at CSULB, he was able to overcome his homesickness.

After graduating, Lim plans to travel around the U.S. for few months before returning to Cambodia.

Once he goes back to his home country, he wants to use what he learned in the states make an impact in his community back home.

“My education has prepared me to contribute to the development of my country and I am excited to apply what I have learned to make a difference,” Lim said.

AHRAHM JOO / Daily Forty-Niner CSULB MBA student Alan Lim sits in front of Brotman Hall in his gown and other graduation pieces which highlight his MBA from the College of Business.

BY LEILA ALARCON Staff Writer

First-generation student, Luk-Mattew Phanbandith has always felt the pressure of doing great things for the sake of his parents. He even graduated high school early because his parents liked the idea of him achieving something uncommon.

Now at 21, Phanbandith is graduating from Long Beach State with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and will be the first in his entire family, including extended relatives, to do so. Only this time, Phanbandith is graduating for himself before he lets his achievement belong to anyone else.

The road to graduation has not been easy for Phanbandith. Like many first-generation students, he entered college having no clue what he was doing.

Phanbandith didn’t tour any of the schools he was accepted to but decided to attend Long Beach State because of cost and distance from his hometown Fresno. He entered as a biology major because he wanted to be a forensic scientist, but struggled heavily in chemistry class.

On top of that, he was taking 18 units because he thought that was normal.

“I didn’t expect that much workload because no one had told me that there would have been that much workload,” Phanbandith said. “It was so unexpected from what I thought, because I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve taken eight classes in high school. That’s fine.’ But it was so much more than that.”

After struggling through his first semester, Phanbandith changed his major from biology to psychology to pursue a career in forensics psychology behavior analysis. Phanbandith had to work hard to catch up to the fouryear graduation expectation.

When the coronavirus halted in-person classes, Phanbandith took 16 to 17 units to get back on track to a four-year graduation plan. He had to teach himself how college scheduling works, what works best for him, and most importantly, how to cope with the stress college brings.

“Coping with stress has never been something that comes easy to me in terms of just divulging that kind of thing to my family,” Phanbandith said. “Like, I’m like a golden child to my family, but I’m so rusty on the inside, you know?”

Phanbandith practices self-re-

Graduating for yourself and no one else

flection to cope with stress. He became a peer mentor with project resilience, an Asian American Pacific Islander, AAPI, mental health awareness group to practice coping with others.

During meetings, they discuss their shared experiences like the stress they experience from their families. A common struggle AAPI students face is asking for help since they fear people will think they can’t handle college.

The meetings have been valuable to him and others as they can see they aren’t alone in their experiences while fostering a community with other Asian American students.

“I think with a lot of at least first-gen and AAPI, Asian American Pacific Islander, they have that idea that they have to do this for their families name. So that way our parents can talk about us at dinner parties”

When Phanbandith was younger, he still imagined that graduating from college would be something he achieved for his parents. But since coming to Long Beach State, he has been able to build his own identity and learn to see his achievements as his own.

“I just wish someone was able to help me realize that you’re here for yourself first before your family,” Phanbandith said. “You can still maintain a strong relationship and bond with your family while at the same time understanding your own individual desires and acknowledging the achievements that you did for yourself.”

After he graduates, Phanbandith wants to take a break for a year to gain work experience and go to culinary school, a big dream of his.

Although Phanbandith had done research with professors, worked as a residential assistant, and worked as a peer mentor with CAPS, he wanted real-world experiences outside of the student realm.

His post-graduation plans may not be what most people consider the normal path of high school, then college, then grad school, but it’s the path that Phanbandith wants for himself. Part of his growth is setting goals that he wants to achieve for himself only.

“I wish I could have taken my time and kind of felt my way through things before having to rush into it completely and have it detrimentally affect me because I wanted to impress my parents,” Phanbandith said. “I can go at whatever pace I want because if I go any quicker, I won’t be able to handle it and that’s okay because if I can’t handle it, it creates more mess in the end.”

You can still maintain a strong relationship and bond with your family while at the same time understanding your own individual desires and acknowledging the achievements that you did for yourself.

Luk-Mattew Phanbandith First-generation graduate

Luk-Mattew Phanbandith is the first in his family to graduate and has worked hard for his graduation to be an achievement he can call his own.

LEILA ALARCON / Daily Forty-Niner

Phanbandith is graduating this spring and will be the first in his entire family, including extended relatives, to do so.

BY ABIGAIL WALL Staff Writer

Passion is what drives Long Beach State senior linguistics major Elizabeth Griswold to learn and bring awareness to the hearing impaired.

Griswold fell in love with linguistics and became passionate to learn all that she could.

“This is what I want to do with the rest of my life and I don't care if it takes me years to get this or years to achieve my goal," Griswold said. "I want to know every nook and cranny of linguistics, sign language and disability. I wanna know it all and I want to do it all.”

She chose to study at CSULB because of its ASL program. Griswold's main goal is to become a researcher and hopes her work can end the stigmas that the hearing-impaired community faces.

“I want to focus my research on how sign language can help people who are nonverbal and help them to communicate and give them this like a way of communication and stop the stigma of that people who are nonverbal can't communicate,” Griswold said.

One of Griswold's most memorable moments at CSULB was doing her first research project and realizing that research is the path she wanted to take with her major.

Griswold's passion for this subject not only comes from her love of linguistics, but also from being disabled as well. Being a woman with disabilities, Griswold explains she had to overcome many challenges growing up.

“If I was to tell 12-year-old me 'you're going go to college and you're not only

going go to an incredible school that's like well respected and you're gonna get a bachelor's degree in a very tough field and you're going to like to go up and do incredible things,' I wouldn't believe it because that was just how I was raised back then,” Griswold said.

Griswold said some of the hardest lessons she had to overcome in college is learning to be independent and not be afraid to fail. Her advice to current students is to not be scared of failure and that it will only make you stronger.

“Accept that you are not going to be the smartest person in the room. Understand that you are gonna fail and it's gonna suck, but you can get back up and move on and become stronger,” Griswold said.

She hopes that during her time at CSULB, she helped bring awareness to students with disabilities.

“I hope to leave much more awareness. I want to leave an awareness of that we need to be more inclusive to the ASL community,” Griswold said.

She hopes that in the future CSULB can create more deaf-friendly events and offer more support to students with disabilities.

Griswold is feeling a mixture of excitement and stress to be graduating. She is proud of how far she has come in her education.

“I would tell that 12-year-old me who was in special ed classes who were fighting to get into regular education," Griswold said. "I would tell her that you're gonna make it. Don't change a thing because of who you are."

CSULB student drives passion through ASL

Elizabeth Griswold grew a passion for linguistics and American Sign Language which grew her goal to help and spread awareness for the hearing impaired.

Obstacles on the path to graduation

BY CYNTHIA MAZARIEGOS Staff Writer

As a first-generation student, Sharlon Bolos faced applying to college on her own while assimilating to a pandemic and finding balance in her life.

Bolos is a senior public relations major minoring in comparative world literature and will be graduating this month.

When it came to attending college, her Filipino parents did not know how to help. She used other resources and reached out to university offices for guidance.

“I couldn’t ask my parents anything, they were like, ‘What is FAFSA? What is financial aid?’” Bolos said. “But eventually I kind of learned and taught myself.”

Bolos first entered CSULB before the COVID-19 pandemic in fall 2019. When she first started, her struggled to ask professors for help and did not have any friends at school.

Before Bolos could fully adjust to her college life, COVID-19 broke out and she had to switch from in-person to online classes. She found it difficult to manage her time in an online environment and dealing with loud environments started affecting her grades.

Gradually, she became used to balanc-

ing online school, her personal life and mental health. She was able to start raising her grades and join 22 West Media as a volunteer, helping with videos and pitching ideas.

Bolos believes that her major contribution to CSULB derives from class projects. In her Journalism 374 class, she talked to local businesses and informed them of the resources CSULB provided.

“I feel like that’s my role, just working on small projects that benefited myself and CSULB,” Bolos said. “Because people were able to see the type of students CSULB has.”

Bolos is currently in her first internship at Well-Suited, where she creates press materials, donation letters and helps make videos. Bolos said that she wants to gain enough experience to get an entry-level position at a public relations agency. She hopes to specialize in the entertainment industry and work for companies such as Paramount, Disney and other movie companies.

She said that the best thing about CSULB is its diversity, and she is thankful to the Liberal Arts Department.

“There are a lot of professors that will give you guidance and they will help you with your writing,” Bolos said.

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Griswold Griswold hopes that during her time at CSULB, she was able to bring awareness to the hearing-impaired community.

Photo courtesy of Sharon Bolos Sharon Bolos, CSULB student will be graduating in May 2023. Bolos paved her own way by figuring out how to navigate college all on her own.

I couldn’t ask my parents anything, they were like, ‘What is FAFSA? What is financial aid?’

Sharon Bolos

First-generation graduate

Living through an incurable disease

BY TANISHA BUCAD Staff Writer

As student Cameron Forgey was slowly getting back to the old dynamics of the university prior to COVID-19, he was met with a chronic disease that steered his life in a different direction.

After a week of being glued to the bed, Long Beach State student Cameron Forgey had a close call with death.

The 21-year-old history major sat in a weakened state, reclining in the backseat of an Uber as they headed toward urgent care. What started as a sore throat in September 2021 led to the inflammation of tonsils which almost halted his breathing as it was making its way to the lungs.

“As the man I am, I didn’t tell anyone,” said Forgey who, out of fear of humiliation, had calling an ambulance last on his list. “I didn’t go to the doctor and I just toughened up.”

Forgey said he was consistently accompanied by excruciating pain from tonsillitis and a fever for the past seven days and water bottles were his life sustenance. He never left his dormitory and missed his classes.

For two nights, Forgey was in an intensive care unit. He said he was considered lucky by the doctor as he was a few days away from death if left unattended for longer.

Questions ran through his mind on what was exactly happening to him until all were answered by the diagnosis, a hereditary autoimmune disease. Forgey has psoriasis where scaly and inflamed patches of skin would be found on his scalp, elbows, knees and other parts of the body due to the cells’ rapid multiplication.

Because his immune system is overactive, psoriasis has come along with psoriatic arthritis where his joints would swell and ache, he explained. At the same time, he also has gastrointestinal issues, specifically internal bleeding in his digestive tract. There was no cure for it besides maintenance.

Forgey’s college journey was ambushed during his junior year at 20 years old by a disease that later wrote his life purpose, he said.

He became a walking testament to overcoming psoriasis and gave hope to others in the same boat. He recalled being approached by a man in Target in January 2023 who pointed out Forgey’s exposed arms covered with skin lesions. The man, who was in his mid-20s, told him that he also had psoriasis and he had been figuring out the right treatment for a long time.

Despite Forgey’s condition, his positive outlook on life mostly remained unbroken.

He began making an impact on several lives, especially those who were still navigating through the disease.

“I think health is something that affects a lot of folks in a way that is completely unseen, especially students whether that’s mental health or physical health,” Forgey said. “I wanna destigmatize it. It’s no big deal to be struggling. There’s no shame in it.”

Forgey was approached more than three times in public and most of the conversations he had were with people seeking his advice, he said. In every discussion he had, Forgey would always have a Duchenne smile projected on his face where his eyes would also smile.

But behind his cheerful character is a college student who, at the end of the day, is still trying to battle his disease like others.

“He did have some times where he was really discouraged because everything was harder,” his mom Chavaleh Forgey said. “Getting up out of bed was harder. Taking a shower when this skin stuff all hurts was harder.”

According to Forgey, an unidentified woman came up to him on the CSULB campus once and told him that remission is attainable with the disease. Although there is no cure, he explained that it is possible to almost entirely eradicate the signs and symptoms of psoriasis through treatment and a healthy diet.

The road to his recovery began with a strict diet that eliminated his consumption of bread, sugar and processed foods and a consistent workout which included his 40-minute walk from the Student Recreation and Wellness Center to Beachside, the off-campus housing where he resides.

In September 2022, Forgey took Methotrexate, an oral chemotherapy for three months. However, since it did not give the best results, he had to wait for his doctor’s recommended treatment, which was reckoned more effective, he said.

That same year in December, he switched to Humira, a biologic treatment that treats psoriasis and reduces the pain and swelling caused by arthritis, where he would inject himself once every two weeks.

Forgey’s insurance demanded justifications and a strong rationale that he needed Humira for the reason that the injection costs thousands of dollars, which is why the procurement took almost a year and caused him to live with the same excruciating pain for weeks after he stopped oral chemotherapy.

“One time he called, he was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m gonna finish this semester. I don’t know if I can do it,’” said his mom who FaceTimes him at least once a week.

The struggles he went through encouraged him to become more involved on campus to create connections and help

more people in a way he can as a college student.

Forgey was the community government president at Beachside during his junior year and in his senior year, he was part of the Residence Hall Association as the Vice President of Administration and Finance.

For the whole duration of his position, no one knew how heavy the burdens were on his shoulders for it was all concealed with his buoyancy.

“He always goes for a drive and tries to work it out,” said engineering major Craig Malech, his roommate who said he cannot recall seeing Forgey during his worst days.

“So that when he comes into the room after a long day, he’s always in a good mindset.”

Forgey said he seeks to enter law school in the fall of 2024, a year following his graduation. After what he has been through, he aspires to become an attorney and advocate for better healthcare and access to medicine.

“Although a lot of my life experiences were very challenging, I feel like I’m such a positive person because I’ve seen it all. I’ve lived it,” Forgey said. “I’m ready to chase what I’m passionate about and to navigate the world.”

TANISHA BUCAD / Daily Forty-Niner History major Cameron Forgey said he aims to help others through what he learned, acknowledging the significance of past events to positively reshape the present from a broader perspective such as destigmatizing health struggles.

As the man I am, I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t go to the doctor and I just toughened up.

Cameron Forgey CSULB graduate

offer post-grad advice

BY SAMANTHA CORTES Staff Writer

To ease the fears of finishing college and embarking on a new journey, Long Beach State professors provided advice on navigating life post-graduation.

Matt Lesenyie, an assistant professor of political science, urges graduates to apply to as many jobs as possible even if the positions are not exactly what they are looking for. He believes that these temporary jobs are the stepping stones for a dream career.

“The first thing you get may not be your favorite thing,” said Lesenyie. “Get a job now so that you make enough money to get the job that you want to get.”

Lesenyie encourages graduates to continue applying for jobs even when faced with rejection, and to use the feedback to become a stronger applicant. He said he applied to 150 to 200 jobs before landing his current position at CSULB.

BY ANDREA LOPEZ Arts and Life Assistant

As cliché as it sounds, if you would have told me at 21 years old that I’d be graduating from a university with a degree in journalism, I’d laugh. I’d laugh because I’d be surprised and over the moon that I made it.

I was the girl who had very low self-esteem. The girl who had given up on school numerous times and even gave up on life. I turned to heavy partying to cope with the pain I had been enduring.

Graduating from college was a celebration I had dreamed about achieving for as long as I could remember, but never thought I’d live to see the day.

At 26 years old, I’m finally graduating at Long Beach State with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. I’m letting that sink in. I have grown up watching and reading the news, entertainment, breaking news, the weather, I watched it all.

I wanted to be a journalist, but knew I’d never be a journalist. Or so I thought.

Life has never been easy, but is it ever easy for anyone? The idea of giving up is far more appetizing than fighting through the tunnel of darkness to reach the light you’ve been searching for.

My family and I have struggled to be where we are now. In 2014, we left my

“Those rejections feel personal, they hurt and get your hopes up,” said Lesenyie. “The best way to take it is to view it all as practice.”

Yousef Baker, an associate professor of international studies, also urges students to not let rejection hold them back. Baker said that if one job or career path does not work, there are other ways for someone to succeed in their desired field.

“You have options and there are multiple ways of getting to the same place,” said Baker. “In the process, all kinds of new doors open up that you didn’t necessarily think even existed.”

Baker also said that graduates should not let salary or benefits entirely dictate the career they choose to pursue. He be-

lieves individuals should instead reflect on how their careers will help those around them.

“Money is going to come and go, and your career is going to come and go,” said Baker. “It’s how you live in community with other people that will help you live better with yourself.”

Ava Hedayatipour, assistant professor of electrical engineering, believes that students should set short and long-term life goals to combat the nerves of graduation. She found that doing this made tackling her aspirations less daunting.

Hedayatipour encourages graduates to reach out to those in their same career fields to grow their networks and gain valuable insight.

In the words of Rafiki

“It’s very scary talking to someone with more seniority or who is on a different level than you,” said Hedayatipour.

“But then again, if you see an interesting person in your job in your life, set up a time to talk to them.”

Hedayatipour also advises students to keep in touch with their friends on a regular basis, especially when circumstances change or life gets too hectic.

“There are some parts of your life that can feel like the lowest that it can get and there’s also parts of your life that will feel like you are in ecstasy,” said Hedayatipour. “The lows will pass and the highs will pass. It’s all about the big picture.”

tirelessly never given up on me, I’m here. I’m here not only because of them, but because I didn’t give up on myself.

At times it really felt like I was sinking to the bottom of the ocean, gasping for air. But I always somehow made it.

In 2020, I decided to officially go back to school for good. No more breaks. If I was going to get my degree, I was going to get my degree. And then COVID-19 hit. I had to decide. It was easy for me to quit it all again or keep going.

For the first time, I had my eye on the prize. I wanted my journalism degree and I wanted to walk across that stage and hear my name called.

I would not be where I am today without my older sister BreeAnn, her husband Mike and my fiancé Chris. They have constantly encouraged me, helped me, stayed up with me and loved me at my worst.

My mom and step-dad, Michelle and Albert, have also guided me and been my biggest cheerleaders. My two sisters, who have never given up through the worst trials, and I are all graduating this year. WE DID IT.

dad. We were unsure of what the future would hold for us, scared and numb.

We were homeless for six months. We lived in a motel, then moved into a small room for us. All five of us worked to pay rent and pay for groceries, all while attending community college. The immense

sadness and unknown direction kept me from wanting to continue my education.

As of 2023, we will all officially have our bachelor’s degrees, including my mom. Our lives looked so different from where we are now.

Because of the people who have

Hope and perseverance are so hard to attain, but so worth it. When life hurts, it’s your story you are writing. No one else gets to write your story.

As Rafiki from “The Lion King” once said, “oh yes, the past can hurt. But you can either run from it or learn from it.”

SAMANTHA CORTES / Daily Forty-Niner CSULB professors Yousef Baker, Ava Hedayatipour and Matt Lesenyie provide career and life advice to graduates ahead of the 2023 commencement ceremony.so.

ANDREA LOPEZ / Daily Forty-Niner

Graduation is around the corner for so many that are seeking to earn degrees in their fields of interest. Graduation is a time of celebration of a person’s accomplishments.

War, Diplomacy, and Society helped me understand the complexities of war and how war taps into every aspect of domestic life. This program also helped me build my research skills and helped me get closer to being a professor of history.

For me, Chapman’s War, Diplomacy, and Society program opened up the human toll of war in an entirely new way. A nation’s memory of war, passed down through generations, forms how societies conceive of themselves and the world. Only Chapman’s multidisciplinary program could have facilitated this kind of nuanced study of a history of warfare and its impact on people.

Pictured:

A fragment of the Berlin Wall resides in Chapman University’s Liberty Plaza, reminding students that the fi ght to stay free is central to the American spirit and to the human spirit.

RANDY O. FELDER OEF Veteran

CHRISTEN KADKHODAI Foreign Service Officer

Ma’Qhi Berry’s sweet Beach career insight

BY NAOKI GIMA Photo Assistant

Women’s basketball this past season finished with a 17-3 conference record, 2310 overall. The Beach at one point had a 15-game winning streak, but their postseason run was cut short in the first round of the Big West Tournament.

Senior point guard Ma’Qhi Berry expressed her thoughts on how the season went and how a lot was accomplished even with the early exit.

“We showed a lot of growth from this year to last. To go from having six kids on the roster in the summer to only losing three games and conference, you know, that was big,” Berry said.

Berry’s resilience and willingness to play as much as possible and be out there with her teammates is a true reflection of her leadership and growth throughout her time at The Beach.

“I think I went through a lot as far as injuries. There were times when I literally didn’t know if I could play but, you know, I just stepped out there because I knew my team needed me and my coaches needed me,” Berry said. “I think resiliency is something that I’ve shown throughout my career.”

As Berry reaches the end of her tenure at Long Beach State, she looks to take small

BY EMMANUAL BARRERA Sports Assistant

As president of the Student-Athletes Advisory Committee throughout his time at Long Beach State, men’s golf player Bryce Kvick worked to make an impact on his community.

A Sacramento native who has been playing golf since he was 8 years old, Kvick joined The Beach in the 2018-2019 season. As a freshman, Kvick played in six tournaments with an average score of 74.9 strokes in 18 holes.

Kvick would continue to play in his sophomore year in four tournaments improving his average to 72.83.

During the 2020-2021 season, Kvick had to redshirt due to a hip surgery that kept him out for eight months. While a redshirt year is where an athlete takes a year off of competition, a medical redshirt prevents injured players from playing all season.

“I was really behind the ball in terms of like my skill level of my swing, because I hadn’t been able to do it for so long,” Kvick said. “Putting in extra hours, trying to still be competitive in the classroom and learn and continue to try to get good grades, it was definitely difficult.”

Since his freshman year, Kvick wanted to be a part of something big outside of golf and help fellow athletes build a connection with Associated Students, Inc. and the community of Long Beach.

He joined the Student Athletes Advisory Committee during his junior year and became president of the committee, working with the other 19 sports in serving the community.

Kvick remembers a lot of memorable

Bryce Kvick has zero regrets

moments during his time at LBSU, especially his freshman year when LBSU men’s volleyball faced Hawaii in the NCAA championship match at The Walter Pyramid, surrounded by other student-athletes celebrating the victory. Another event was the first tournament of his senior season winning The Nick Watney Invitational at Fresno.

“[Accomplishing] something so incredible and being able to share that with other students and some other student-athletes that we were all kind of in there together is something I’ll never forget,” Kvick said.

When it came to practice or playing a tournament, Kvick would concentrate on the game itself. When it came time for his education, that would become his main focal point.

“Being able to be very present and focus on what’s in front of me was the biggest factor in being able to handle things well in the classroom and on the golf course,” Kvick said.

Kvick will be leaving Long Beach with a few degrees that he earned due to his redshirt year in business management, supply chain management and business finance.

steps in terms of her future post-college and considers the possibility of life outside of basketball.

“I’ve been thinking about it honestly for the last month or so. I just have to focus on getting healthy first and finishing school before worrying about anything else,” Berry said. “I love basketball. I love the game. I don’t mind being across the world if I’m doing something that I love.”

Before departing from the team, Berry and the other seniors invested a lot of time into next season’s team and were a big part of the recruiting process for players coming in and made sure that any new faces coming in felt welcome.

“I think we invested a lot as far as visits and making sure that they feel like they’re a part of our family here,” Berry said.

Throughout Berry’s career at The Beach, she was able to rack up accolades and awards for her efforts on both sides of the ball. This past season she reached the 1,000-point milestone and was named to the 2022-2023 Big West All-Defensive Team and 2022-2023 Second Team All Big-West via Sports Reference.

“To put my name in the history books at Long Beach State, that was big to me,” Berry said. “I was so blessed and so lucky to find my fit here.”

“I’m leaning towards [supply chain] and so trying to find a place where I can still go and compete to be my best,” Kvick said. “I’m doing whatever I can to be on the professional side.”

While staying in California is Kvick’s plan, he is looking to explore all his opportunities in finding a job within his degree.

“I had so many wonderful classmates and I had so many wonderful peers in terms of student-athletes that I’m so grateful for my time,“ Kvick said. “I would choose this place 100 times out of 100 times if I can do it again.”

JOHN FAJARDO / LBSU Athletics

Long Beach State men’s golf was five strokes lower than Cal Sate Fullerton at The Nick Watney tournament, placing them first over 16 other universities.

NAOKI GIMA / Daily Forty-Niner Long Beach State women’s basketball senior guard Ma’Qhi Berry pushes the ball in transition against UC Davis inside Walter Pyramid.

Olivier sets sights on future after The Beach

BY MATTHEW GOMEZ Sports Editor

Collegiate athletes have a much different academic experience from their classmates, dealing with counselors and the pressure that comes from playing games while also succeeding in the classroom.

Due to the way seasons are scheduled, athletes can load classes in the offseason or instead decide to redshirt. It’s an opportunity that allows them to spend the first year focusing on school and get comfortable with the team before using a year of their athletic eligibility.

With that extra athletic eligibility, it presents the scenario where an athlete might be at a college for up to six years and compete for four to five after the extra year granted because of COVID-19.

The longer they are on campus the fewer classes they need to take which leaves those final semesters as an array of academic classes and interesting electives.

One redshirt athlete who will be now departing The Beach is Spencer Olivier a senior outside hitter for the men’s volleyball team who was a member of the 2018 and player for the 2019 National championship teams. His time at LBSU began as a redshirt in 2018 before having a successful career playing in 80 matches.

While college is different for everyone, Olivier’s five years at The Beach were productive and impactful.

“Sometimes I think about maybe I could have taken a couple more classes sooner,” Olivier said. “I’m pretty happy

with the way it worked out.”

Olivier who majored in consumer affairs will complete his degree at the end of the semester.

“As far as the degree I don’t really have a plan for sure if I’m going to use it or not,” Olivier said. “Once it gets closer to that time, where I just have to stop playing

volleyball. I’ll consider it.”

The completion of his collegiate career and degree, however, doesn’t mean it’s the end of his volleyball adventure as his plan is to pursue an opportunity to play overseas once the season comes to an end.

“Hopefully to go to Europe and play volleyball over there,” Olivier said. “I’m gonna start focusing on where I want to play overseas (at the end of the season).”

As his time comes to its end Olivier has taken the opportunity to take some of those atypical electives to balance his academics and athletics completing courses in both stretching and relaxation and pilates during his time at The Beach.

With the extra year granted because of COVID-19 and the redshirt year, this final semester Olivier only needed to take a single class, an important one needed to complete his major but one that allowed the majority of focus to be on volleyball.

That focus paid off on the individual side with Olivier being named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America Second Team, but the team fell short of both of their goals losing out in the Big West semi-final, as well as another semi-final bowing out in the National Championship.

Academics, while never his strong suit, were balanced out by the academic advisors.

“We have so many resources,” Olivier said. “Sandra helped me with so much with choosing classes, knowing what to do and like having a plan.”

Photo Courtesy of Holly Wong

Spencer Olivier celebrates alongside Mason Briggs during his penultimate game at The Beach a 3-1 victory over Grand Canyon University in the NCAA quarterfinals.