Daily 49er, May 20, 2019

LONG BEACH STATE UNIVERSITY | VOL. LXX, ISSUE 51 | MAY 20, 2019

The mourning Morning Issue

2 NEWS

MONDAY, MAY , 2019 | DAILY49ER.COM | CITYD49ER@GMAIL.COM

INSIDE

THE

NINER Moderator for LBSU’s subreddit signs out page 4

ON THE FRONT AND BACK

The class of 2019 includes 11,00 graduating students. On to new memories and the next chapter of their lives.

Photo Illustrastion

by Ryan Guitare

Daily 49er Editorial Office Phone (562) 985-8000

1250 Bellflower Blvd., LA4-201 Long Beach, CA 90840-4601 Austin Brumblay Editor in Chief eicd49er@gmail.com

News Editor

Sports Editor

LBSU student showcase at the University Art Museum page 7 Dirtbags’ mismanaged graduating talent page 10

Editor in Chief

Perry Continente opedd49er@gmail.com

Special Projects Editor

Samantha Diaz spprojd49er@gmail.com

Special Projects Editor

Hannah Getahun spprojd49er@gmail.com

Advertising Account Executive

M

ore than 11,000 Long Beach State students will be walking across the graduation stage this week, marking the official commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2019.

According to university officials, over 88,000 spectators are expected to be on campus for the nine commencements, which will be held Tuesday through Friday.

President Jane Close Conoley told the Daily 49er in March that commencement was moved to the Jack Rose Track from the intramural fields.

Conoley explained the change would better accommodate those using wheelchairs and compared the surface on the intramural fields to “legos,” saying it was too bumpy at last year’s ceremony.

The new venue will accomodate 12,000 guests to cheer on their graduates.

Kat Schuster contributed to this article.

Tuesday May 21:

Eddie Infante d49ads@gmail.com

Rachel Barnes Alejandro Vazquez

Photo Editor

Ryan Guitare

Social Media Editor

Brenna Enos

Video Editor

Aubrey Balster

Assistant Sports Editor

Ralston Dacanay

Assistant Sports Editor

Manuel Valladares

Social Media Assistant

Cristal Gomez

Social Media Assistant

Celeste Huecias

Design Adviser

Commencement schedule:

Mark Lindahl sportsd49er@gmail.com

Opinions Editor

Web Master

By Austin Brumblay

Alex Dansereau cityd49er@gmail.com

Andy Lizarraga artsnlifed49er@gmail.com

Design Editor

Over 11,000 LBSU students set to graduate

Paula Kiley Mulitmedia Managing Editor paula.kileyy@gmail.com

Arts & Life Editor

Copy Editor

GRADUATION

Business Office Phone (562) 985-1740

Content Adviser Advertising and Business Adviser

Samantha Hangsan Gary Metzker Barbara Kingsley-Wilson Jennifer Newton

9 a.m. College of Engineering 1 p.m. College of Natural Science and Mathematics 5 p.m. College of Education

Wednesday May 22: 9 a.m. College of Liberal Arts (first ceremony) 2 p.m. College of Liberal Arts (second ceremony)

Thursday May 23: 9 a.m. College of Health and Human Sciences (first ceremony) 2 p.m. College of Health and Human Sciences (second ceremony)

Friday May 24: 9 a.m. College of Business 2 p.m. College of Arts

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.

Letters Policy: All letters and email must bear the phone number of the writer and must be no more than 300 words.

The Daily 49er reserves the right to edit letters for publication in regard to space.

NEWS 3

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ASI

Incoming ASI president strives for inclusivity Liz Velasquez aims to better serve a diverse campus.

By Alex Dansereau News Editor

Courtesy of Lizbeth Velasquez

Liz Velasquez, incoming ASI president, brings an ambitious agenda of inclusivity to her new office.

W

hen Lizbeth Velasquez first received the news that she had been elected as Associated Students Inc. president for the 2019-20 school year, she felt a mix of jubilation and surprise.

After a hard-fought campaign, she found herself in a position she had long aspired to be in, and one she had believed was out of grasp.

“It’s not something I thought I was going to be able to achieve,” Velasquez said.

“I didn’t have such a big platform compared to the other candidates running, and I’m not as known around the school. So it was something that brought a lot of joy to me, but also humbled me at the same time.”

Now, on the heels of her unexpected win against incumbent Genesis Jara, Velasquez is solidifying her vision for her upcoming term as president, one that emphasizes inclusivity for marginalized groups on campus, and transparency with the student body.

Her agenda is rooted in her background as a first-generation college student whose parents emphasized the privilege of educa-

tion.

“My mother went up to the fifth grade in Mexico, and my dad went up to the third grade,” she said. “My mother lived in very humble households with 12 other brothers and sisters. My dad lived in a ranch with no shoes ... they couldn’t even afford shoes.”

Velasquez’s background has created a passion for giving back to her community.

One of her biggest goals stemmed from her struggles with applying for financial aid, which is a process she said needs to be made more accessible to minority and disadvantaged students.

“I had no idea how to apply. I had no help … my mom and dad can’t read English, and my brothers had never gone to college,” she said. “A lot of the time, that’s what’s stopping people from obtaining an education.”

She also gained valuable insight through her volunteer experience providing legal advice to underprivileged clients at the Gov. George Deukmejian Courthouse in Long Beach. Her 300 hours of volunteer work inspired her proposal to establish a free legal advice clinic available to all students at Long Beach State.

“It’s a service that I think would be really beneficial to students,” she said. “ A lot of the time, the burdens that they have to go through in the legal system also create a burden in their studies at school … so giving students the opportunity to gain that knowledge, and having that representation, is something that would be very beneficial to them.”

The incoming president’s wide-ranging agenda also includes proposals such as expanding access to mental health care at Counseling and Psychological Services, an initiative inspired by her brother’s struggles with schizophrenia. She also seeks to revise the university’s policy on textbooks, focusing on eliminating books that are not necessary for classes, as well as the issue of overpricing.

While Velasquez has set an ambitious agenda, those who know her explain that they are a product of her deep commitment to helping others.

“Lizbeth draws her strength from the good that she wants to serve,” said Leonardo Aguilar, a friend and third-year consumer affairs major. “Her word is bond. I

am confident about the goals that she has set for ASI, because she will do everything in her power to fulfill them in a professional and transparent matter.”

Velasquez’s co-worker, Stephanie Aguilar, further emphasized her willingness to do whatever is necessary to affect positive change.

“Liz has a very strong leadership quality,” Aguilar said. “But what sets her aside is that she is open to criticism. She always wants to be better, so anything I’ve told her that she needs to work on, she works on.”

This is reflected in Velasquez’s goal of being as available as possible to the student body. She emphasized the importance of not letting concerns go unnoticed.

“I want students to feel that I did advocate for them, and that I was there, because I don’t want them to feel that I did nothing during my term,” Velasquez said. “I want them to know and feel that when they came to me, I took action on what their issues were … and I didn’t just sit there and nod my head, and then continue on with my day.”

4 NEWS

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GRADUATION

/u/ MarcoMaroon Marco Murguia Vidales, a moderator for LBSU’s subreddit, steps down after two years of building the community.

By Ralston Dacanay Staff Writer

W

hile Marco Murguia Vidales will blend in with the masses when his name is called at the Jack Rose Track this commencement season, thousands of Long Beach State students have likely seen his online alias — MarcoMaroon.

After two years of overseeing broken escalator complaints, degree planning inquiries and endless mascot suggestions, Murguia Vidales is hanging up his digital green shield as a moderator for LBSU’s dedicated subreddit.

Since age 12, he’s been known as MarcoMaroon on internet messengers, such as AIM and MSN. The art student’s hat tip to his favorite color also blends his first name with the name of his favorite band. The username seamlessly captures his openness in being himself and meeting new people.

During the spring of 2017, Murguia Vidales often spent his freetime on forums dedicated to specific topics on the website, Reddit. Still fresh off of a transfer from Chaffey College, he took a break from his usual self-deprecating memes to explore r/CSULB. With only 220 members at the time, it was outclassed in numbers compared to other California State University subreddits and saw very little interaction.

“It was a really barebones subreddit,” Murguia Vidales said. “[There was] only one moderator (u/mystimel), the original owner, and she never did anything.”

As a member of many anime and video game subreddits, Murguia Vidales saw potential in LBSU’s forum. With the honorable shield added to his username, Marco-

Maroon went to work on his goal — to make the LBSU subreddit a “hub of information” and a lively community.

By all accounts, he has.

In addition to adding links to the sidebar and flairs to posts, Murguia Vidales introduced weekly check-in discussion posts.

Generating 20 to 30 comments on average, the “It’s Sunday, how are we doing?” posts were important to him as a big advocate of mental health.

“Even if they’re not going to interact with you, just someone knowing that someone is there is a huge relief,” Murguia Vidales said.

Murguia Vidales said that his favorite part about being a moderator was getting to know more of the community.

“The more time you spend [in] your later years in college [on] your upper divisions, you just become part of a smaller circle of students so you don’t get a chance to leave that little world until after you graduate,” Murguia Vidales said. “Being a part of a larger subreddit community, you kind of become exposed to a lot more people.”

The main duty of the moderators is to observe posts, enforcing the rules fairly and transparently. Every so often, there will be a post aside from the usual questions about the campus or classes that sparks some controversy.

Life as double major in art history and studio art was tasking enough. However, while juggling an internship and independent study with the University Art Museum, working at his brother’s clothing store and fixing computers and phones on the side, Murguia Vidales set aside times within the

Ralston Dacanay | Daily 49er Marco Murguia Vidales, or /u/MarcoMaroon on Reddit, steps down as a r/CSULB subreddit moderator as graduation approaches.

week to answer other students’ questions. A lot of them were about financial aid.

“As someone who has dealt with Brotman Hall way too many times, I think I have some experience,” Murguia Vidales laughed.

In addition to having friends who had FAFSA issues, Murguia Vidales once had his transfer acceptance revoked for a period due to his transcripts being fumbled by the university. After sending numerous emails and speaking to multiple people from E. James Brotman Hall, he was accepted.

After two years as moderator, Murguia Vidales has watched the LBSU subreddit grow to 4,300 members.

Heading into this semester, he let the other moderators know that he would be stepping down, and officially did so with a farewell post in late April. Murguia Vidales said the subreddit should be managed by those still involved with LBSU.

“I know that graduating, I didn’t really want to stay a mod,” Murguia Vidales said.

“I feel it’s more fair to everyone for it to be a community that’s led by other students that are still here rather than me, who is not here afterwards.”

He said he’s comfortable leaving it to the two remaining active moderators, u/ bibliophile332 and u/CSULB_lecturer, a freshman student and professor at LBSU, respectively.

Murguia Vidales plans to stay in touch with the friends he’s made on the LBSU subreddit, and continues to be a moderator for r/UnexpectedNaruto. As he plans to pursue work at museums in the next chapter of his life, Murguia Vidales remains proud, yet modest about fulfilling his goal.

“Not to diss myself or anyone who’s on [r/CSULB], but I don’t feel like you’ll be missing out on anything if you’re not on the subreddit,” Murguia Vidales said.

5

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Congratulations

CSULB Alumni Congratulates the Class of 2019!

Join the network of over 50,000 CSULB Alumni members.

Your lifelong connection to The Beach starts today!

BEACH ALUMNI FOR LIFE @csulbalumni

6

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CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LONG BEACH

CONGRATULATIONS, GRADUATES!

ARTS & LIFE 7

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Nikki Nelsen | Daily 49er

Student artist Ixmal Henriquez specializes in creating layered screen prints depicting social justice movements.

ART EXHIBIT

By Saad Kazi Staff Writer

A debut at the museum Printmaking artist in his first ever museum entry, gets selected.

T

here is always risk in taking chances, but for Ixmal Henriquez, a printmaking major at Long Beach State, every chance he took he was met with re-

ward.

One such risk he took was to enter the University Art Museum’s Insights 2019: The Annual Student Exhibition gallery for the first time, and his work got selected for the

showcase.

“Anyone can make art,” Henriquez said. “Who am I to say what is and what is not art?”

Though he has always been fond of art in the form of simple drawings, Henriquez did not originally major in fine arts when he first started college.

About three years ago, as a sociology major at Pasadena City College, Henriquez enrolled in a printmaking class to fill a requirement.

“It just really made me fall in love with art again,” Henriquez said.

Of the dozens of artworks entered into the competition, only a handful of pieces were selected to be part of the display, and Henriquez’s, “American Gods: Survival Through Service to the People,” was one of them.

“It’s a five-layer screenprint,” Henriquez said. “Basically you’re making an image on something else, which is called a matrix, and you use that matrix to repeat the image.”

It took Henriquez three weeks to complete his work, including two separate additional versions of the same style using Malcolm X and Colin Kaepernick as the subjects.

“I don’t really think of my art in terms of doing it for somebody else,” Henriquez said. “This was my first series trying to do something like [portraying a social justice theme], and I think I just kind of had to it for my own purposes, to get out some of the things I was feeling.”

LBSU is the only school in Southern California with a

printmaking major, so it seemed like a no-brainer to pursue his interest here, so three semesters ago he decided to do just that.

“In community college, there were certain expectations, then you come to university and they make you work way harder,” said Matt Johnson, a friend and former classmate of Henriquez.

Johnson met Henriquez at PCC and even set him up with a job working under a printmaking artist. A printmaker himself, Johnson had his own work displayed at last year’s Insights before he graduated from LBSU. “He has a lot of technical skill,” Johnson said. “[As an artist] watching his work, I already know where he’s going with it conceptually, so I look at all the technicalities.”

Despite already finishing at LBSU with a bachelor’s degree in printmaking, Johnson had a chance to visit the UAM recently to congratulate Henriquez on his museum debut.

“I’ve seen his work grow like crazy because [in university] you’re forced to work more than you’re capable of,” Johnson said.

Henriquez spends almost all of his time on campus at workspaces in the fine arts buildings. When he’s not at school, he interns at a printmaking studio.

As the vice president of the printmaking club on campus, Henriquez plans on spending his remaining years at LBSU standing out even more.

“I would be excited to embrace new things [in my future works],” he said.

Henriquez’s silkscreen portrait of the leader of the 1960s activist group The Black Panthers Huey Newton has hung on a wall in the University Art Museum since May 9 and will continue to be up for the public to view until May 24.

8 OPINIONS

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GRADUATION

Graduation the great and terrible Despite the future being uncertain, we will surely thrive.

Ryan Guitare | Daily 49er

A college degree affords you a wealth of opportunities that can be used in the future.

By Perry Continente Opinions Editor

G

raduation is a complex time. On the one hand it is exhilarating to finally step into the working world for your chosen field, or to continue onto grad school. On the other hand, this newfound freedom can make people apprehensive about an uncertain future.

This uncertainty characterizes the world as it exists today, political and social unrest are nearing the boiling point, and a once vibrant and growing economy has begun to show cracks in its foundation. This is, and has always been, a scary world we live in.

Many of us can’t remember a time outside of the school system, with each passing year largely dictated by the same hypnotic rhythm of semesters giving way to summers and back again.

Having the rhythm that has dominated our lives broken is one of the biggest paradigm shifts we will ever experience. We are transitioning from a routine 4/4 beat to freeform jazzy improvisation suddenly, and that can take some adjustment.

This sudden onset freedom, while beautiful and empowering, can be intimidating.

Our goals have been laid out for us until now, and removing the blinders of academia to look at the world at large is overwhelming.

Where before the path was fairly clear, with only the occasional divergence, it now spirals out in almost infinite directions. The

sheer variety of choices can be paralyzing.

It is easy to feel that you have become unmoored.

But realize that this is what we have been working our whole lives for. We have done our scholastic due diligence and can now begin reaping the rewards. It is time to put our lessons into practice, to go out into the world and show them what we are capable of.

And we are capable of so much. Some of the most talented, driven and brilliant people I have met are Long Beach State students. I am constantly floored by the depths of their creativity, empathy, intelligence and capability.

While there are many horrifying things happening every day, it is difficult to think of a group of people more capable to combat these issues than those graduating. The world is in their hands.

Graduates of schools like this one will go on to be the ones dictating the course of our country. The business people, the communicators, those pushing technology forward.

Those who will build a better world for everyone.

Realize that while things may seem uncertain, a college degree affords you a wealth of opportunities. Take advantage of this, be bold, take risks, leave your mark on the world as only you can.

So while this transition can be frightening, remember, it’s not you who needs to get ready for the real world, it’s real world who needs to get ready for you.

SPORTS 9

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ATHLETICS

Graduating to The Big Leagues Senior Troy Stewart dedicated three years to the Dirtbags’ dugout and is now reaping the benefits of his work.

By Manuel Valladares Staff Writer

O

ften the first man on the field, the Long Beach State baseball team’s student manager Troy Stewart can be seen setting up his cameras for the upcoming game, but never gets to star in the action.

“He does a lot of things for the team …

It’s such a shame that they don’t have him on the [online] roster,” said Dirtbags data analyst Sean Ward.

For the past three years Stewart has been the Dirtbags’ student manager, a job that that entails training players and shooting accessible videos, but also chores like having to clean his fellow colleagues’ dirty laun-

LBSU Athletics

Team manager Troy Stewart is in charge of preperations and making sure everything runs smoothly for game time.

dry.

Stewart’s baseball obsession started at an early age. Once he heard the sound of that cowhide-wrapped ball of cork striking the catcher’s leather glove, he knew he found his true calling.

He was developing well as a pitcher but it never came to fruition, with lingering elbow injuries that eventually led a fracture.

“My sophomore year, doctors said I’d need reconstructive surgery, but that even if I got the surgery then I still wouldn’t be able to pitch,” Stewart said.

Stewart elected not to get the surgery, leaving his last two years of high school feeling empty after being banished to the outfield.

When Stewart arrived at Long Beach

State as a wide-eyed freshman, he decided to choose business as his major, with the intention to transfer that knowledge into a Major League Baseball front-office job with the help of the opportunity to spectate on the managerial side of baseball.

That’s what led him to enjoy doing all the dirty work for the Dirtbags, with the hopes that it would eventually pay off.

The first step was putting himself out there, which led him to Massachusetts for an internship with the Wareham Gatemen, a popular summer league team for college prospects.

Stewart took pleasure in evaluating players’ mechanics, tendencies and hitting and pitching techniques for the team.

His hard work has paid off, with Stewart

soon trading his graduation cap for one with a Detroit Tiger on it after getting a summer internship with the team.

“I sent my resume all out to all 30 [MLB] teams,” Stewart said. “One in the baseball operations department, one in scouting and one in player development.”

Having a clear path to a career is like seeing a 75 mile-per-hour fastball right down the middle of the plate — not very likely.

But Stewart has shown that the right attitude can take you wherever you want to go, with his best days in the dugout still ahead of him.

“He’s helped me a lot … I don’t have a single bad thing to say about Troy,” Ward said.

“I’m sure the Tigers will love him when he goes to work for them.”

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10 SPORTS

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BASEBALL

By Robert Hollar Staff Writer

S

LBSU ATHLETICS

Laine Huffman rounds first base toward second base at Blair Field.

Organizational discord suppressed Dirtbags’ senior class Mismanagement and distractions plagued 2019 season.

Record breaking track and field star graduates Two-time Big West track and field athlete of the year Kemonie Briggs graduates.

By Max Perez Staff Writer

W

hile the semester may be over and graduation is just around the corner, senior long jumper and sprinter Kemonie Briggs will not only be graduating, but will also look to put a cap on his decorated Long Beach State track and field career at the upcoming NCAA regionals.

Briggs, a Long Beach native and Woodrow Wilson High School alumni, was the California state champion in the 400m dash in high school, making him one of the top recruits in the state. Despite Long Beach’s best efforts, Briggs originally committed to Texas Tech University where he attended for one year before coming back to his hometown.

After landing such a high profile athlete, the coaching staff was excited to see what Briggs could add to the program.

ince the Dirtbags’ name is founded on historical pride, seniors have always been uniquely critical to carrying the team’s identity. However, the seniors’ performance this season have been more forgettable than something to be proud of.

Long Beach State’s senior class lacked skill, as four juniors were lost to the MLB draft in 2018, leaving this year’s class depleted of professional caliber talent.

This year infielder Laine Huffman will likely be the only senior selected in the draft, an unusual occurrence for a team that consistently produces professional players. The seniors were mismanaged and subject to organizational distractions for most of the season, such as the firing of head coach Troy Buckley due to allegations of workplace violence.

“It’s been a tough year for all of us with a lot of downs,” senior center fielder Brooks Stotler said.

Stotler, the Dirtbags fastest player, is an example of one of these mismanaged seniors. Known as an excellent defender, Stotler was never able to get his bat going in the leadoff spot of the lineup.

When Stotler was moved to the nine-spot in the lineup, his offensive production increased to the tune of doubles and triples. Then, he suddenly stopped getting playing time.

“We knew his presence in the program would elevate our sprint squad and really give us a high point scoring potential at a conference meet,” head coach Andy Sythe said.

Briggs has delivered on these hopes, just not entirely in the way the coaching staff expected.

During Briggs’ first year at LBSU, Sythe asked him if he would be willing to try long jump in the upcoming event, which just happened to be the annual Big West Challenge. At the time, the 49ers had one of the top long jumpers in the nation in Willie Alexander, but were looking for another jumper to add some depth to the event.

With less than a month of training, and still focusing much of his time on his sprint events, Briggs was able to post a mark of 23’ 8,” which placed him second behind his teammate Alexander.

Briggs’ participation in the long jump was supposed to be a one time cameo, but based on his successful first try, the coaching staff decided to have him participate in the Beach Invitational.

At that event Briggs posted a mark of 25’ .75,” a score that shocked the coaches.

“Now he’s a long jumper,” Sythe said. “I just don’t know anybody who has ever done that, I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

That mark qualified Briggs to compete in the long jump event at the Big West Championships three weeks after the Beach Invitational, where he blew away the competition.

“Never did I ever think that at the Big West Championship, he would jump 26’ 2.25”, win our conference championship, and beat our senior and leader and former NCAA runner up Alexander,” Sythe said. “It was an anomaly, it’s not how things happen.”

Briggs would go on to win freshman athlete of the year and throughout his career was also crowned Big West field-athlete of the year twice, once as a sophomore and once as a se-

“He was striking out too much,” co-interim head coach Greg Bergeron said.

Stotler did strike out often, but he also leads the team with 22 runs scored so far. Without Stotler, the Dirtbags lack speed on the bases and in the outfield.

The misuse of seniors continued with RHP John Sheaks, who injured his elbow just before the 2018 season and required Tommy John surgery. Sheaks was initially scheduled to return around the start of conference play in 2019, however, he returned over a month early and was clearly not ready to pitch.

In each of his first three outings he was punished by opposing batters, with his first dominant start not coming until May 7 against No. 1 UCLA. While Sheaks appreciated the playing time, his results were mostly detrimental to the team’s chance to win and his overall senior season stat-line.

Luke Rasmussen is another offensive player that rarely saw playing time. His inability to perfect his swing after recovering from injury caused his absence from the diamond. His disappearance is unfortunate as Rasmussen was at one point a consistent force in the lineup. He will graduate in the top 10 in career games played for LBSU. LBSU will lose five seniors to graduation, many of whom had untapped potential. The silver lining for the Dirtbags, however, is the promising performance and growth of the sophomores and juniors.

“I hope the younger guys learn from [this year] and carry on the culture,” Stotler said.

LBSU Athletics

Kemonie Brigges attempts the long jump event.

nior.

He also became the first athlete in Big West history to win the long jump four straight years, and jump over 26 feet each time.

Despite all the success he’s had at Long Beach, Briggs won’t be one of the thousands graduating at Jack Rose Track.

Instead, he will be traveling to the NCAA preliminaries held in Sacramento to cement his status as one of the top NCAA athletes.

“Kemonie has matured and developed with his confidence and become more certain of his abilities,” Sythe said. “I’m proud of him.”

While Briggs won’t have the opportunity to walk with his classmates, he will still be able to celebrate his graduation at the LBSU Black Graduation Celebration held at the Walter Pyramid May 18.

SPORTS 11

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MEN’S BASKETBALL

Ditching the degree to go overseas Edon Maxhuni is seizing his opportunity to go professional and make money now.

By Mark Lindahl Sports Editor

C

ollege is full of opportunities in the arts, business or even sports. But most believe that these opportunities come from the slip of paper declaring you have completed your time at the university.

That isn’t the case for Finnish sophomore guard Edon Maxhuni, a communications major on the LBSU men’s basketball team.

On April 28, Maxhuni announced on Twitter that he will take his talents overseas to play professionally, forgoing his remaining student-athlete eligibility.

The NCAA has a clear, no-tolerance stance on amateurism and players accepting payments, but student-athletes have the choice to continue representing one’s school or begin a professional career.

“The priority was basketball, so I thought, ‘Let’s try the NCAA,’ because I knew if I went straight to the pros, I wouldn’t be able to come back [to amateur status],” Maxhuni said.

Maxhuni chose to begin his professional career on his terms.

“It was a tough decision, it’s sad to leave Long Beach. But to be honest, I came here for basketball, not to seek the education,” Maxhuni said.

As a student of the game, Maxhuni looks up to European guards who have made a name for themselves such as Tony Parker, Ricky Rubio and rising star Luka Doncic.

“

Austin Brumblay | Daily 49er

Sophomore guard Edon Maxhuni celebrates a made basket against UCSB Jan. 26. Maxhuni announced that he has left Long Beach State to pursue a professional career overseas.

“These two years for me have been an amazing ride,” Maxhuni said. “[I learned a lot] not only on the basketball court, but outside things like being away from home and the lifestyle.”

Maxhuni especially enjoyed bonding with fellow international teammate Milos Apic, from Serbia, and the camaraderie between the guards on the team.

“All my teammates have been amazing,” Maxhuni said.

“We were like brothers.”

Maxhuni’s team-first attitude on the court and in the locker room will be missed.

“His leadership, his character, the example he sets, [it’s] contagious. He doesn’t have to speak to lead, he leads by example,” said team manager Torrance Williams.

But not every situation is perfect, and Maxhuni knew his time at Long Beach was coming to an end.

“The basketball didn’t fit me here,” Maxhuni said. “I wasn’t as comfortable as I thought I was in the two years I was here.”

With this realization, Maxhuni hired an agent and has begun talking with teams in the Spanish and Italian leagues who may be interested in his skillset.

While American teams are known for giving out huge contracts to players, the money overseas isn’t nearly as bloated.

The average player in European leagues makes anywhere from around $60,000 to $100,000, with most being tax-free.

More high profile players that have come over from the NBA historically have made up to $4 million.

Maxhuni won’t be getting a million dollar payday with his first contract, but $60,000 to play the game he loves beats whatever entry-level salary his undergraduate degree would have landed him.

These are exciting times for the Maxhuni family however, not everyone is completely on board with the decision.

“My mom is not that happy, she wants me to finish my education,” Maxhuni laughed.

It was a tough decision, itʼs sad to leave Long Beach. But to be honest, I came here for basketball, not to seek the education.

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Edon Maxhuni Former Guard for LBSU Men’s Basketball