CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH
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Mimi Haddow’s exhibit “Becomings” allows viewers to immerse themselves in the art. For the full story, see page 4.
VOL. LXVIX, ISSUE 27 | NOVEMBER 1, 2017
PROTEST
TRICK OR TROLL Eight protesters arrested at CSUF during an event hosted by College Republicans. By Joel Vaughn Staff Writer
Photos by Roberto Herrera | Daily 49er
Protesters, top, gathered outside the Titan Shops to rally against Milo Yiannopoulos and hate speech at Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 31. California State University Police, above, are suited up in riot gear and created a perimeter between two arrested individuals and the rest of the crowd.
Chaos ensued Tuesday evening as a murky blend of protesters, supporters and armed police officers crowded the perimeter of the Titan Student Union at Cal State Fullerton, awaiting the arrival of Milo Yiannopoulos. The event was preceded by intense protesting which led to the arrests of at least eight people and one instance of a woman being pepper sprayed by another protester as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Two of the arrests were said to be due to violence between left and right wingers. Yiannopoulos, a controversial conservative media figure, was slated to
speak at the university at 6 p.m. as a part of his Troll Academy campus tour. In an attempt to deflect the views of those in support of Milo Yiannopoulos, a Unity Block Party was hosted by Students for Quality Education Fullerton earlier in the day in the quad. Though significantly smaller than the mob of protesters outside of the student union, Fullerton faculty and staff attempted to make the best of what Cal Poly Pomona junior Marvin Morales referred to as bad situation. see CSUF, page 2
2 NEWS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 DAILY49ER.COM | CITYD49ER@GMAIL.COM
UPDATE
Beachboard with benefits?
The updated platform addresses student concerns by being mobile-friendly. By Holly Bartlow Staff Writer
After ringing in a new year, students will ring in the spring semester with an updated BeachBoard platform, intended to improve mobile access. According to Jonathan Huer, director of instructional technology support, the new platform’s main change is a responsive interface that allows students to navigate BeachBoard by scaling the app to the size of their device. “It’s a relief knowing BeachBoard will be mobile- friendly,” said Karina Rejtharek, junior kinesiology major. “Now when I don’t have access to my computer it’ll be easier to check my assignments on my phone.” Cal State Long Beach re-issued its contract with the vendor, Desire2Learn, which included an update for students to access a mobile-friendly program. Through online surveys conducted each
Courtesy of Jonathan Huer
A screen cap depicting what the new BeachBoard portal will look like after updates.
semester, Academic Technology Services discovered that the most common complaint among students was difficulty accessing the site on their cell phones. “This is about delivering a modern experience to students by being mobile-friendly,” Huer said. Before the decision was made to launch the update, faculty from Academic Technology Services tested the program.
“The update was tested all summer with SOAR, and we found about 30 percent of students claimed they completed all of SOAR on a mobile device,” Huer said. With the new update, tech services focused strictly on being cell phone friendly and are updating the program one step at a time. “There are about 124,000 courses on BeachBoard, so changing the learning
management system is a big task,” Huer said. The idea for the update was to modernize without having to start from scratch. With better use of color, the site is clean and easy to read, according to Huer. The functions and tools on BeachBoard have all stayed the same. “It’s really nice that I can respond to professors and assignments on my phone,” said Bryce Marshall, senior business major. “There have been so many times where professors cancel class or make updates to class only through BeachBoard and it wasn’t visible on my phone.” Academic technology services set up a web page for students to learn how to navigate the new layout. On the web page is specifically for students, with links to online training videos. According to Huer, tech services has been exploring different options for alerts or push notifications on mobile devices. These will not be included in this update, which is strictly focused on modernizing the website and the interface. There is a preview of what the new layout will look like on a desktop, tablet and mobile phone. “At the end of the day we rely on technology,” Huer said. “So it needs to deliver a good experience for students.”
CSUF
continued from page 1 “Even though there is something bad going on at the other side of campus, this event is to show that something more positive is happening here,” Morales said. “It’s a better way to spend your time then what’s happening [at the protest].” In addition to tacos and soft drinks, the block party also served a push for involvement in progressive organizations on campus and voter registration. Sharon Quirk-Silva, 65th State Assemblymember, spoke at the block party on the uniting power of strife, tragedy and the federal government’s mistreatment toward marginalized communities. “For many of us we are watching almost hourly as we see the foundation of our country and our constitution not being honored.” Quirk-Silva said. “We know that education is the great equalizer and we know that now more than ever, your voices count.” Other groups of students patrolled the campus with picket signs expressing their opinions of the controversial speaker. Henry Tran, a Fullerton senior majoring in engineering, claimed that Yiannopoulos’ message is just as important as anyone else’s, regardless of his beliefs. “We as Titan’s value diversity, but there’s one form of diversity we seem to forget, intellectual and political diversity,” Tran said. Tran went on to defend his position on the grounds that he holds opinions that could be seen
Roberto Herrera | Daily 49er
Two males, whose identities were unknown, were arrested after a scuffle broke out between right-wing and left-wing protesters at Cal State Fullerton. Protesters gathered outside the Titan Shops building to protest the appearance of Milo Yiannopoulos. Cal State Fullerton is the first stop on Yiannopoulos’ “Troll Academy Tour,” after being invited by the CSUF Republicans club.
as dangerous or offensive in other contexts. “Here in America, I need to defend others’ right to speak in order to defend my right to speak,” Tran said. Only a short walk away from the Unity Block Party, tensions began to escalate outside of the Titan Student Union. A protester, who would only identify himself as Frank, described the masses outside of the building as a symptom of the many middle of the road voices being catered to on college cam-
puses. “There’s far too many centrists that want to give a platform to neo-nazis and neo-fascists,” Frank said. “It’s far too easy for them to say that this is their first amendment right, but when it starts bordering on ethnic cleansing and genocide — that’s where you draw the line. They somehow think that hate speech is free speech.” As he trailed off about the inherent pitfalls of American democracy, he was interrupted as a woman about 20 feet
away screamed from being pepper sprayed. Cell phones were quickly drawn and pointed at the woman writhing on the ground. Frank and a few others rushed in to swipe at the cell phone cameras with sticks and flags. Soon after, Frank and several others put on ski masks and helmets before patrolling the protest site with handwritten flags. A few protesters in the same outfits were later taken away by the police. The rest of the evening was riddled with similar scenarios, as a crowd attracting supporters of
Yiannopoulos gathered around a man wearing a “make America great again” cap, with a stuffed animal in his arms. As the man filmed the crowd, he engaged in heated debate with leftist participants. As disorganized protesting started to wind down with the setting sun, one of the last holdouts was a man masked in an American flag bandana proclaiming to wear the mask of freedom. “No to racism, no to division, no to American against American.” The masked man said.
NEWS 3
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 DAILY49ER.COM | CITYD49ER@GMAIL.COM HEALTH
Don’t be a fool, wrap your tool CSULB Center for Latino Community Health reaches goal of dispensing 100,000 condoms to students. By Hunter Lee
Assistant Photo Editor
As soon as condom dispensers were installed in Cal State Long Beach’s bathrooms, they needed to be restocked. In a recent study conducted by the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada, it was reported that almost 50 percent of college students were not practicing safe sex. In an attempt to combat this statistic, the “¡Salud a la Vida! | Cheers to Life!” project staff of the CSULB Center for Latino Community Health, Evaluation, and Leadership Training dispensed over 100,000 condoms on campus before Sept. 30. The project staff set up seven dispensary locations in restrooms on campus, with five located in the University Student Union and two in the Student Recreation Wellness Center. The initiative started in 2014 after 12 focus groups were conducted by the project staff on campus to assess student needs. Aimed at Latino students aged 18 to 24 but open to everyone, findings from the group revealed that students were not receiving proper access to condoms on campus. “We took it upon ourselves to work together with the Student Health Center, [Associated Student, Inc.] and the governing board to see how we could bring the condom dispensers to campus,” said Erika Bonilla, manager
The Student Recreation and Wellness Center has been the most popular location for condoms and is in constant need of refills.
of the center for Latino Community Health Program. Partnering with L.A. Condoms, a public education campaign by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, university staff were able to receive funding for the condoms. “[Long Beach] has been the vanguard of schools for this initiative,” said Mara Bird, director of the center for Latino Community Health. The condom dispensers were unveiled on campus in February 2016. Within the first weekend, the dispensers were empty. “We filled them up on Friday, and by Monday [they were] emp-
ty,” Bonilla said. “We thought it was vandalism.” Each dispenser contained about 100 latex condoms, varying in sizes, and could be found in male, female and gender neutral restrooms on campus. The two dispensaries at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center have been the most popular, with the dispensaries sometimes emptying within an hour after being restocked. While they currently only provide male condoms, 500 female condoms were purchased by the organization and have been offered to students who attend “¡Salud a la Vida! | Cheers to Life!”
Workshops. Although students with allergies to latex might feel discouraged from using the dispensers, some such as junior political science major Nicholas Padron are relieved the majority will have access to condoms. “I don’t really think it’s a big deal they only have latex,” Padron said. “I’ve only met a handful of people that need lambskin condoms. I’m just happy to have the free option.” Along with providing students access to condoms, the workshops held on campus have given over 300 HIV tests since the start of the program.
Hunter Lee | Daily 49er
Funding for the program will end in April, but the dispensers will still be replenished on campus. The Student Health Center will maintain the five dispensaries in the Student Union and the Student Recreation Center will maintain the other two. “We’re excited that we reached our goal,” Bonilla said. “We’ll probably stop recording information on the condoms after funding ends, but we’ll still be making sure students are getting access.” A research seminar is planned to be held on Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. in room 205 ABC of the University Student Union to discuss the results of the project.
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The major media have continued to say we need to be able to discuss tough, emotionally laden problems in our country in a rational manner. Even players in the NFL have gotten into the act by refusing to show patriotism by standing for the national anthem. The major reason I have heard is they are protesting for “social or economic justice.” I know what justice is. My 60 year old Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines justice as “the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments.” Does social justice fit this definition? I have a challenge for you. I want you to send me your definition of social and/or economic justice by noon, Saturday, 4 Nov 2017. Include your “ideal scene” so we can know when we have achieved our goal. The material can be brief but no more than 2100 characters including spaces so that I can afford to publish it. The columns personally cost me $60 because they are advertisements. You will receive credit in the byline. I am the sole arbiter of the winning write-up but may choose more than one for the future. This is open to faculty and students, students preferred. You may identify yourself if you wish. We cannot rationally discuss an item unless we all agree to the definition of what we are discussing. Send your ideas to the e-mail address listed above. This is an important problem. The NFL is losing fans and money at an alarming rate due to their lack of respect for our national anthem and our flag. This is a very divisive display which is further dividing us as a nation. People watch sports to get away from politics. This has injected politics into a place that should not be political. You deserve better than to be stirred up by those who wish our country ill. For example, cognitive dissonance is caused when players from economically depressed backgrounds have had free college and are making an average of $2.6 M per year due to their hard work. Some claim of them claim to have suffered from economic or social injustice. For me, that charge does not compute. Society needs a good definition.
4 ARTS & LIFE
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 DAILY49ER.COM | ARTSNLIFED49ER@GMAIL.COM
Photos by Sabrina Flores | Daily 49er
Viewers inadvertently participate in Haddon’s art exhibit, above, just by walking through the rooms of the gallery. Haddon’s gallery is composed of various figures, below, made from a variety of materials draped throughout the room as multi-colored lights illuminate the area.
CAMPUS ART
Becoming part of the art The student art gallery allows the viewer to fully immerse themselves in the exhibit. By Samantha Diaz Arts & Life Editor
Walking through the Max L. Gatov East Gallery of the fine arts building, what stood out most in the dramatically lit room filled with silk sculptures was, oddly enough, my own shadow. “Becomings” is one of the exhibitions featured in the School of Art’s student galleries this week. It forces attendees to see themselves as a part of the art and walk the line between being the viewer and being viewed. “It’s intended to be an interactive space,” Mimi Haddon, third year fiber art major said. “The viewer is immediately implicated in the participation of the space just in terms of having their shadows cast on the wall.” The gallery serves as Haddon’s Master of Fine Art thesis, and is her final project in the program before graduating in December. Haddon achieves the feeling of immersion through every detail of the gallery. The shadows, the lights, the sculptures hanging from the ceiling and even the ambient music playing in the background all contribute to the sense of involvement from the viewer. “The music is another entryway to creating an immersive environment,” Haddow said. “The music is a one-minute mandolyn piece that my daughter is playing... a friend of mine stretched [it] to nine minutes to make it more ethereal.” In just the time I was exploring, multiple people entered to play with
their shadows and take pictures of themselves, becoming one with the art. These photos take on their own life, creating colorful silhouettes throughout the room and intermingling with the sculptures’ shadows. “I’m really intrigued with light and the colored shadows that are created by the RGB light, and so I’m kind of creating temporary paintings on the walls with the light,” Haddon said. This effect was achieved by placing different color spotlights in one corner of the room and posing objects in the gallery’s center, casting multicolored shadows from the viewers walking through. While the setup seems simple, Haddon worked consistently for the past year to achieve her goal: perfection. The exhibit extended throughout the Max L. Gatov West gallery where multiple silk sculptures were
on display. The room’s central piece was one red U-shaped sculpture sprawled across the floor. “You don’t know what body it is but you’re looking at a body on the floor in the second room,” Haddon said. “Just kind of by looking at your own shadow, you’re connecting to that body. That’s kind of the physical element.” The object’s true form is indistinguishable; viewers are meant to explore the piece instinctively to decipher it. Haddon’s goal was to invite the viewer to use their body to deconstruct and understand the art. “It discusses just the fact that what lies beneath a skin or a fabric is kind of unknown to our minds, but kind of how possibly, innately in our bodies, we kind of know what lies beneath certain things,” Haddon said. “It’s about using our minds less and our bodies more to kind of know the world around us. It’s just kind of
awareness of body.” Surrounding the red object were other worm-like pieces made of silk both hanging from the ceiling and laid out across the floor. One long yellow piece took over the corner of the room, a pink DNAshaped sculpture weaved through the red fabric, a red oval hung from the ceiling and a solitary ladder was placed in the corner of the room adorned with pink and red sheer garments to highlight the atmosphere. “I was trying to pick up on the natural properties of silk and how it is just a fabric that shows light very well,” Haddon said. “I wanted to take advantage of that and just to kind of make you aware of the light with that fabric.” “Becomings” will be available for viewing until Thursday from noon to 5 p.m. in the Max L. Gatov Gallery in FA2.
ARTS & LIFE 5
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 DAILY49ER.COM | ARTSNLIFED49ER@GMAIL.COM
PROFILE
Clothing made to boogie Two former Long Beach students have become successful founders of a rising streetwear brand. By Hunter Lee
Assistant Photo Editor
Photo courtesy of BoogieMADE
The “Ill Behavior” T-shirt is one of BoogieMADE’s most popular products.
After spending four semesters in Khon made their way to the front the program, Khon and Santos reof the Cosmic Meadow stage where viewed the financial costs of continuGTA, an electronic music duo, was ing their education. They realized performing. that graduating in a timely manner GTA noticed the jerseys from the would be too costly, leading them to stage during their set, and paused question whether the music to give or not school was them a shout out. for them. During This caught the Santos’ first break attention of the between classes, he group’s then-pubIt’s edgy, they understand became interested licist, Brice fashion... They get behind in graphic design, Ormesher, though which led to the he wouldn’t actuthe artists and musicians creation of his first ally meet the two they’re working with. clothing design. until a few months His first idea, later. The inter-Brett Blackman, dubbed the “Los action kindled a Manager Angeles Ravers/ flame in Santos DEATH 2 and Khon, letting GENRES,” was a them know they basketball jersey were on the verge made for the 2013 Electric Daisy of something great — they just had Carnival, an electronic dance music to figure out how to execute it. festival held at the Las Vegas Motor “A lot of people think they have Speedway. good ideas after festivals,” Khon With their whole group of friends said. “They’re full of creativity.” sporting the jerseys, Santos and Three months after the festival,
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got opinions?
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Nowadays, startup brands are born at breakfast and dead by dinner. As audiences become more niche, the need to make your brand stand out in the crowd increases. Two former Cal State Long Beach students took the risk of creating a clothing brand aimed at the electronic dance scene. Josemarie Santos and Sosarak Khon, both 24 years old, are the creative minds behind the fast-rising electronic music streetwear brand, BoogieMADE. Over the last two years, the company has had collaborative projects with artists such as Alison Wonderland, Louis the Child, Manila Killa, and Herobust. Behind the success of their brand, the duo faced their share of roadblocks, beginning with their time at Long Beach. Both Santos and Khon attended the university in 2011 after coming from Wilson High School and decided to explore science-based majors. Santos went into microbiology and Khon studied biology, with an option in molecular cell biology and physiology. By the end of their first year, Santos and Khon were both expelled due to low grades. “The lapse between high school and freshman year isn’t enough for some people,” Santos said. “You don’t really know who you are or your place in society.” Khon and Santos were determined to not give up. They enrolled in classes through the College of Continuing and Professional Education outreach program to retake courses they had failed in the hope of getting their degrees.
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the pair was invited to record label Friends of Friends’ five-year anniversary party. The two took this opportunity to sport updated versions of their jerseys and received positive feedback, with multiple people offering to literally buy the shirts off their backs. “So we’re dancing to Groundislava’s set and somebody pulls us aside and says he’s been looking for us,” Santos said. “It turns out it was Brice [Ormesher].” After exchanging words about the jersey, they were invited by Ormesher to meet GTA at an event hosted by the British electronic dance magazine, Mixmag, the following week. After speaking with GTA about the idea of a collaborative project, Khon and Santos decided to sell their design to the DJ duo and pocket the money for a new business venture. Their earnings were channelled into what would become their first project under BoogieMADE: the ESSENTIAL collection. “I came up with Boogie, [Khon] came up with MADE,” Santos said. With the release of their first streetwear collection, a cut and sew based project, Kohn and Santos were able to get their merch out to upcoming DJs such as Kayzo and Jauz. The brand began to gain traction after Santos reached out to Brett Blackman, manager of the Moving Castle record label, over a direct message on Soundcloud. From there, the two brainstormed an idea for a collaboration T-shirt. “They were down to earth, they pitched themselves well and they had nothing to lose,” Blackman said. Through the collaboration, BoogieMADE was worn for the first time on stage by Manila Killa, a DJ, shining new light on the emerging brand. “It’s edgy, they understand fashion,” Blackman said. “They get behind the artists and musicians they’re working with.” Following the official launch of the brand on Dec. 5, 2015, the duo found themselves in the spotlight even more as popular artists sought out to work with them such as Luca Lush, Ghastly and Boombox Cartel.
6 OPINIONS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 DAILY49ER.COM | OPEDD49ER@GMAIL.COM
OP-ED
Tricks, treats and tragedy Halloween is an excuse to binge and buy in the name of nostalgia. By Hanna Suarez Contributing Writer
I
don’t want to sound like a Scrooge, but I really was not feeling Halloween this year. I want to automatically blame my depressive episode for this, but it’s really a party-sized, variety pack full of reasons. Now that it’s over, I can’t say I look forward to a better one next year — which may be the first time I’ve felt this way. But as I observe the decimated aisles at Party City, the destructive substance abuse that has replaced trick-or-treating for multiple generations, the need to push the envelope in regard to horror movies and attractions, I come to understand this holiday as a compulsive, consumerist need, a superficial celebration of terror and pain. And I question whether these celebrations bring anything but materialist joy to our dreary lives. Growing up with a mostly non-practicing, but stubbornly fixated, Jehovah’s Witness father and a highly paranoid, Catholic-raised mother meant that my sisters and I never, and I mean not once, went trick-or-treating. Which, of course, meant we never had costumes (I doubt we could have afforded them anyway). I’ve never been to a pumpkin patch, much less carved a pumpkin, and the few Halloween parties I attended as a young adult were just like any other boring party, but with bad costumes (now the sugar’s in the alcohol, and it makes your stomach even sicker). A decade and a half ago around Halloween, my mother picked us up from school. It was raining. The streets were empty, everything was gray. She took my sister and I to Jack in the Box, and we got our chicken strip meals in these cute
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Walmart customer Tiffany Contreras looks at marked down Halloween merchandise at one of the company’s Dallas stores on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014. Christmas items and decorations were already up.
little trick-or-treat buckets. They were probably designed with images from Scooby Doo or Casper, and the sheen on the orange and purple plastic made me feel animated, like I was my own little cartoon character with agency and a bucket full of candy. I imagined l lived in one of those crisp middle class neighborhoods, dressed as a little ghost in Egyptian cotton sheets, or a mummy wrapped in Charmin Ultra Soft. That may be my best Halloween memory, and it was all fantasy. Listen, this isn’t a sob story — I never shed a tear (maybe a crocodile tear) over my family’s lack of Halloween festivities. But I spent a lot of my juvenile time wondering what demon had dealt me this unfair card, that all I could do come October was read a stupid Goosebumps book, maybe eat a single full-sized Twix and dream about future Halloweens to come. Sure, I’m bitter, but when I was finally able to go trick-or-treat-
ing (five years ago, my first year of college), I got a mouth full of cavities. Now, my peers buy Halloween-themed bath bombs, wine, phone cases — you name it, and it’s got a f****** pumpkin on it. The edgy Disney fans plan their schedules around Mickey and Minnie’s Overpriced Bumpkin Carnival. Everyone who was or is into punk, ska, psychobilly, underground, swears they feel more alive in the name of getting s**t-wasted in bars and backyards, coughing up tens and twenties for whatever they can get their hands on: acid, shrooms, coke, molly, bud — whatever it takes so they can have a twisted day to forget about their real problems for a little nostalgic fun. And I can’t help but wonder: why the f*** are we still giving into this middle-class, consumerist holiday? I know we can probably make this argument about every holiday, from Christmas to our own birthdays (and this isn’t just my Jehovah’s Witness father speaking).
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I don’t doubt that plenty of people are more critical of modern interpretations of holidays: we know people suffer during Thanksgiving and Christmas; we know there are moms without children and children without moms on Mother’s Day; I think Columbus Day is now more popularly accepted as Indigenous Peoples day. But why has Halloween been reclaimed as an unproblematized day of theatrical fun? How many of us romanticize Halloween in an effort to turn our fantasies into material realities, and what is (if there is any) the cultural worth of these consumptive celebrations? If, in fact, Halloween is supposed to be a time to laugh in the face of our deep-seeded fears, to forget about the terror of real life — of rent and bills and student loans (a time of climate change, health care bills and refugees) — I’m not sure that we can reconcile poverty and suffering in selfish and indulgent, materialist ways.
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SPORTS 7
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 DAILY49ER.COM | SPORTSD49ER@GMAIL.COM MEN’S BASKETBALL
Guards and small fowards breakdown By Alex Manfredi
Assistant Social Media Editor
With the men’s basketball season starting Saturday at the Walter Pyramid, we continue our look at the 49ers position by position. Introducing eight returning players, new personnel on the team should give fans some different play styles this season. Here is a breakdown of what the wings can contribute to this year’s team.
#10 SG Bryan Alberts (Junior): Coming to Long Beach as a transfer from Gonzaga University in Washington, Alberts brings in plenty of experience with a winning team to the Beach. Originally from Village Christian High School in Northridge, Alberts spent the last three years at Gonzaga and graduated in that time. Head coach Dan Monson credits his relationship with Gonzaga head coach Mark Few for being able to land the graduate transfer. The California native brings an offensive threat to a 49er team in dire need of perimeter shooting. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard has size to go with a good looking three-point stroke that will help this year’s team. NBA Comparison: Danny Green, San Antonio Spurs
#11 SG Jordan Griffin (Sophomore): One of eight returning players from last year’s team, the 6-foot-3 sharpshooting Griffin is in for a statement year. Last year he struggled to get consistent minutes, adjusting to the Division I level as he averaged three points per contest. Expect Monson to utilize Griffin’s three-point shooting more this year as one of Long Beach’s biggest weaknesses will be the outside shot. While Griffin didn’t get consistent minutes last year, he did flash in some impressive games. The freshman scored 11 points in 17 minutes during a game at North Carolina and made various starts against top opponents such as New Mexico State and UCLA. NBA Comparison: Kyle Korver, Cleveland Cavaliers
#3 SF Jordan Roberts (Freshman): Roberts is the most highly-touted of the four freshman joining Long Beach this season. Expect Roberts to miss some time in the beginning of the season as he deals with a broken toe. However, don’t overlook the 6-foot-8, 195-pound forward out of Bakersfield. Roberts attended Ridgeview High School, leading his team to a league championship and Division II section championship during his senior year. The athletic scoring-forward averaged 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks per game in his final season. Monson has high hopes for the freshman, who seems to be the clear-cut small forward of the future for Long Beach State. NBA Comparison: Rudy Gay, San Antonio Spurs
#13 SF Barry Ogalue (Senior): The 6-foot-5, 195-pound senior brings some of the most in-house experience to the group of LBSU shooting guards and small forwards. Entering his third year at the Beach after spending last year as a redshirt, Ogalue will look to make an immediate impact. He improved the most from start to finish out of any player on the roster last season, leading to two starts in the Big West Tournament last year. While he only averaged five points and nearly two rebounds per game, the senior brings a solid presence and the ability to score smoothly in transition. Be ready to see a lot of the swingman in big games this season. NBA Comparison: Otto Porter Jr., Washington Wizards
COMMENTARY
How the Big West champions fell Staff Writer
On Sunday, the unthinkable finally became reality when the Long Beach State women’s soccer team failed to qualify for the Big West Conference Tournament after its game against Cal State Northridge last Thursday. A season that was supposed to be filled with triumph ultimately ended up being forgettable and flat-out disappointing. After winning the tournament last season, the 49ers were labeled as sure-fire favorites to lift the trophy once again in the Big West preseason poll. However, myriad issues shattered the 49ers’ hopes of repeating as conference champions for the second year in a row. But how exactly did this failure come to fruition? Untimely
circumstances and poor performances proved to be too much for Long Beach to hurdle over, attributing to the team’s eventual downfall. The biggest and ugliest failures were injuries. Players getting hurt is always the side of sports that no one wants to see. Unfortunately for the 49ers, this proved to be the center of the team’s demise in 2017. Right off the bat, Long Beach lost senior forward Ashley Gonzales, its fourth all-time leading goalscorer, to a torn ACL just two games into the season. The misfortune didn’t end there for the team, which also lost sophomore defensive standout Kaitlin Fregulia to a season-ending injury. Head coach Mauricio Ingrassia credited injuries as the team’s biggest adversity of the season. “The biggest difficulty for us
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By Marck Parra
The biggest difficulty for us this season was the curveball of untimely injuries. -Mauricio Ingrassia, Head Coach
this season was the curveball of untimely injuries,” Ingrassia said. “It felt like it was happening all in a row.” Senior midfielder Jessica Vincent agrees with her head coach about the negative effect injuries had on the team. “We had a lot of injuries that got in our way,” Vincent said. “We lost Ashley [Gonzales] and Kaitlin [Fregulia], so injuries
were our catalyst.” Injuries played a vital role in the shortcomings of Long Beach, but they didn’t end there. The team was not as strong on the road as it was at home — especially not in Big West Conference play. The 49ers failed to pick up a single victory on the road this season during conference play, losing and drawing two each. That’s just two points out of 12 possible during away conference games. This marked the first time since 2009 that Long Beach didn’t have an away win during Big West Conference Tournament play. That’s eight years. Let that sink in for a minute. Picking up points on the road is never an easy task, but it is required for success. You cripple your team’s postseason hopes if you can’t find
ways to win on the road. The 49ers shot the ball a lot, with little success. Of their 234 attempts, less than 40 percent were on goal. The team as a whole only managed to register 93 shots on goal, 27 fewer than last year. Also, no player on the team had more than four goals individually throughout the entire season. After netting 11 goals last season, Gonzales’ offensive talents simply could not be matched by any other player on the team. All of these issues combined proved to be a recipe for disaster that the team did not find an answer for. The 49ers will need better luck when it comes to injuries and better performances next season if they want to get back to the upper echelon of the Big West Conference.
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 DAILY49ER.COM | SPORTSD49ER@GMAIL.COM
WOMEN’S GOLF
49ers end two-year drought LBSU wins the UC Irvine Invitational. By Luke Ramirez
Assistant Sports Editor
The Long Beach State women’s golf team raised its first trophy in over two years after winning at the UC Irvine Invitational Tuesday. 15-over par 879 was the winning score thanks to performances by juniors Cara Barker and Haley Tygret, who both placed in the top 10. “I feel like the team woke up this morning with a mentality like, ‘This is ours today,’” head coach Joey Cerulle said. “Being in the position to win this week and then going out and finishing is what we’ve been waiting for.” After placing 5th, 12th and 9th this season, the team has made it a point of focus to close out tournaments when in a position to win. “We’ve seen results and signs that have led us to believe that we would be able to win this year,” Cerulle said. The 49ers fared best at Santa Ana Country Club, which includes two 18hole, par-72 tracks. Course one plays 6,129 yards and averaged 76.73 strokes in rounds one and two while the second course is 6,072 yards and played five strokes over par. Long Beach’s “B” team finished fifth at 31-over par 895 thanks to sophomore Euna Pak placing third in the individual competition. Her 5-under 211 threeround score was only four shots off the
winning number by Colorado State’s Katrina Prendergast. “Give [Pak] credit after her career-best finish,” Cerulle said. “It’s always tough to pick the lineups for each team but if we had her on the winning team, we would have won by at least 20 strokes.” Barker shot the only third round score in the 60’s (69) in the 71-player field and jumped 10 spots on Tuesday, resulting in a fourth place finish which is the lowest of her collegiate career as well. “I wasn’t worrying about results,” Barker said. “I was just hyperfocused on the process and also had some really good par saves that helped my confidence.” Tygret was tied for sixth at 2-over par 218 thanks to a 71 in the second round on Monday evening. It is her second time in the top 10 this season, including her performance in the opening event of the fall campaign. Having three players in the top-10 played a major role in Long Beach’s streak of four events in which a Big West opponent has not finished with a better score. “Our team really showed how deep we are this week,” Barker said. “All 10 of us played solid and fed off of each other to be successful today.” Long Beach State will have a three month break before pursuing their second victory. “This win is a testament to the hard work and dedication they have put in so far,” Cerulle said. “Not only that, it shows how dedicated they are to the changes we’ve implemented to the program this semester and that can only help us heading into spring.”
Jose De Castro | Daily 49er
LBSU sophomore Euna Pak shot 70, 70 and 71 for a total of 5-under par 211 and placed third at the UC Irvine Invitational where the 49ers claimed their first victory in over two years.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
LBSU falls to scrappy Bakersfield Roadrunners The 49ers’ shooting and lack of inside presence was too much to overcome. By Alex Manfredi
Assistant Social Media Editor
The Long Beach State men’s basketball program was too rattled to handle the pressure in a 63-55 loss to CSU Bakersfield on Monday at the Walter Pyramid, caving in front of a crowd of 345. Only 10 players were able to suit up for the game against the Roadrunners, as the remaining six — Temidayo Yussuf, Mason Riggins, Jordan Roberts, Milos Apic, Breamon Richard and Jaice Gardner — were out with injuries or attending class. The lack of an interior presence without Yussuf and Riggins was very obvious, as the team struggled all night with rebounding and toughness in the paint. The exhibition game showed that Long Beach needs help inside the paint and in the backcourt. The new team will have to learn one game at a time to build some type of chemistry before the Big West Conference games
Christian Gonzales | Daily 49er
Long Beach State junior KJ Byers pressures CSU Bakersfield inbound passer in Monday’s game at the Walter Pyramid.
begin in January. Long Beach opened up the game with some intensity and flashes of potential for a strong transition offense, jumping out to an early 11-3 lead. From that point on, the 49ers had a series of offensive woes, shooting 36 percent on field goals and 18 percent
on three pointers in the first half. CSU Bakersfield responded with some intensity, trapping and playing full-court defense as the Roadrunners closed the last eight minutes of the first half on an impressive 18-7 run. Long Beach senior forward Barry Ogalue led the way with nine points and sev-
en rebounds at the half. As the second half began, Monson adjusted his defense and matched the Roadrunners intensity with a 2-2-1 full court press. Things were looking up for Long Beach, taking a 39-37 lead after a dunk from junior forward KJ Byers with 14 minutes to play.
The 49ers’ defensive scheme only worked for so long, as the Roadrunners took a 10-point lead with six minutes remaining in the game. “We kind of got going with the press a little bit, but then we gave up some offensive rebounds,” head coach Dan Monson said. “We got exposed big time. [The players] got humbled and that’s going to put them back to work on Wednesday.” Junior transfer Deishuan Booker and freshman Edon Maxhuni struggled with Bakersfield’s scrappy defense, as they combined for six turnovers. Both are adjusting to the Division I basketball level coming from junior college and overseas, respectively. As a team, Long Beach totaled 20 turnovers on the night in what was a defensive battle between the 49ers and Roadrunners. “The game is faster here and guys are bigger, they play stronger inside and out,” Maxhuni said. Senior Gabe Levin led the 49ers in scoring with 13 points while Ogalue posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Next up is the annual Homecoming exhibition game at 4 p.m. on Saturday against Cal State Dominguez Hills at the Walter Pyramid.