Daily 49er, February 7, 2019

D 49

er

Sticking their nec s out

k

Meet the students behind the Long Beach Long Necks mascot campaign.

page 6 LONG BEACH STATE | VOL. LXX, ISSUE 28 | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

2 NEWS

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INSIDE

THE

NINER Housing prices in Long Beach continue to rise page 5 Meet the minds behind “Giraffe 4 Mascot” page 8 Kyle Ensing makes his mark at Long Beach State page 10

ON THE COVER

Dominic Hure (left) and Jonah Zeko (right) created the “Giraffe 4 Mascot” campaign for the new Long Beach State mascot.

RYAN GUITARE Daily 49er

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

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1250 Bellflower Blvd., LA4-201 Long Beach, CA 90840-4601 Kat Schuster Editor in Chief eicd49er@gmail.com News Editor Sports Editor

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Samantha Diaz Managing Editor managingd49er@gmail.com Austin Brumblay d49ernews@gmail.com Kevin Colindres sportsd49er@gmail.com Jeremy Porr artsnlifed49er@gmail.com Rachel Barnes opedd49er@gmail.com Carlos Villicana spprojd49er@gmail.com Paula Kiley Eddie Infante d49ads@gmail.com

James Chow Claudia Mehranbod Ryan Guitare

Social Media Editor

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Video Editor

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Assistant News Editor

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Assistant News Editor

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News Assistant

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News Assistant

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Deputy Sports Editor

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Assistant Sports Editor

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Assistant Sports Editor

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Gary Metzker

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Barbara Kingsley-Wilson Jennifer Newton

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

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COMMUNITY

LBSU political group supplies hygiene products to campus restrooms The YDSA chapter at LBSU holds an event to increase the accessibility of menstrual hygiene products to students in need.

RALSTON DACANAY | Daily 49er

Young Democratic Socialists of America members package hygiene products to distribrute on campus.

By Ralston Dacanay Contributing Writer

O

ver a thousand menstrual hygiene products were packaged and distributed throughout the university during an event held by the Young Democratic Socialists of America LBSU chapter Tuesday.

Teams comprised of members from the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Student Association, YDSA and student volunteers met in the University Student Union to stock menstrual hygiene products in 12 restrooms around campus.

“We believe that menstrual products should be free at the point of consumption,” said Nathan York Jr., a senior political science major and YDSA secretary.

“Essentially this means that while we still believe that these should be paid for in

some way, they should be accessible to those who need them regardless of their income.”

In California, buyers of menstrual hygiene products are taxed due to the items being considered luxuries rather than “necessities of life.”

“This is a way, if not to fill a gap, to make an announcement that this is what we stand for and that products like this should be free especially for students,” York Jr. said.

In the months leading up the event, YDSA received donations for menstrual hygiene products and spent club funds to add to the surplus.

“It’s important to have access to these sort of products,” said Sana Sethi, a senior social work major. “I think that female-bodied people, one thing we don’t think about is the amount of money that we spend on hygiene products, which is

GOT OPINIONS?

crazy if you add all that up and then you think about how women make less too.”

In 2017, Associated Students Inc. pushed for the implementation of free accessible menstrual hygiene products in the USU and Student Recreation and Wellness Center restrooms with the Free Menstrual Hygiene Pilot Program. From September 2017 to March 2018, a sanitary supplies report found that providing free tampons and sanitary napkins in the USU and SRWC cost around $7,956.

In 2018, ASI asked the university to work toward providing free menstrual hygiene products in all campus restrooms.

The ASI Board of Directors are planning an accessibility report to identify how many restrooms throughout campus provide the products in dispensers or baskets.

Autumn Durand, a senior English literature major, described the situation she feels LBSU students are overlooking.

“I’ve never been in a bathroom that had [menstrual hygiene] products available,” Durand said. “I am a liberal arts student, so all of my classes are in the liberal arts buildings and near the library and I’ve never seen products there. There’s definitely a need that we’re filling right now.”

In addition to whether or not all restrooms on campus offer the products, the quality of the offerings have remained a concern for some.

“Often times if they are available in the bathroom and you have to pay for them, they’re really poor quality,” said Victoria Lam, a senior women’s studies major.

“They don’t have much absorbency. They come in this cardboard shell that is just terrible to put inside your body.”

After completing its first event of the semester, YDSA will hold its first spring general meeting Feb. 12, at 6 p.m. in USU 202.

Email opedd49er@gmail.com

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ASI

ASI looks to students for new mascot LBSU moves forward to replace Prospector Pete.

By Perry Continente Assistant News Editor perrycontinente

The Associated Students Inc. Senate passed a resolution approving the search for a new mascot and outlining its plan Wednesday. The proposal outlined the process from public submissions to the final approval of the mascot that is still being decided.

Students, faculty and residents will have an opportunity to submit mascot ideas online following the unveiling of a new website. ASI President Genesis Jara said the details of the process will be revealed

Thursday at 8 a.m. on ASI’s website, ASICSULB.org, and their Twitter, @CSULBASI. The process will begin with a period of idea gathering open to public suggestion, followed by an opportunity for students to vote for their favorite proposed mascot. It will be overseen by a committee and ultimately presented to President Jane Close Conoley for approval.

“This gave us an opportunity to start this whole process, the wheels just started turning now,” ASI Vice President and Chair Leen Almahdi said.

Almahdi elaborated on the decision to include the larger community and said the mascot will be a source of pride for generations to come.

She added that while students are the ones primarily affected by the mascot change, the impact will be communitywide as LBSU, and by extension, its mascot, reflects the city as a whole.

Those entering a design will need to include an explanation of the proposal as well as a drawing of the suggested mascot.

The design can be submitted by a single individual or a group.

Following the submission of ideas, a mascot search committee will be formed consisting of students, alumni, LBSU athletics and the community.

“Even if you are a student, alumni, faculty or community member, this is a process that anyone can partake in,” Almahdi

said.

Sen. at large Aaron Jordan expressed interest in joining the search committee, echoing Almahdi’s sentiments about the importance of having a good mascot.

“The mascot is one of the first things people see when they search the college [online],” he said. “It needs to be relatable to students as well as aesthetically alluring.”

Once all the ideas are submitted, there will be a period of voting that will function similarly to an ASI election, with each student given the opportunity to cast their vote on an online ballot.

The next ASI Senate meeting will be Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. in USU 234.

CITY COUNCIL

Long Beach City Council approves year-round homeless shelter The vote addresses the severe homelessness issue in Long Beach.

By Brelio Lozano

Contributing Writer

Long Beach City Council passed a motion Tuesday that allows the city manager to purchase a property that will be repurposed as a new, year-round homeless shelter in North Long Beach.

City staff has identified the property as the site for the development of a state-of-the-art, village-style campus for homeless services and support.

The council’s vote marks the first step

in its commitment to address the severe homelessness issue in Long Beach, which is reported with an average increase of 4,000 people a year.

In a previous city council meeting, Kelly Colopy, the Long Beach Director of Health and Human Services, presented the Everyone Home Task Force, designed to build on the city’s homeless services, affordable housing efforts, new pathways into housing and homelessness prevention methods for residents.

Colopy and the EHLB determined the need for approximately 500 shelter

beds across the city of Long Beach.

“With this shelter, we would be looking to have 125 beds, which would create a lot of progress for us,” Colopy said. “This would be the first municipally owned year-round shelter in Long Beach for a very long time.”

Colopy added that the shelter will become an outreach center for residents and families in need.

“We will provide jobs, employment training and all the social services needed to be able to connect people to supports to help them become successful,”

Colopy said.

Mayor Robert Garcia stated that homelessness is the number one human issue that the city of Long Beach faces.

The shelter has been in development since July 2018. The council requested a report on revenue options to address local homelessness and housing shortages in Long Beach.

The purchase of the property located at 6841-6845 Atlantic Avenue will not exceed $9.5 million.

The next city council meeting will be Feb. 12 at Long Beach City Hall.

NEWS 5

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HOUSING

Rent increases in Long Beach bring hardship for tenants The trend of rising costs means students may have trouble making ends meet.

HANNAH GETAHUN | Daily 49er

Bovic Leuterio, a freshman film major, passes the Beachside student housing sign on his way back to his dorm Tuesday. Behind the sign is an off-campus condo on the Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach.

By Hannah Getahun and Saad Kazi Staff Writers

A

182 square foot “private, stylish, fully furnished Tiny House” was available for rent last week on Zillow, the Long Beach Post reported Friday. According to the seller, it had just about everything you need, except for space of course, for $1,675 a month.

While this may seem like a high price for a small space, this is just an example of a larger trend: in Long Beach, rent prices are getting higher and are less affordable for students at Long Beach State and in the community.

According to RentCafé, a data site that looks at the rent of apartment complexes with 50 units or more, the average price of rent has increased 1 percent, from $1,848 to $1,875 since the previous year.

Maria Lopez, director of Community Organizing at Housing Long Beach said rent increase is not surprising as it has been happening for the past five years.

“Folks are still coming in … with a $200 dollar rent increase, a $500 dollar rent increase, [even] a $600 rent increase,” Lopez said.

Housing Long Beach works to help renters stay in their homes or find a new home, and assists with legal representation for tenants who are facing harassment or eviction from their landlords.

“There have been cases of students not getting their deposits back, there have been cases of students, multiple students, seven to a two bedroom, and their conditions are really bad,” Lopez said. “They have vermin or their water doesn’t heat up appropriately or there’s outlets that haven’t worked since they moved in.”

The average rent for some neighborhoods near LBSU include $1,932 in Park Estates and the traffic circle area, and $2023 in Bixby Hill and Los Altos.

According to Lopez, landlords around college campuses take advantage of students, but sometimes tenants are too afraid to speak up and risk losing their home.

While there are other housing options for students, primarily on-campus housing, these alternatives are still expensive.

Freshman Italia Dutton was considering California State University Northridge when making her college choice a year ago. If she had chosen CSUN, she would have been paying about $6,699 per year for a double occupancy apartment with a kitchen, living and dining area, and possibly an added balcony.

Duton ended up enrolling at LBSU regardless of the extra $1,000 cost to dorm here.

However, Dutton described her experience in campus housing as “shit.”

Currently, it is $7,650 a semester to live at a double occupancy dorm on campus, according to the Housing and Residential Life website. This does not include the price of a meal plan, which is a mandatory purchase since most of the residential halls do not have a kitchen.

Since 2013, LBSU’s campus housing costs, including meal plans, have risen an average of $1,000, which makes living on campus less feasible for students like Dutton who rely on loans and financial aid.

This trend is common among all CSU’s, as LBSU’s annual housing cost is more than $2,000 the national average.

“What we’re paying for is not worth what we’re getting,” said Dutton, who lives in Beachside College, LBSU’s off-campus housing building.

Some students do find the conveniences of living on-campus worth the rising cost. Anthony Colby spent his first three years at LBSU in Parkside College housing, paying his rent completely with financial aid. Now in his fourth year, he’s switched over to Beachside College.

The 21-year-old said that in his three years at Parkside College, he never had any trouble with rent costs, and the switch to Beachside College happened for no good or bad reason.

The high prices may serve as a burden for students who face other financial struggles. A 2017 study by the Joint Center for housing studies at Harvard University showed that 21 million households spend more than 30 percent of their income toward rent.

According to Lopez, that number can jump to 50 percent or higher.

Rashida Crutchfield, an assistant professor at the school of social work who recently published a study on students who experience homelessness and food insecurity in the CSU system, said rent increases can make it difficult for students to balance the cost of housing and other basic necessities.

“Increase of the cost of housing and the lack of affordable housing definitely has an impact on whether or not a student experiences homelessness,” Crutchfield said.

While there was a recent campaign for rent control, the measure failed to pass on the November 2018 ballot.

“In general, this is an issue that’s important to our students … really critical for the entire CSU Long Beach,” Crutchfield said. “We really need to make a mission ... toward having accessible and affordable housing … to ensure equity for all of the people in Long Beach.”

6 ARTS & LIFE

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The “Giraffe 4 Mascot” costume made its first apperance at Week of Welcome on Wednesday, Jan. 30.

PAULA KILEY Daily 49er

MASCOT

The short necks behind the Long Necks Student-run campaign, “Giraffe 4 Mascot,” advocates for proposed mascot, Long Beach Long Necks.

By Paula Kiley

Multimedia Managing Editor paulakileyy

The night before the Imagine Beach 2030 online event, two students made their way across campus with a roll of tape and a stack of flyers with “Giraffe 4 Mascot” in bold, black lettering. By morning, over 50 pink and blue flyers were posted throughout campus calling for the giraffe as Long Beach State’s new mascot.

Following the retirement of Prospector Pete last September, the mascot’s absence created a vacuum, leaving students to wonder who or what will take his place.

Enter second year film major Dominic Hure and third year political science major Jonah Zeko, the brains behind the Long Beach Long Necks, a student-run campaign advocating for a giraffe mascot.

The Long Beach Long Neck was initially the brainchild of Hure, who approached Zeko with zeal, just days before Imagine Beach 2030. The two-day online event garnered community input for the future of the university last November.

“[Hure] basically said, ‘I want the giraffes to be our new mascot. This is my dream and you have to help me,’” Zeko recalls.

According to Zeko, the Long Beach Long Necks idea was not out of character for Hure, who has created kooky and unconventional content such as a two-minute short film starring a man with a bird head.

“I think what you probably need to know about Dom is that this isn’t out of the ordinary for him,” Zeko said. “It’s not [the only] odd thing that he’s done in his life.”

What started as an idea shared between two friends turned into a campus-wide phenomenon when Hure’s post promoting the giraffe became one of the most trending on the forum, receiving 109 positive votes and 101 replies.

“The amount of people that commented and liked [the Long Beach Long Necks post] and really engaged in the conversation was really cool,” Hure said. “So from there, we vamped everything up.”

Since Imagine Beach 2030, the duo has taken further steps in campaigning for the giraffe such as creating stickers, starting social media accounts, designing a website and starting a petition, which has accumulated over 200 signatures.

The campaign has gained a sizable following, drawing the attention of President Jane Close Conoley, who tweeted at the campaign’s official Twitter account, expressing her appreciation for the giraffe.

“The first time we realized that we weren’t just a joke was when Jane Conoley messaged us back in support of the giraffe and she retweets a lot of stuff,” Zeko said. “We realized that it’s not that hard to talk to [administration] and that we can bridge the gap between the students and the people that make the decisions.”

Recently, Hure and Zeko attended Week of Welcome in full regalia, sporting a giraffe suit to boost engagement and interaction with the campus community. The giraffe’s latest appearance was at a men’s basketball game against UC Irvine on Feb. 2. Hure and Zeko strolled around Walter Pyramid earning high-fives from kids, alumni, students and staff members.

“It’s really cool, because you see people get excited about something, and our school doesn’t do a whole lot of things that give people a sense of pride and belonging,” Hure said.

“Even if it doesn’t become the mascot, it’s accomplishing the task of giving something for people to talk about and rally around.”

ARTS & LIFE 7

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FESTIVAL

There’s a choc-o-lot to do this weekend Belmont Shore is celebrating Valentine’s Day early during its annual Chocolate Festival.

By Rachel Barnes Opinions Editor rachelsalien

The streets of Belmont Shore will be filled with rich smells and sweet treats Saturday for its 15th annual chocolate festival.

Local businesses will be working together to provide Long Beach with an array of chocolate treats including chocolate cakes, crepes and candies. Up and down the street, people will be able to reach out for a taste of what booths have to offer.

“There are going to be a lot of choices for people which is fun,” said Stacia Samartan, an owner of the Frosted Cupcakery.

During the day, attendees will be able to partake in a pie-eating contest, a homemade dessert contest, and many chocolate tastings.

“The pie-eating contest is always hilarious,” said Dede Rossi, Executive Director of the Belmont Shore Business Association.

Rossi said the purpose of the event is to get people excited for Valentine’s Day and

Courtesy of Belmont Shore Chocolate Festival

The 15th Belmont Shore Annual Chocolate Festival in Long Beach offers a plethora of treats for the community.

to promote the businesses that are in Belmont Shore.

However, turn-out might be affected by the forecasted rain on Saturday. Samartan said she is worried because her booth is usually outside, and she doesn’t know how that will affect them.

Rossi said the rain won’t start until later in the day, so she’s not too worried about attendance, which is usually around 2,000 people.

“Every time we have an event, it’s to promote business here,” Rossi said.

Samartan said the day is usually pretty busy for the businesses with long lines forming at many booths. The Frosted Cupcakery is among those businesses and Samartan said she plans to wow guests with their best-sellers.

The Chocolate Festival takes place from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9.

There is no fee to get in to the event, but it’s $10 for 12 tasting tickets. These tickets are used to purchase treats at the event, and they will be sold in front of Chase Bank on the day of the event for cash only.

8 ARTS & LIFE

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The four-part docu-series “Conversations with a Killer” premiered January 24 on Netflix.

Netflix

REVIEW

‘The Ted Bundy Tapes’ provide an in-depth look at the serial killer sensation

By Jeremy Porr

Arts & Life Editor brownqueerbb

Netflix has recently acquired the rights to “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” a film about the life and crimes of Ted Bundy. The film was acquired by the streaming service for $9 million, following the close-out of the Sundance Film Festival Feb. 3. The role of Bundy in the film is played by Zac Efron, leading many to be skeptical of how his story will be told.

The move by Netflix is no surprise following the wildly successful premiere of its latest docu-series “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes,” which coincidentally is helmed by the same director as “Extremely Wicked…” Joe Berlinger.

Despite the social media frenzy that ensued following the premiere of the docu-series, many fear that recent public interest in the life of Bundy will lead to an overt romanticization of the gruesome crimes he committed. While this is a valid concern, the docu-series and the feature film serve different purposes.

“The Ted Bundy Tapes” lays out all of the facts on Bundy’s life in a very plain, matter-of-fact way.

At no point does the series skip over the fact that Bundy’s father was absent in his youth and took an interest in graphic pornography at a very young age.

I’m not anti-pornography, but it’s hard to ignore

the fact that there is a large amount of porn that is inherently violent. Images of women bound and gagged is what inspired other infamous criminals like the “Bind Torture Kill” murderer, Dennis Rader.

Most of the men who commit crimes similar to Bundy and Rader do so for public recognition. Bundy was a chronic narcissist who enjoyed every minute of the spotlight surrounding his trials, which the “Tapes” series illustrates beautifully.

There is a special layer of irony that Bundy’s story is once again being revived across multiple mediums and reaching an entirely different generation who otherwise might not have known about him.

One could make the argument that both the docu-series and the accompanying film are providing an awful man with an awful amount of unnecessary attention.

On top of exploring Bundy’s childhood, the “Tapes” series also reveals how Bundy’s fragile masculinity didn’t provide him with the emotional intelligence to deal with failure and rejection. After being turned away from nearly every law school he applied to, his college girlfriend left him at a time when she could tell that he was slowly descending into madness, leading him to kill nearly 30 college-aged women across the country with whom she shared a striking resemblance.

One thing the series does not explore however, is how Bundy’s whiteness enabled him to commit such crimes and go unnoticed. Bundy is always

remembered fondly for his supposed “good looks” and charming personality, I would argue that a black or brown criminal would not be afforded the same compliments.

Although a lack of digital technology also contributed to Bundy’s success in remaining unnoticed, it was also his whiteness that allowed him to slip in and out of public places unnoticed. It allowed for his story to be romanticized in the eyes of the American public and it allowed for him to be perceived as “attractive” by western media outlets.

Despite the ongoing narrative, upon revisiting pictures of Bundy in his youth, it seems clear to me that he wasn’t handsome at all. From an objective standpoint, he had a large unibrow, paper-thin lips and mousy features. He’s doing the absolute bare minimum in terms of appearance (I’ve dated my fair share of white boys in the past).

Many in the “Tapes” series discuss the fact that Bundy was different because he was “one of us”, but exactly which “us” were they talking about? For white Americans, his law school background and seemingly good looks were instantly recognizable, and easily relatable.

That being said, “Conversations with a Killer” is worth a watch, it features interviews with detectives, journalists and lawmakers at the time who all provide a unique perspective on Bundy’s story. Although the series is thorough, it fails to address how Bundy’s race allowed for the mass hysteria and subsequent romanticization of his horrifying crimes.

OPINIONS 9

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Daily 49er

Prospector Pete or the 49er, the former mascot of Long Beach State, may soon be replaced.

CAMPUS

Students search for fool’s gold with new mascot The campus community is ignoring the school’s identity crisis.

By Josh Sepetjian Staff Writer

T

he conversation over what woodland creature or campus landmark best represents us is a fun and ultimately harmless diversion from the stress of a new term, but it’s still distracting from a larger issue.

We, as a campus community, are failing to address the fact that the retirement of Pete the Problematic Prospector is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the changes in Long Beach State’s future.

The decision to retire Pete came from an Associated Students Inc. resolution from March 2018, and the language in that resolution isn’t limited to only the change of mascot. It stated that Long Beach would dissociate itself from “all

aspects that glorify the gold rush era; be it the mascot, merchandise, statues, promotional material, events, or phrase 49er.”

If you’ve ever set foot on the Long Beach State campus, you know that would mean a lot of changes.

We’re not just talking about moving a statue. We’re talking about a campuswide revamp of the entire school’s image. The Nugget, The Outpost, The 49er Shops and even the publication you are currently reading may have to undergo changes to conform to these new standards.

Changes like this need to be clearly communicated to the campus community, but as of now I’m not even sure most people are aware of what exactly the ASI resolution puts forward outside of the mascot change.

This overhaul is going to take a lot of deliberation and manpower. On a prac-

tical level, logos and signage will have to change, which will cost money and add to the seemingly constant cycle of construction the campus finds itself in.

There’s also the matter of our school colors. It’s not like gold was chosen arbitrarily; it’s a direct reference to the gold rush. Is that going to have to change too?

I’m not arguing that the changes shouldn’t happen. Last semester, I sat down with American Indian Studies Program Director Craig Jones and after hearing his perspective on how Prospector Pete represented a lot of negative history, and how having to see the statue everyday was upsetting for some students, it’s tough to argue with ASI’s decision.

The problem is, the actual extent of the decision is being poorly communicated.

I’ve yet to hear anyone from ASI or administration address the full scope

of the changes in a satisfactory manner.

Last week, there was a half-hearted acknowledgement from ASI Senate Chair Leen Almahdi that the 49er Shops would would have to “respond,” to these changes, but that answer is incomplete at best.

These are all things that need to be discussed, but we’re so busy trying to figure out whether our mascot should be a Giraffe or an Escalator that we’re not paying attention to what’s on the horizon.

Maybe all the changes aren’t actually happening and those sections that outline them in the resolution were just hot air. But the fact that we don’t know for sure and that no concrete plan or roadmap has been laid out is worrying.

Hopefully the conversation around the new mascot is fun for everyone. But once the fun is over, whether we realize it or not, we’ll have a whole lot of stuff to rename.

10 SPORTS

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By Bryan Aparicio

Assistant Sports Editor BryanAparicio_

K

yle Ensing leaves his mark wherever he goes. Not every volleyball player gets a Twitter fan club account made after them and not every player gets called a “once in a lifetime player” by their high school coach.

I witnessed the Ensing effect during a trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain when an employee noticed my 2018 Long Beach National Championship shirt. After finding out I went to LBSU, he told me he went to high school with Ensing and saw him play. “We grew up together and it’s crazy to see what he’s accomplished,” he said.

With his arm rested on the media table inside the Walter Pyramid, Ensing relaxes after putting equipment away. Even after an animated practice, Ensing walks over in good spirits, eager to talk about his love for volleyball.

Fresh off a national championship season, the senior opposite/outside hitter is determined to do whatever it takes to go back-to-back and cap off his collegiate career.

“We’re definitely that caliber of a team to go back-to-back,” Ensing said. “That’s not to be cocky or anything. It’s definitely confidence and the work that we put in the gym.”

He has a right to brag, though, as Ensing is tied this season with fellow senior outside hitter TJ DeFalco for kills with 134.

With feats including 2018 AVCA First Team All-American and 2018 NCAA All-Tournament team, it’s no surprise that Ensing can hold his own with anyone on the court. His 6-foot-7, high-flying frame makes him a dominant force on both ends of the floor.

Volleyball has always been a part of his life as his mother used to play in high school, but football and basketball were his first passions growing up.

Up until the ninth grade, Ensing played as a wide receiver in football, but decided to give up the sport after a devastating injury forced him to make a tough decision.

Ensing went up for a catch during a game and while airborne, a defender undercut him. Trying to break his fall with both hands, his body turned completely upside down. He braced for impact but landed awkwardly, breaking both his wrists, and ending his football career.

“My mom was like, ‘Alright it’s either basketball or volleyball from now on,’”

AUSTIN BRUMBLAY | Daily 49er

Senior opposite Kyle Ensing celebrates a point with teammate senior setter Josh Tuaniga.

PROFILE

The

Ensing

effect

The opposite hitter goes from a devastating injury to a key part of the men’s volleyball national championship team.

Ensing said.

Beginning his freshman year at Valencia High School, Ensing played both basketball and volleyball, then fully committed to volleyball going into his sophomore year.

Watching the success of his older brother Eric Ensing and experiencing a growth spurt convinced him to stick to volleyball. “[Kyle] walked into the gym and he must have grown six inches over the [summer] break,” Valencia High School head coach Kevin Kornegay said. “Usually when you’re around someone, you don’t notice it. He walked into the gym and I was like, ‘Woah!’ and he became an immediate impact for us starting his sophomore year up until his senior year.”

Although Ensing lost his CIF championship matchup senior year, that season was a testament to how great he could be and how much more he could improve.

“Kyle is a once in a lifetime player,” Kornegay said. “This is my 25th year coaching and a guy like that doesn’t walk in the gym every season … we’ve had some really good teams in this program, but he as an individual talent was the best that ever walked in the gym.”

His skill on the court and accomplishments throughout his high school career created a buzz around his peers, so much so that someone created a Twitter account in 2013 known as the “Kyle Ensing Fan Club.” The account, “@EnsingClub,” has a profile picture of Ensing’s face as a child plastered over the face of Jesus Christ.

Whether he’s digging a ball, spiking it down for a kill or going up for a block, Ensing leads by example. The consensus on him from from his peers is that while he isn’t so much of a vocal leader, he leads by showing the proper tools needed to become successful.

“He’s got a great serve, he plays great defense and he has good size … he brings so much to us in every area of the game,” Long Beach head coach Alan Knipe said.

“He’s a really easy kid to have in the program, and a really easy teammate for all the guys in the program regardless of how talented he is.”

Although talented in almost every area on the court, Ensing’s brother says he’s still looking forward to what’s next for Kyle.

“It’s insane to say,” Eric said. “Kyle’s grown a lot more physically and he’s being a lot smarter … improving in all ways he can, and I can’t wait to see that from him.”

Long Beach will play at 7 p.m. Friday against Penn State in the Walter Pyramid.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | DAILY49ER.COM | SPORTSD49ER@GMAIL.COM

COLUMN

SPORTS 11

The NFL needs to catch up with its competitors

By Kevin Colindres Sports Editor kevinjcolindres

T

JOHN FAJARDO | LBSU Athletics Freshman Dominique Meyer swings overhead against UC Riverside Saturday. Long Beach is currently 2-0 to begin its season.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Long Beach looks to stay undefeated The 49ers will face a team that’s yet to win along with one who’s yet to lose.

By Manuel Valladares Contributing Writer

Long Beach State women’s tennis team prepares for back-to-back home games Friday against Nevada and the following day against University of San Diego. Both games will take place at 11 a.m.

The 49ers have been anticipating playing against the Toreros, with their meeting originally slated to happen Feb. 2, but was rescheduled due to heavy rainfall.

Long Beach has had a lot of success recently, with freshman Dominique Myer named Big West Women’s Athlete of the Week for her performance against San Diego State, joining fellow

freshman Wiktoria Rutkowska, who previously earned such honors.

Long Beach’s first focus is Saturday, as they face an undefeated Nevada team who is also looking to stay undefeated.

Despite San Diego (0-1) losing its first game of the regular season, it has shown some levels of success in previous outings, having shared top honors with Long Beach (2-0) in the Beach Invitational.

Nevada (5-0) has started the season hot, with three games where it left the other team scoreless, the most impressive being a 7-0 win against Point Loma.

Despite having no perfect games, the 49ers still won both of their in-season matchups, the most impressive on Feb. 8 in an away game against San Diego State.

The wolf pack’s closest win came against Grand Canyon University in which they gained the 4-3 advantage, albeit at a time where Nevada was on its second game of the day.

Another thing to note is that this season, the 49ers hold a higher winning percentage than Nevada in doubles.

Despite this being a positive, they still need to figure out the right combination of doubles partners that’ll help them succeed as the season progresses.

The 49ers will also need to secure the doubles point in order to not repeat the same mistake made against San Diego State, where Long Beach lost the doubles point and had the game decided by the final singles match.

With Nevada looking like a much stronger opponent, it seems as though the 49ers will have their hands full once again.

he Super Bowl exposed a flaw that the NFL has been dealing with for a long time.In what was one of the most boring Super Bowl games in recent history, the NBA was able to steer the conversation away from football with a few tweets that speculated some big trades on the horizon.Tom Brady and Bill Belichick earned their historic sixth ring as a tandem, but as soon as LeBron James sent out a cryptic tweet, all eyes were back on the NBA. Now that the game is over, no one is talking about it anymore. Sports fans’ focus changed quickly to which NBA team is going to trade for superstar Anthony Davis.The issue is that the NFL hasn’t been able to market its players and teams as well as the NBA. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are global icons to sports and non-sports fans alike, while Jerry Rice, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are not household names outside of sports fanatics.

While the NFL is still on top when it comes to viewership, there are other factors that give the NBA an edge. NBA Twitter is one huge determinant and can best be described as a sports bar that never closes.

“More people might watch the NFL on TV, but when it comes to consuming a sport through the Internet, I don’t think anything’s close to the NBA,” Rob Perez said to the Washington Post. Perez, better known as WorldWideWob, went from being an unknown user on Twitter to one of NBA Twitter’s most prominent online figures with over 321,000 followers.

According to Twitter, the NBA was the most tweeted-about sports league in 2018, with more than 100 million NBA-related tweets heading into last year’s NBA Finals. The organization has used the most efficient route to build its brand, using Twitter to establish a global presence. On the other hand, the NFL hasn’t had the same level of fan engagement because of its substandard way of marketing and branding. When fans see the NFL, all they see is a helmet. But when they see the NBA, a personality is present.The Super Bowl faulted in the exact same way. The 2018 NBA Finals excited fans for the actual basketball game being played, while the Super Bowl continues to be seen mostly as an excuse to hang out with some friends, get drunk and eat some good food. The NFL has some work to do if it wants to become the global phenomenon the NBA has become. I hope next year I don’t feel the same resentment for what is supposed to be the best played football game of the year.

12 SPORTS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | DAILY49ER.COM | SPORTSD49ER@GMAIL.COM

AUSTIN BRUMBLAY | Daily 49er Senior forward Mason Riggins powers through UC Irvine defender Tommy Rutherford Saturday in a 82-80 loss. The 49ers are currently on a five-game losing streak with their last win coming against the Anteaters on the road.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Long Beach shakes up practice heading into Hawai’i After a five-game losing streak, the 49ers look for new ways to get back in the win column.

By Alex Manfredi

Deputy Sports Editor alexmanfr3di

The Long Beach State men’s basketball team is stuck in a rut. Five straight losses in Big West play have pushed the 49ers to seventh in the standings. After starting out with a home win over UC Davis and an upset win over UC Irvine on the road, Long Beach (8-15, 2-5 Big West) is in need of renewed energy, a new mindset and a fresh start to finish conference play on a higher note.

Following a short practice Tuesday,

BIG WEST STANDINGS

UC Irvine

UC Santa Barbara Fullerton

players and coaches played against each other in a game of wiffle ball at half court inside the Walter Pyramid.

Surprisingly, the coaches and team managers defeated the players 10-8.

Sophomore guard Jordan Roberts and walk-on freshman center Jeffrey Yan both struck out in crucial moments.

Tuesday’s practice had more to it than just wiffle ball, however.

Head coach Dan Monson saw it as an opportunity change the flow of practice for a short time.

“I think sometimes you just need to get away from basketball and just be a family,” Monson said. “We’ve just got to clear our

W

L

OVERALL

8

20-5

6

1 2

5

3

9-13

17-5

Hawaii CSUN

UC Davis

minds and make sure that everybody is in a good place.”

Long Beach is in the middle of an eightweek stretch with two Big West games per week, and Monson said the constant grind of games and practices takes a toll on the team. Senior forward and first baseman KJ Byers enjoyed the wiffle ball game, playing with the same amount of energy he brings to the team during games.

“It builds a lot of chemistry,” Byers said. “On and off the court we hang out, we throw gatherings, we do a lot, so it can translate. It sucks because we’re right there [with winning games], we’ve just got to keep pushing to get better every day.”

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4 4

3 4

13-8 10-14

2

4

6-14

Long Beach hosts Hawaii Thursday in desperate need of a win.

The 49ers fell 74-57 to the Rainbow Warriors in Hawaii Jan. 31. Monson attributes a lack of post defense and ball screen defense to the 49ers loss. Poor shooting by Long Beach also led to the loss as the team shot 38.5 percent from the field and 46 percent from the free-throw line.

“Their point guards are really tough to corral and got us into a lot of two-on-one situations in the paint,” Monson said.

“Our ball screen defense and keeping the ball out of the paint will be two things that will be more of a paramount for us this week.”

Long Beach State

UC Riverside Cal Poly

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2

6

1

4

8-15 8-16

1

6

5-15