CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH
VOL. LXVIII, ISSUE 72 | MARCH 1, 2017
D49er FREE SPEECH
Not so free at CSULB A recent list names CSULB as one of America’s 10 “worst colleges for free speech.” By Valerie Osier News Editor
On a campus that sees peaceful student protests spark overnight, has vocal student associations and multiple student press organizations, it seems unlikely that Cal State Long Beach would have a problem with free speech – but according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, we do. FIRE announced its 2017 list of “America’s 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech” last week, with CSULB ranked among the likes of Harvard University and the University of Oregon. The biggest complaint was the cancellation of the satirical play “N*GGER WETB*CK CH*NK” last fall.
According to its mission statement, FIRE works “to defend and sustain individual rights at America’s colleges and universities,” with those rights including freedom of speech. Director Emeritus of the Center for 1st Amendment Studies at CSULB Craig Smith says he’s familiar with the organization. “I think that they have bit of a misunderstanding about the difference between the freedom of expression, which is guaranteed in public places, and academic freedom, which is guaranteed in the classroom,” Smith said. He also said that he thinks CSULB doesn’t deserve a spot on the list because of the NWC incident. “I think it’s unwarranted … it’s much more complicated than people were led to believe,” Smith said. NWC is a controversial play performed by Asian-American, Hispanic-American and African-American actors who combine theater, stand-up
see SPEECH, page 2
FAST FACTS
FIRE’S SPEECH CODE RATINGS • Red light: the educational institution has at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech • Yellow light: the educational institution’s policies restrict a more limited amount of protected expression or could too easily be used to restrict protected expression • Green light: the educational institution’s policies do not seriously imperil speech Source: thefire.org Image: stock.adobe.com
CRIME BLOTTER
Swastika reported, sexual assault near Outpost By Adam R. Thomas Staff Writer
Bicycle stolen by business building A bicycle was reported stolen from the College of Business Administration yesterday. The bicycle is a gray Diamondback bike and had been secured to the racks at the front of the building. David Wagner, the evidence controller for the University Police Department, said that there are no leads at this time. Sexual assault reported outside engineering center An act of sexual assault near the Vivian Engineering center was reported to the UPD on Feb. 23. The report came in to the UPD just before 8
p.m. According to Wagner, the female victim did not appear to know the suspect. Wagner also said that the incident had started at the nearby Outpost eatery, and continued outside to the Vivian Engineering center grounds. Wagner also stated that little information could be released while the investigation was ongoing, but he stated that the incident did not rise to level of a timely warning under the Clery Act. “Because it’s an ongoing investigation I can’t really give anything more,” said Wagner. “If it’s far more serious, then you’re going to see a different approach to it. You’re going to see the release of information per Clery. You’re going to see a lot of things handled differently.” Domestic violence occurrence near UPD station
A domestic violence call was received by the UPD on Feb. 23. The location was in parking lot 11c, adjacent to the police station. According to Wagner, the domestic violence call did not appear to be related to the sexual assault call the same day, which occurred an hour later. The UPD did not release any further information as the investigation was ongoing. Old swastika carving reported A swastika carved into a tree near the Ellis Education building was reported to the UPD on Wednesday. The swastika was determined to be very old, with overgrowth on the carving. The tree was between the Ellis Education center and 7th Street. “We’ve notified groundskeeping to see if they
can do anything about it,” Wagner said. “Worst case scenario, they’ll cut down the tree.” Roommate reports makeup being used to police A student at the residential learning center reported that their makeup products were stolen on Feb. 21. According to Wagner, it was a “roommate situation” where the makeup was used by one roommate and not taken from the room, but was reported as a petty theft to the UPD. “I’ve been here working in this department quite some time and generally, a lot of the low level kind of things are fairly innocuous,” said Wagner. “These are the kinds of problems that are associated with our demographic [youth], which is fine. If someone calls in, we do what we have to do and take a report.”
2 NEWS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2017 DAILY49ER.COM | CITYD49ER@GMAIL.COM
C a m p u s Vo i c e
SPEECH
FAST FACTS
continued from page 1
How do you feel about free speech on campus?
“I think this school is very good when it comes to giving students a place and a forum to say what they feel. Whenever current events do happen, there have been forums that have been created the next week for students to go and address their concerns with [the school].” —Camille Bryant, communication studies major
“I think it’s important to be able to have free speech on campus and say what you want... But there’s a very thick line between free speech and hate speech.” — Michelle Trivisonno English graduate student
“I think this campus is a really good campus for free speech because there are a lot of open spaces. Everyone is very accepting here and I think it’s safe to speak their mind and to share their beliefs.” —Zach Hernandez, geography major
Yasmin Cortez | Daily 49er
comedy and personal stories “to take on racial slurs, stereotypes and the concept of race itself,” according to the play’s website. The show had been performed at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in fall 2015 and was set to be performed again a year later. According to CSULB President Jane Close Conoley in an interview with the Daily 49er last semester, the show was presented to her as a part of a campus effort to inspire progressive dialogue among students and had been incorporated with the Chicano Latino Studies, American Indian Studies and other ethnic studies departments. As part of the curriculum, tickets were subsidized by the university to allow students discounted and free access to the play and it was this subsidy that Conoley had wished to cancel. “[I don’t think it was censorship] because the university didn’t cancel it,” Smith said. “It was cancelled by the head of the Carpenter Center as a kind of protest … the ethnic studies programs basically said it was amateurish, it didn’t serve its function and they were not going to recommend it to their students again and therefore the university said, ‘We’re not going to issue free tickets to students again.’” FIRE has been publishing the list for the past five years with the help of their staff and attorneys, according to Nico Perrino, FIRE’s director of communications. They compile a list of all the cases submitted to them by students and faculty members on campuses, news reports from campus controversies, the cases they became involved in, including lawsuits and public advocacy campaigns, and start “whittling it down.” “Some schools have more than one example of censorship on campus or threat to free speech on campus, those schools are of course given priority, other schools’ censorship is more egregious than other schools,” Perrino said. They also consider if they have previously given the school a “spotlight” speech code rating. CSULB has one “red light” policy, five “yellow light” policies and three “green light” policies, according to FIRE’s website. A “red light” rating means “the threat to free speech ... is obvious on the face of the policy and does not depend on how the policy is applied.” A “yellow light” rating means the school’s policies “restrict a more limited amount of protected expression or, by virtue of their vague wording, could too easily be used to restrict protected expression.” And a “green light” rating means the policies “do not seriously imperil speech.” The policy that was given a red light is the sexual harassment policy in the general campus regulations that reads: “Sexual harassment is characterized as unwelcome, offensive attention, requests,
FIRE’S TOP 10 WORST COLLEGES FOR FREE SPEECH 2017 • Northern Michigan University • Cal State Los Angeles • Fordham University • University of Oregon • Cal State Long Beach • Harvard University • University of Southern California • Williams College • Georgetown University • DePaul University invitations, innuendo and/or conduct of a sexual or suggestive nature. Such behavior can threaten or interfere with one’s ability to learn, participate or work. When exercised by a person in a position of authority, such as an instructor or supervisor, it can contaminate the learning or work environment and impede a person’s academic progress or work status.” According to Perrino, what turns this policy red is the general terminology that can be used against people in instances that are protected by the first amendment. “A university can’t write a sexual harassment policy, for example, and say that any sexual language that someone finds offensive is deemed sexual harassment, that would be overbroad and vague,” Perrino said “… merely saying that sexual harassment is ‘unwelcome conduct,’ that could be asking another student on a date, so long as that conduct or that speech is unwelcome.” However, according to Smith, the policies on sexual harassment are passed down from the Chancellor’s Office to California State Universities. “I think in this case, FIRE is overzealous,” Smith said. “The sexual harassment policy ... is reviewed very carefully by the lawyers in the Chancellor’s Office. I think one of the ways to go with the whole business of sexual harassment is to make sure people understand what it is and what qualifies as sexual harassment.” Following the incident, FIRE sent a letter to CSULB with the National Coalition Against Censorship and the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund and the university never responded to them or disputed the statements they made in the letter, according to Perrino. “It seemed pretty clear that the president throttled this performance because of the content of the performance, it was perceived as such by the [then] executive director of the theater, Michelle Roberge, who resigned as a result of the president’s actions,” Perrino said.
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NEWS 3
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2017 DAILY49ER.COM | CITYD49ER@GMAIL.COM DISASTER
Plane crashes into Riverside homes Three dead, search for more survivors and victims continues. By J.K. Dineen and Michael Bodley San Francisco Chronicle
Feb. 28--A small airplane headed for San Jose crashed into a residential neighborhood in Riverside on Monday, killing three people as firefighters searched the wreckage that burned into the night from spilled jet fuel, officials reported. The crash occurred about a half-mile northeast of Riverside Municipal Airport. The plane had departed from Riverside for Mineta San Jose International Airport, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor. The plane, a Cessna 310 which was carrying five people, “destroyed” two homes in the area of Central and Streeter avenues, said Chief Michael Moore of the City of Riverside Fire Department. Its occupants included a husband and wife, as well as three other people who had gone to the area from San Jose for a cheer competition at Disneyland, Moore said. At least one of the passengers was related to the couple. “It’s horrible, especially when you
Irfan Khan | Los Angeles Times
NTSB investigators and Riverside City fire investigate the scene of a small plane crash that killed 3 people and destroyed two homes Monday evening in Riverside, Calif, destroying two houses. couple together that they were going to a cheer competition, and this is supposedly a happy time, and then just to have a tragic incident like this. ... It’s really just a sad case for us.” Officials initially reported that four people had died and that three of the passengers were teenagers. However, late Monday night, Moore said he did
not know the ages or gender of the people who had died. The two survivors were women in their 30s or 40s, he said. One of the passengers was ejected from the plane, which split apart upon impact, Moore said. She was in critical condition at nearby Riverside Community Hospital, though she was conscious and able to
give investigators a basic overview of what happened -- specifying the number of people on the plane -- Moore said. The other victim was taken to a burn unit at a hospital in San Bernardino, also in critical condition, Moore said. The three dead weren’t immediately confirmed to have been occupants of
the plane, but rescue workers believed that nobody was home at the destroyed houses, Moore said. The force of the crash sent debris spiraling as far as a half-mile from the site, Moore said, adding that along with the two destroyed houses, several adjacent homes were damaged. The plane had just taken off from Riverside for San Jose, and it had a nearly full tank of gas when it crashed, leaving a deluge of highly flammable jet fuel to challenge firefighters late into the night, Moore said. Some 60 firefighters responded to the crash scene, he said. There were two cars parked in the driveway of one of the homes, but no survivors were immediately located inside it, Moore said. “We’re still searching for those victims,” he said. As some firefighters worked to put out the flames and search for the missing, others started evacuating a block of Dewey Avenue near the crash site -- consisting of some 20 houses and an estimated 40 residents -- Moore said, adding that a shelter was being set up for the displaced. If not needed for safety, the evacuations would be called for as the National Transportation Safety Board, which conducts investigations into plane crashes, started its work later in the evening, Moore said.
4 ARTS & LIFE
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2017 DAILY49ER.COM | ARTSNLIFED49ER@GMAIL.COM
CAMPUS EVENTS
BHM ends ‘Nappily Ever After’
The Office of Multicultural Affairs completes Black History Month with an award winning guest speaker. By James Chow Staff Writer
“O
ne of my agents told me my book wasn’t ‘black’ enough,” Trisha R. Thomas, author of the “Nappily” Series, said. “[So in the first version], I killed someone in the book inadvertently… because I wanted to get published. I believe that’s what the people wanted.”
These are the words of an National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Image Award and Golden Pen Award finalist, detailing a time when she was first starting out and offering her work to agents. Presented by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, “An Evening with Award-Winning Author Trisha R. Thomas,” the last event of Black History Month, was held Monday in the University Student Union Ballrooms. Thomas detailed her early struggles of being a black author before striking big with the acclaimed novel “Nappily Ever After,” and signed free copies of her new book “Postcards from Venus.”
The “Nappily” series follows protagoto tell,” Thomas said. nist Venus Johnston, who has a great job The California native’s passion for and home, a handsome boyfriend and reading and writing started at age six. long beautiful hair that she maintains She quickly moved from children and in a weekly salon teen books to appointments. reading material Venus dreams of from adult rocutting off all her mance novelists. hair, of which “I came to the her boyfriend idea that we were doesn’t approve. all supposed to In an act of indelive romantic pendence, Venus and adventurous shaves her head, lives,” Thomas and begins her said. journey in findThomas said ing inner happishe loved to ness. write and draw After Thomas’ during her childfirst story, “Naphood. She drew TRISHA R. THOMAS pily Ever After,” story-like scenes AUTHOR was initially criton paper towicized for “‘not el rolls to make being black enough,”’ she immediately her own film, and used Billie Holiday’s thought she needed to kill someone off “Good Morning Heartache” as her as mainstream media usually did. theme song. “In black movies, someone had to Before dedicating herself to being an die. And guess what, it was usually the author, Thomas tried out many jobs inblack guy. cluding being a photographer, a fashion That never ceased to amaze me,” she designer, a school teacher and a booksaid. keeper. Thomas said she got fired many But when Thomas released the book times for giving attitude and believed free of death, the novel was praised she was meant for greater things. and became a bestseller. Thomas said Kiki Metellus, External Vice Presthat actress Halle Berry took interest in ident of the Black Student Union, turning the book into a film adaptation. praised Thomas at the event. The Academy Award-winning actress “She genuinely puts all that she can even shaved her head preceding plans in her work,” Metellus said. “Just to see of the movie in 2007. The film’s release that dedication motivates me as a black date has yet to be announced. woman. Seeing someone be a represen“I can’t tell of the joy I felt in my heart tative of that reflection of myself is really because it validated the story I’m trying cool.”
csulb.edu
The “Nappily” series follows protagonist Venus Johnston as she goes on a journey to find inner happiness. Later in the event, Thomas said to the writers in the audience that the key to being a good writer is to consistently be jotting down ideas. “Good ideas can come from walking, reading the news or just experiencing life,” Thomas said.
One of the attendees, Linguistics major Ernesto Ortega, admired the different viewpoint provided from Thomas. “The event was really interesting,” Ortega said. “African American-based perspectives are very important because of the climate we’re in right now.”
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What Your Teachers Never Taught You The Left Unhinged Dr. George A. Kuck (galbertk@aol.com)
The Left is not happy about the election of President Trump. Until the night of the election, everyone thought Hillary Clinton was going to be elected. The polls, the major media, and Academia said she would be elected. So what happened? The American citizens voted and President Trump received an overwhelming majority of the Electoral College votes. Prior to the election there were stories that Candidate Trump would not agree with election results and would toss the country into a constitutional crisis. Is this another case of the left projecting their ideas and tactics on Republicans? Social turbulence in our country is partially due to the left’s indignation that the country is a constitutional republic and not a direct democracy. The founders did not want mobs in the streets to direct the results of elections. They saw the bloody results of revolution in France and did not wish that for our country. The left has organized and funded programs to delegitimize the last two elections that were won by Republicans under the rules by which we have operated since our founding. “The Resistance” is playing on your emotions to regain the left’s loss of power. Former President Obama has formed a “shadow government” using organizations and tactics based upon Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals”. The left’s “Resistance Manual” is based on these “Rules.” The riot at Berkley several weeks ago was an example of the left’s ”rent a mob” tactics. The goal was to shut down a conservative Jewish homosexual speaker with whom they disagreed. Many outside participants were organized and funded by secret outside organizations. Rioters wore black, the uniform color of ISIL, so they could not be identified. A professor at Orange Coast College verbally abused students who voted for Mr. Trump, had them identify themselves, and called them terrorists. When her tirade was exposed, the student was suspended for recording her attack! Locally, a staffer had to be treated at the hospital for injuries caused by a local “Resistance” mob outside our congressional office. Can you name the 1930’s organizations with similar characteristics? If the “Resistance” is for free speech and open communication, why are they disrupting congressional town halls and protesting outside congressional homes?
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ARTS & LIFE 5
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2017 DAILY49ER.COM | ARTSNLIFED49ER@GMAIL.COM CARPENTER CENTER
Latin legend comes to CPAC Jose Feliciano will take the stage Saturday at Cal State Long Beach. By Zulema Suarez Staff Writer
Seventy-one-year-old celebrity, musician and actor Jose Feliciano will be performing his trademark pop music, including hit song “Light My Fire,” at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center March 4. Feliciano, born blind as one of eleven siblings in Puerto Rico, immigrated to New York City with his family when he was five years old. Feliciano used a handful of records to learn to play the accordion and the guitar and by the time JOSE FELICIANO he turned nine, he had performed MUSICIAN at the Puerto Rican Theater in the Bronx. At 17, Feliciano quit school to help his family financially by playing his music in small clubs and coffeehouses. Four years later, Feliciano gave a performance in Argentina for the Mar del Plata Festival and his performance landed him an opportunity to record an album of old Spanish songs he’d heard when he was a kid. His career took off immediately, and after that as he became widely known throughout Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. By the age of 23, Feliciano had won two Grammy Awards and received five nominations. Feliciano’s cover of “Light My Fire,” originally sung by The Doors, topped charts worldwide in 1968. In the same year, Feliciano sung the National Anthem for the fifth game of the World Series, between the Cardinals and the Tigers. He was the first singer to ever stylize the anthem, opening doors for artists like Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga and Kelly Clarkson, all of whom have since then publicly sang their own stylizations of the Star Spangled Banner. He was later honored with an engraved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1987. Now, Feliciano is known as “The Picasso of his Realm,” and has been awarded over 45 Platinum and Gold records, along with nine Grammy awards including Best Latin pop album five times. Long Beach will get the chance to be a part of the next stepping stone in Feliciano’s long and prominent career this weekend, and tickets can be purchased at CPAC or at carpenterarts.org
James Conley | Daily 49er
The Arts Council for Long Beach held an open discussion Feb. 26 in the Gina M Woodruff Gallery.
LONG BEACH ART
Safe places for creative spaces Art Council for Long Beach makes plans for the future. By James Conley Staff Writer
Almost three months ago, a warehouse in Oakland that had been converted into an artist collective named Ghost Ship caught flame and quickly killed 36 people. Ghost Ship had a business license, but was not up to fire safety code. Since then, cities all across the nation have been forcing illegal underground venues, like Purple 33 in Los Angeles, to shut down. Artists are worried that there will be fewer and fewer places to live and work, and that gentrification will leave them homeless and without any creative outlets.
CSULB 2017
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like to do.” The meeting attendees agreed that money, not sentiments, makes things happen. Artists need to be creative and start thinking like entrepreneurs; find a way to monetize the art. Jake Woodruff, musician and son of Gina Woodruff, suggested having more events that appeal to many different types of crowds. Executive Director of the Arts Council for Long Beach, Griselda Suarez said that dialogue among the city, developers and artists needs to start. There was a call for solidarity amongst the artists; a strong grassroots operation. This led to talks of some sort of Long Beach artists union being formed, where members would pay dues to secure benefits, like access to creative spaces around the city. There will be more meetings like this one at the end of March, April and May. More information can be found at http://www.artslb.org.
HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
DOERS DO May Intersession
On Monday night, the Arts Council for Long Beach held a public forum about the future of the Long Beach art culture at the Gina M. Woodruff Gallery. All kinds of artists attended the meeting with the goal of finding a sustainable solution for Long Beach to maintain its art community. Everyone showed up with passion and ideas to protect diversity and culture. The general consensus is that artists need creative space that is affordable, inspiring and safe. They need creative space to work, to play, exhibit – and sometimes, to live. For most, the cost of having an apartment and an art studio to work is too high. According to Nicole Reese, a painter and the creative director of Auspicious Arts, a program for the non-profit City Heart, “Typical residential areas usually are not affordable or strange enough to suit the type of projects an artist would
Summer Sessions Two 6-Week Sessions May 30–July 7 (S1S) July 10–August 18 (S3S)
For research study involving measurement of hemoglobin and other non-invasive readings. If you are 18 years of age or older, healthy and weigh a minimum of 110 lbs, you may be eligible to participate in a research study with monetary compensation for your time. You may be paid up to 250 dollars. Multiple blood draws and a fluid infusion may be involved. Study time varies. Please call for details. Masimo Corporation 52 Discovery Irvine, CA 92618 949-297-7137
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6 OPINIONS
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POLICE BRUTALITY
Planting seeds of racism in the ‘law’n By Miranda Andrade-Ceja Managing Editor
I
don’t wash my face anymore because reality hits me like a cold splash of water every morning when I check the news. Sometimes, it feels like I’m drowning in a saline pool, as on the morning of Feb. 20, when I opened up to an eight-minute-long Facebook video a mutual friend had shared depicting an incident in Anaheim in which an off-duty Los Angeles Police Officer physically harassed and subsequently shot at a group of brown boys who seemed to be walking home from school. The video broke on social media Feb. 22 and currently has over 11 million views. After the video’s emergence, numerous protests over the incident rose in Anaheim. The situation is unsettling, especially considering the fact that it’s brown people, undocumented or otherwise, who are being targeted nationwide since President Donald Trump took office. This especially impacts California, where the Latinx population rounds out to about 14.99 million, according to a 2015 U.S. census. This act of brutality against brown children is a clear indicator that even in “liberal” California, police forces and President Trump’s administration are more than willing to perpetuate the criminalization of brown bodies. Police brutality comes as no surprise to those aware of the history of the police force, and its grim roots in antebellum south, where police worked to capture runaway slaves and return them back to their white plantation owners. The very notion of a police force is intrinsic with the criminalization and abuse of black and brown people, and this video delivered a burning ray of light on something malignant festering in our very own backyard. The incident began when a group of teenagers walking on the sidewalk were harassed by off-duty LAPD officer Kevin Ferguson. The teenagers allege that Ferguson initially used a gender-based profanity at a girl within the group because she was walking on his lawn. A separate video depicts the scene moments be-
fore a youth was grabbed by the hoodie and detained, in which the 13-year-old Christian Dorscht says to Ferguson: “You could have said, ‘get off my lawn,’ but you didn’t. You said ‘get off my lawn you f*cking c*nt.’” In the remainder of the the altercation, the viewer can clearly witness the tight hold Ferguson has on Christian. The video escalates violently from there, after a friend tackles Ferguson over a hedge in an attempt to get the adult off of Christian. Ferguson hangs on to the youth by the shoulders, soon drawing a gun out of his pants at the 2:06 mark and firing a single shot at the ground.
“
This act of brutality against brown children is a clear indicator that even in “liberal” California, police forces and President Trump’s administration are more than willing to perpetuate the criminalization of brown bodies.
“
White police officers strike again.
According to an article by the Los Angeles Times, Ferguson and Anaheim police said the gunfire was a “warning shot” that was intended to get the situation “under control.” Considering that it was Ferguson who instigated the situation by antagonizing minors for the possibly annoying, yet lawful, action of walking across his lawn — I find it hard to believe that gunfire is standard protocol (or even necessary) for diffusing a situation. After the gunfire sounded, the crowd of teenagers immediately disperse in a frenzy. From there, we are able to witness what occurs when the cops roll up to the scene – which doesn’t amount to much. Christian and his friend were arrested for “alleged criminal threats” and battery. According to another LA Times article, Officer Ferguson (as well as numerous sources within the Anaheim Police Department and LAPD) said that the group of teenagers were “continually” walking through his lawn, and denied having said anything profane to the group prior to the altercation.
Daily 49er Micayla Vermeeren Editor-in-Chief eicd49er@gmail.com
Miranda Andrade-Ceja Managing Editor managingd49er@gmail.com
The same article writes that Ferguson claimed to have heard Christian say that he was “going to shoot” him prior to sicking himself on the 13 year-old. One video of the transgression depicts Ferguson telling Christian that if he did not want an altercation, then he should have not said he was going to “shoot him,” to which Christian immediately protests, saying that he had originally said he was going to “sue” Ferguson. Though the incident is under further investigation by the APD, Ferguson is on-duty but not “working the field,” according to the article by the LA Times. Meanwhile, Christian and his 16-year-old friend were apprehended by the police in another classic example of the method in which authorities target children based on racial profiling. In a political era where the character of Latinx people is being questioned on a national scale, these acts of racism fuel ideas of respectability so that self defense and criminal behavior are being conflated. Meaning, 13-year-olds who are being terrorized by unidentified police officers with guns beneath their belts are criminalized without question of validity. The national status quo of racism continues to permeate on a statewide level because of the way people are privileged by the subjugation of certain communities through the policing of low-income neighborhoods that leads to modern day segregation. Middle class neighborhoods are at will to enforce discrimination as they see fit in order to keep their communities respectable, and I can only imagine that this altercation is an indicator of the severe and hostile growth of policing against Latinx people that is to come. In Governor Jerry Brown’s State of the State Address, he said that California will not “look back” from their perceivably progressive stance in socioeconomic politics in the face of the Trump administration and anti-immigrant rhetoric. And yet, the consequences incited from a police officer pulling a gun out on a 13-year-old Latino are underwhelming and could very well normalize the act of trigger-happy cops firing rounds at brown children. Though the investigation continues, I think it’s safe to say that Police Officer Ferguson will continue to “protect and serve” the people of Los Angeles, leaving police brutality left unaccounted for once again.
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Los Angeles resident Estella Ramirez, who drove to Anaheim out of a concern for police violence, listens as Damion Ramirez speaks in front of the Anaheim Police Department.
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Off-duty LAPD officer, Kevin Ferguson was caught on video firing a shot to control a crowd of students defending 13-year-old Christian Dorscht.
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Editorials: All opinions expressed in the columns, letters and cartoons in this issue are those of the writers or artists. The opinions of the Daily 49er 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 49er.
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SPORTS 7
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2017 DAILY49ER.COM | SPORTSD49ER@GMAIL.COM
Key Players
TJ DEFALCO
OUTSIDE HITTER
KYLE ENSING
OUTSIDE HITTER
Bobby Yagake | Daily 49er
Long Beach State sophomore setter Josh Tuaniga and senior middle blocker Bryce Yould prepare to block a shot from USC sophomore outside hitter Gianluca Grasso.
AMIR LUGO-RODRIGUEZ MIDDLE BLOCKER
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
49ers look to stay hot The Long Beach State men’s volleyball team hosts UC Irvine looking for ninth straight win. By Matthew Simon Sports Editor
After winning eight consecutive matches, the Long Beach State men’s volleyball team is looking to keep its current streak going when it hosts UC Irvine tonight at Walter Pyramid. The match against the Anteaters (11-5, 8-4) will be LBSU’s (15-2, 11-1) third match during its sixgame homestand.
Cal Baptist broke the 49ers’ current sweep streak Feb. 22 when they beat LBSU in the first set of the match. The team bounced back to win the match in four sets. Following that win, the 49ers’ avenged their Jan. 11 loss to USC by sweeping the Trojans Feb. 24. Heading into this match, sophomore outside hitter Kyle Ensing and senior middle blocker Amir Lugo-Rodriguez are looking to contain the Anteaters’ offense. In their match against USC, Ensing had five blocks while Lugo-Rodriguez assisted on eight blocks. No.6 UC Irvine will be a tough opponent for the 49ers, as the Anteaters are 4-1 in road games and only 4-3 at home. The team is coming into Walter Pyramid on a three-game win streak after upsetting UCLA
Thursday at Bren Center in a five-set thriller. UCI followed that win with another five-set win against UC Santa Barbara Friday. Senior opposite Tamir Hershko and senior outside hitter Thomas Hodges lead the way for UCI, as they combine for five kills per set and have 160 and 159 kills respectively. On the defensive side, senior libero Dillon Hoffman will try to slow down LBSU’s offense as he leads UCI with 141 digs and is averaging two digs per set. For the 49ers, sophomore outside hitter TJ DeFalco leads the way with 241 kills while Ensing is second on the team with 189 kills on this season. After its match against UCI, the 49ers’ will face UC San Diego Friday before hosting the LBSU Asics Tournament March 10-11.
ANDREW SATO LIBERO
UPCOMING GAMES:
VS. When: Tonight at 7 Where: Walter Pyramid
at When: Friday, 7 p.m. Where: Walter Pyramid
at When: March 10, 7 p.m. Where: Walter Pyramid
at When: March 11, 7 p.m. Where: Chapel Hill
JOSH TUANIGA SETTER
8 SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2017 DAILY49ER.COM | SPORTSD49ER@GMAIL.COM
Top Performers
JARREN DURAN
2-4, TWO HITS, ONE RUN
Giovanni Cardenas | Daily 49er
Long Beach State pitching coach Dan Ricabal talks to freshman pitcher John Castro during the Dirtbags 6-2 loss Tuesday.
BASEBALL
LBSU can’t get runs across Dirtbags drop another mid-week game to San Diego State University Tuesday night. By Luke Ramirez
Assistant Sports Editor
In a second consecutive Tuesday night game, Long Beach State lost to San Diego State 6-2. After falling to USC last Tuesday, the Dirtbags faced another tough team and looked overmatched in front of the home crowd at Blair Field this week. LBSU (4-4) was held to just seven hits while the Dirtbags’ pitchers gave up 12 to an experienced Aztec lineup. “We didn’t play very good baseball tonight,” head coach Troy
Buckley said. “Not a lot of quality at bats, mistakes defensively… we played poorly enough to lose.” Sophomore second baseman Jarren Duran was two for four with a run scored and junior catcher David Banuelos had two hits in four at bats against the Aztecs. “I’m just trying to do my job,” Banuelos said. “I’m just stringing along at bats and trying to keep it going.” SDSU took an early lead against freshman pitcher John Castro when the Aztecs (5-4) scored on a RBI triple from sophomore first baseman Jordan Verdon. The Aztecs made it 2-0 after senior designated hitter Andrew Martinez hit a line drive to the right fielder junior Brock Lundquist, who lost it in the lights. In the top of the fifth, Aztec senior third baseman Andrew Brown turned on one of those
fastballs and launched a solo home run off of the left field foul pole. The blow extended the Aztec’s lead to 3-0. Castro would take his first loss of the season after a final line of: 5.0 IP, 6H, 3R, 2ER, 3K. “They just hit the mistakes pretty well tonight,” Banuelos said. “You have to give them credit where it’s due.” LBSU’s first run of the game came in the bottom of the fifth against sophomore Aztec pitcher Harrison Pyatt when Banuelos lead off with a line drive single up the middle. Banuelos stole second and with two outs, sophomore second baseman Jarren Duran reached base on an infield single. Banuelos scored after Duran stole second base and the throw got into center field on a throwing error by sophomore catcher Dean Nevarez making the score 3-1. LBSU brought in sophomore
closer Chris Rivera in the top of the seventh who went on to give up four hits and two runs against the Aztecs. The Dirtbags threatened to have a big inning in the bottom of the eighth when they loaded the bases with no outs against Aztec junior pitcher and second baseman Alan Trejo. The Dirtbags looked like they would spoil the rally after two questionably called strike threes but junior third baseman Ramsey Romano legged out an infield single after sliding into first base safely. The hustle play narrowed the Aztec’s lead to 6-2. “It’s disappointing,” Buckley said. “Right now [the offense] has to find a way to keep having consistent at bats throughout an inning.” LBSU plays an exhibition game against KT Wiz from Korea tonight at Blair Field.
DAVID BANUELOS
2-4, TWO HITS, ONE RUN
JOHN CASTRO
5 IP, 2 ER, 6 HITS
MEN’S GOLF
Men’s golf finish fifth at tourney LBSU can’t execute at Virginia Country Club in Del Walker Intercollegiate Tuesday. By Luke Ramirez
Assistant Sports Editor
Luke Ramirez | Daily 49er
Andres Gonzalez takes his shot during the final round of the 21st Del Walker Intercollegiate Tournament Tuesday.
On a sun filled day at Virginia Country Club in Bixby Knolls, the Long Beach State men’s golf team finished in a tie for fifth place in the 21st Del Walker Intercollegiate Tuesday morning. LBSU’s total score after three rounds was 875, including the lowest second round of all 15 teams at 283. Virginia Country Club is the home
course for the men’s team, which holds practice at the private course three times a week. “We hoped the guys would be ready to play this tournament,” head coach Mickey Yokoi said. “It’s just golf. These guys are trying and at the end of the day all I ask is that they show effort.” Redshirt sophomore Joe Fryer shot a second round 68 for the low score of the team over the weekend. Fryer entered in a tie for eighth place, looking to climb the leaderboard on familiar ground. “I was trying to win today,” Fryer said. “I only made one bogey on the front, and the rest pars, but I just wasn’t really able to get anything going.” Fryer shot a four-over 74 in the final round and finished in a tie for 12th. The LBSU sharp-shooter totaled 215
strokes over three rounds. Other notable performances for LBSU included sophomore Andres Gonzales (217) who birdied three of his final five holes in the final round and finished the tournament tied for 17th. Sophomore Spencer Koch (219) jumped 19 spots and finished tied for 26th after shooting an even par 70 on Monday. Boise State registered the lowest team score at 855 and won the tournament by four strokes. The individual championship was won by Boise State’s Brian Humphreys, who was one under par over three rounds. LBSU travels to Las Vegas on March 10-11 for the Jack Rabbit Invitational at Siena Golf Club. They stay on the road the following week playing in the Bob Sitton Invitational in Dallas.