Viking News Vol. 95, Issue 7 June 1, 2023

PHOTO BY LAUREN BENSON

Name readers, protest comes to graduation

By Grace Jones , Veronica Towers

The LBCC commencement ceremony may look different this year, with professional name readers and symbolic, silent protests in support of terminated LBCC counselor Kashara Moore.

When the part-time employee was fired by the board of trustees last year for mispronouncing graduates’ names and allegedly elbowing a student onstage during commencement, many faculty and staff showed their support for their colleague and their disappointment in the board’s decision.

Name reading at commencement was previously a voluntary job that Moore signed up for during the 2022 commencement. During the celebration, Moore mispronounced student Carmina Barazza’s name. When Barazza suggested she say her own name into the microphone, Moore put out her arm to block the student, leading to what trustee members called an elbowing.

This year’s graduates received emails from LBCC notifying them of their partnership with NameCoach.

NameCoach is a website where students can audio record their names on their site to ensure proper pronunciations of all names.

“All I can say is as we were planning for this year’s commencement there were a variety of factors that were taken into consideration and we felt that after reviewing all of the different factors it made the most sense to hire,” Superintendent-President Mike Munoz said.

This route was not welcomed by all faculty.

“This is the most embarrassing thing for this administration to have to hire a professional reader as a solution to what they did last year… If that is their reaction as a solution to what they did, I mean, shame on them,” Annahita Mahdavi West, friend of Moore, said.

Support and solidarity of Moore will manifest in other ways during this year’s commencement ceremony.

“It (commencement) will be less attended…Some faculty may choose to use their leave and not attend. There will be symbolic messages,” PCC union representative and architectural professor Leslie Forehand said.

Those who decide to use a discretionary or sick day for commencement will not be reprimanded.

“If you call in sick, we don’t ask for a doctor’s note, we take your word at it. You can use one of your leaves.. Historically, we have not tried to verify those things and we’re not going to start this year,” Munoz said.

‘We can’t help the way we are’

Theater student thrives while living with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

By audrey Herold

A childhood in foster care and suffering from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome has not deterred student Jacquline Mc Curine from pursuing her goals of acting and music.

“Shoot, I’m here. I’m making it through. I mean look at me, I’m here right now. If I didn’t make it through, I would not be here,” Mc Curine said.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a disability diagnosed at birth that can affect people both physically and mentally, affecting speech, learning abilities, coordination, memory and behavior. Mc Curine learned the term for her proper diagnosis after asking her mother who confirmed it to her.

“I would say that what I have is kind of mild. The only thing that falls into the behavior is the mood swings. That’s the only thing that I haven’t overcome…I’m still in the child mindset,” Mc Curine said.

According to her, it’s through these extreme behavioral shifts such as crying, temper tantrums and lashing out that she is able to find comfort.

“Living with FAS can be hard,” Mc Curine said, “because we go through mood swings and have trauma…I do have a lot of people that come around me and say, ‘Oh, you need to fix the way you act.”

She goes on to say how a big part of having FAS is having this lack of control that people often don’t understand.

“Sometimes people with FAS, our mood is so impacted that it’s hard for us to try and control it. And sometimes a lot of people don’t understand our disabilities,

and not just me, but any other individual out there that has a disability, we are judged due to who we are. We can’t help the way we are,” Mc Curine said.

Mc Curine was put into the foster system from birth, taken away from her mother due to her issues with drugs and alcohol and stayed in the system until the age of 18.

At the age of five and a half, she came into the custody of the Gist family.

Her time in foster care was not always the best, as her foster parents were not necessarily prepared to raise a child with FAS and often neglected her personal and educational needs.

“When parents teach their children how to talk or give them some type of education, I was not taught that,” Mc Curine said.

It was her foster mother’s idea for Mc Curine to start Hooked on Phonics, inhome learning books, after being told by her teacher that she was behind.

“I had no type of education, non verbal communication, so when I came into this foster home my teacher told her that I didn’t know how to hold a pencil and I didn’t know how to speak. My foster mom was worried. Hooked on Phonics really helped because it helped with my verbal communication,” Mc Curine said on her experience with the program.

Mc Curine shared that she held contempt for her mother drinking during her pregnancy causing her FAS, until her mother apologized.

“She said that she was sorry that this had to happen and stuff and that we wished

that it didn’t have to go that way. I would say that I’m not mad at her anymore,” Mc Curine said. “I mean it happened in the 80s, that’s an old generation thing. I wouldn’t hold a grudge against my mom. I’m just thankful that I’m here,” she added.

The current relationship she has with her birth mother is strained, spending limited time with her mother and making sparse phone calls.

“Even family will go against their sons and daughters if they have a disability because a lot of people don’t have time to deal with people with disabilities, so that’s where my side of the family comes from. They want to get to know me then as they know me they start turning fake, quickly” Mc Curine said.

Dealing with her lack of connection to her family has caused Mc Curine to struggle with depression.

“I’m just one of those abandoned kids that the mother doesn’t care about,” Mc Curine said.

Despite rough beginnings, Mc Curine continued to persevere with the assistance of two organizations; Supported Living Services (SLS) and her local regional center.

Both organizations focus on helping people with disabilities by providing them with resources. They have been supporting her and checking in with her three times a week to see if she’s okay.

Mc Curine plans on continuing to attend classes here at LBCC and pursuing theater further and thinking about transferring to Cal State Long Beach.

Lauren Benson

Jacquline Mc Curine’s diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome has not deterred her from pursuing her educational and personal goals in life.

Sex offender finds support at LBCC

By Cain CarBajal, lesly Gonzalez

Convicted of soliciting a minor with the intent to perform sexual acts, 25-yearold Edgar Griss found himself enrolled at Long Beach City College, intending to only stay for one semester, but his involvement with the Justice Scholars Initiative offered a new path.

Griss, at the age of 22, engaged in an online relationship with a 13-year-old girl he claimed he thought was 18 years old. He and the 13-year-old exchanged sexually charged material and messages online through Instagram for six months before they agreed to meet.

When Griss showed up to his planned date, he was met by Orange County Police.

According to Griss and his attorney, his entire relationship with this girl was a sting operation set up by Orange County authorities to entrap potential offenders online.

Griss was charged on September 22, 2020, with making contact with a minor with intent to commit a sex offense as well as possession of illicit material depicting a minor.

After six months in Orange County jail, Griss was released with probation.

Within a year of his release, Griss is facing a second legal case that could potentially put him in state prison for up to eight years.

In 2021, Griss once again went online looking for a relationship, this time meeting a woman from Louisiana he claimed was 19 years old, but was, in reality, a 14-year-old girl. The two were flirtatious, but according to Griss it never developed into a legitimate relationship.

The pair ceased communication after four months, Griss said, but one day in December 2021, Griss was taken in by LA County authorities.

Griss was then informed that the girl in Louisiana had called the national suicide prevention hotline and talked about her and Griss’ online relationship, her emotional distress and her suicidal ideations.

With one conviction already in his past and his parole not yet over, this potential second offense would carry a much harsher punishment.

The hotline notified LA County authorities, who activated a warrant for his arrest, according to Griss. He then spent four days in LA County jail before his father posted his bail.

Griss claims that he and the 14-year-old never met in person, and their communication occurred only through Instagram direct messages.

“That’s what’s saving me right now,” Griss said.

“We automatically feel pressure from society, because our information is public,” Griss said.

“I am guilty for what I did, but I will fight for my education and for other people

College plans space industry certification

By BianCa UrzUa, VeroniCa Towers

Long Beach City College plans to train and certify the next generation of workers in the commercial space industry with the launch of its new space program.

This pathway will grant students with the certification needed to work in the space industry as technicians.

The commercial space industry has made Long Beach its home and LBCC is going to create a pathway for students that are interested in working on space manufacturing.

who have fallen in the justice system,” Griss said.

His registration in the national sex offender database has made it difficult for Griss to find work, as employers use background checks to analyze potential employees.

“I just got off an interview yesterday, and I spoke to (the employer) about my narrative and I told him ‘Hey you’re going to see some really messed up stuff on that background check, let me tell you what it’s about,’” Griss said.

“There are two types of employers, the one type of employers are narrow-minded who say, ‘this guy is (a sex offender) and we don’t want to hire him’ and there are employers like yesterday who feel like their hands are tied. Like ‘Hey we think you’d be a good candidate for us, but we have to go with the background check and unfortunately, that background check is not going to pass you,” Griss said.

Griss’ openness about his conviction and the circumstances that led to his offense does not make the decision any easier for potential employers to hire him.

After his release, Griss decided he would return to college to study communications, as one of his cellmates in prison had suggested.

The first time Griss told his parole office his plans to return to college, the officer smirked and asked him if he was sure.

“That encouraged me to move forward,” Griss said.

“He was concerned. He asked me, ‘If you told me school was not for you, you’re not a good student, you’re not going to put in the effort, you have a ‘too cool for school’ mentality. What makes you think right now would be a better opportunity?’”

“I said, ‘Watch me’, and fast forward three years and I’m graduating,” Griss said.

Griss ultimately decided to attend Long

Beach City College, only planning to stay for a semester.

Griss found Justice Scholars, which made him decide to seek more support to fight for his case.

“It became a snowball effect of positivity and circumstances. It went from bad events to being able to come on campus, become a voice, guest speak on campus and so many things to now an enrollment offer from Cal State Long Beach,” Griss said.

His success, he claimed, was due to the support and advice he received from the Justice Scholars Initiative.

“All the pieces of the puzzle of who I am as a student, merged together, and I’ve been having the best of time,” Griss said.

Originally started as a club for formerly incarcerated students to find community on campus, the Justice Scholars eventually evolved into a program that aimed to fix some of the societal, financial and legal barriers that formerly incarcerated people may face while trying to seek a higher education.

“I was very skeptical of Justice Scholars at first. I thought that it was just for them to receive a badge, like ‘Hey I’m helping an ex-convict become a contributing member of society’, but that was not the case,” Griss said.

The reason Griss has been able to attend, interact and be involved in campus activities, according to Superintendent-President Mike Munoz, is due to public college guidelines that prohibit colleges like LBCC from being selective in their admission.

“We are an open access institution that allows any student to enroll who meets the criteria. The criteria does not say, ‘without a criminal record or without any offenses,’” said Munoz. “Unless what they are doing outside relates directly to what happens on campus, it’s very difficult to take action,” he added.

The proposition for the program was introduced to NASA by former Long Beach mayor, Congressman Robert Garcia and Senator Feinstein which resulted in NASA providing a 2 million dollar fund.

This fund will be used to purchase all the first class manufacturing equipment to train students.

“I have seen first hand the vital role that federal funding plays in sustaining a thriving community,” writes Congressman Garcia in his submission of his Community Project Funding requests to the House Committee on Appropriations.

“As we continue to work hand in hand with local partners it is my priority to advocate for funding that will serve folks from every corner of our district,” Garcia added.

The certification will grant students a high paid technicians position in the commercial space industry without the need of bachelors or masters degree.

Long Beach City college wants to create multiple pathways for students to have access to high urgency and high paying jobs.

“With the commercial space industry being a high paid job and very demanding in Long Beach, creating this pathway will provide so many of our students with jobs,” said Superintendent-President Mike Munoz.

The certification is still in the works and the curriculum required is still in the process of being developed.

LBCC plans to combine the existing curriculum from advanced manufacturing courses already taught at the college with a new curriculum specifically adapted for the commercial space industry.

This is one of the many pathways coming into the college, the goal is to create multiple pathways for students to have access to high urgency and high paying jobs in all industries.

Cain Carbajal Edgar Griss sits outside of the LAC Nordic Lounge after the Latino Cultural graduation.

Fashion and heritage collide at LBCC

College comes together to celebrate culture

By Grace Jones

Inside the Nordic Lounge at the LAC campus, 50 attendees excitedly waited for the first ever LBCC APID cultural fashion show.

APID is the acronym that represents Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi or Indian groups and the month of May has been dedicated as APID Month.

In particular, LBCC represents and celebrates the month with the theme of amplification through unification, which intends to unify students of color through events, clubs and meetings.

The fashion show itself started off with traditional Cambodian outfits worn by LBCC students and staff.

From there the rest of the fashion pieces ranged from Japanese yukatas, Korean hanboks, Cambodian Sarong skirts, to Indian and Filipino men’s dress shirts and pants.

There were all sorts of patterns and delicate designs on the dresses which caused a stir with audience members cheering and applauding the traditional clothing of the South East Asian culture and aesthetic.

For the closing performance act a traditional pacific islander dance commanded the audience’s attention with loud screams and excitement.

Photos By Lauren Benson

Jazlynnrose Buckner, top, dressed in Samoan wear her vibrant purple outfit and face-paint. Other participants dressed in Korean, Samoan and Filipino dress for the fashion show.

Transformation through performance art

By Grace Jones

Inside the Liberal Arts Campus Art Gallery lies a room illuminated by a TV, where on screen a video of a girl brandishing a lighter, watercolor paper, an aluminum tin and soil.

This video, part of the 2023 Long Beach City College Student Art Exhibition, is much different from the traditional art pieces hung on the walls.

Death to old you, hello new me is what artist Ash Pangelinan described in her poem she incorporated in her performance art piece ‘Release’.

The piece is an homage to the death of her old self and welcoming a better version of herself through the act of a creative yet powerful self expression.

Pangelinan described the process in her performance as releasing her old habits and negativity fueled with past traumas and creating a better, evolved version of herself.

“I’m a lot more confident, I love myself so much more. For the past six years I was in a relationship. I don’t think I was a human, I was a shell and since then I have been building myself up very slowly. It takes time,” Pangelinan said.

“I was very nervous when I did this piece. I didn’t think people would resonate with it. But I did it, and I’m so happy and proud of myself for not allowing the fear to stop me.”

Everything, including her dress and each item present in the video had personal

symbolic meanings to Pangelinan.

“This performance piece signifies death and rebirth. I wore all black because I was attending my own funeral. All of the lives

that I have lived and want to release, I’m releasing,” Pangelinan said.

This metamorphosis-like art performance inspired Pangelinan to change for

the better. As she said the heartbreaks, both platonically and romantically catapulted her to immerse herself in art and photography, resulting in her release art performance.

Professor debuts poetry book ‘Dusty Relics’ at PCC

By Grace Jones

30 people filled classroom Q112 at LBCC to eagerly listen to Annahita Mahdavi-West read her new poetry book about her connections to her homeland of Iran through the art of poetry.

Mahdavi-West is known for her political activism on current events but is also a professor of Human Services and Addiction Studies at LBCC.

Mahdavi-West held her poetry reading and book signing event which centered around healing and easing on May 4 at the PCC campus with her husband, well known philosopher Cornel West right alongside her.

Inside the dimly lit classroom, which had tables stacked with copies of Mahdavi-West’s poetry book “Dusty Relics”, she read four of her poems aloud.

The poems were titled ‘The ones that won’t be back’, ‘city of war’, ‘Daughter Child’ and ‘Dancing hair’ to the audience members.

When asked about the inspiration behind the title of her poetry book, Mahda-

vi-West was quick to answer.

“I think I did that because it is something that has really stayed with me. It’s connected to my history. Even though relics can be dusty and still there and never gone, I feel like the events and memories and history can get to a form of an antic,” Mahdavi-West said.

In these poems, Mahdavi-West discusses her struggles as not only a refugee but an Iranian immigrant who has overcome challenges posed from living through the Iranian and Iraq war in 1980.

She also spoke on motherhood and her recollection of memories that involved the war and tragedy in her homeland and the people she had lost along the way.

Her husband, public intellectual and well known philosopher Cornel West was sitting proudly by her side and had words of love and support for his partner. Passionately, he spoke to the crowd of attendees.

“Annahita is a human being who uses language by means of imagination and empathy to get inside others and try to get us to be vulnerable enough to get inside of others no matter what color, gender, sexual

orientation, or nation,” West said.

“The deeper human level. In that sense I am deeply uplifted. I’ve always wondered what it is about the Persians that they would produce such towering poets in the history

of the species. It’s a mystery in some ways. My

beloved Annahita is a poetic genius.” Robyn Gordon Peterson a professor who studied under Mahdavi-West was entranced with her reading.

Grace Jones

Ash Pangelinan stands beside her art piece entitled “Rebirth,” which will be on display at the Student Art Show until June 3, 2023.

Lauren Benson

Annahita Mahdavi West read her latest work of poetry titled “Dusty Relics” at LBCC’s PCC

Track and Field

The women’s track and field team qualified for the CCCAA playoffs and finished 21st of 38. Freshman Kathryn Tamminga placed fourth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.97, earning All-American Honors. The women’s relay teams, 4x100 and 4x400 both finished sixth in their respective events.

The men’s team sent freshman Jeremiah Artis to state and he would finish 11th in the Long Jump with a 6.59-meter mark.

Softball

Vikings’ softball lost in the first round of the CCCAA playoffs to Bakersfield 6-4 in the rubber match in the series. They ended with a 26-15-1 record for the season

Alia Marquez was named a JC Cal All-American. Marquez along with Olivia Ramirez and Kirstin Sanchez took home All-SCC first honors, while Alejandra Mota made the second team.

Baseball

The Vikings’ were swept by Saddleback in the first round of the CCCAA playoffs and ended with a 20-22 record overall.

Sophomore two-way Evan Vazquez was named one of the three SCC Tri-Pitchers of the Year and made AllSCC first team. Shortstop Olin Snakenborg and utility Ryan Geck were also on the first team. Catcher Malik Clayton and third-basemen Justin Santoyo earned second team bids.

Swimming and Diving

The men and women’s swim teams both qualified for the state championship. The women took fourth with freshman Atiya Yuwana medaling in the 200-yard individual medley, 100yard backstroke, and the 200 yard backstroke.

The men’s team finished in tenth, but had strong performances from freshman Jakob Fransen and sophomore Sullivan Moore. Fransen finished third in the 3-meter dive while Moore placed third in the 100-yard butterfly.

Bruised ribs to broken records

By Kameron HendricKs

LBCC sophomore Sullivan Moore broke the school record for the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 20.58, beating the previous time of 20.82 set by Brandon Beer in 2002.

Moore detailed how this year’s season was in jeopardy after he was involved in a car accident that left him unable to train for a month. The accident took place right before the start of his sophomore season and left him with bruised ribs, whiplash, and a concussion. “I was really worried about how things would go because I couldn’t swim for about a month. But slowly I was able to come back and kinda get into shape before it started,” he said.

Though his journey as a swimmer has been relatively short, he’s no stranger to water sports. Moore started off playing water polo at the age of 10 after he was invited to play by a friend, much to the hesitancy of his family.

“They thought it would be too rough of a sport because it was very physical and I was pretty young,” Moore said. He quickly found that he enjoyed the physical aspect of the game as well as the bond he made with his teammates.

It wasn’t until his senior year at Los Alamitos High School after the water polo season was over that he decided to join the swim team, where he fell in love with the

competitiveness of the sport.

“I like racing, I like competition, I like winning. I’m sure if I wasn’t winning I wouldn’t be swimming,” Moore said.

After high school graduation, Moore applied to LBCC in hopes of joining the swim team and representing the Vikings.

“In high school I knew I wasn’t gonna go to a four year because it just wasn’t feasible. My grades weren’t very good, I didn’t

have a lot of money, so I was pretty happy to be coming to LBCC,” Moore said.

Moore is set to graduate soon with Degrees in both Criminal Justice and Psychology. After graduation he is considering pursuing a Ph.D. at CSU Long Beach, but his swimming aspirations are far from over. He hopes to represent his club Lakewood Aquatics at the 2024 Olympic trials in Orlando, Florida.

Men’s volleyball coach steps down

By dame cortez

Realizing the importance of male figures in his student athlete’s lives, Jonathan Charette is stepping down as the LBCC men’s volleyball coach to become a present father and husband for his family.

“I always longed for that father figure in my life. I really wanted to create that story of a father and son relationship because I don’t have one to reflect on,” Charette said.

Prior to the start of the season, Charette and his wife made the decision that 2023 would most likely be his last season as head coach.

“I could see it here, at this level, how important a stable, consistent male figure is to the men I was coaching and it just in-

spired me to take that and put that into my own son,” Charette said.

Stepping down as head coach was not only a decision for Charette to be a present father, but a present husband as well.

“I want to be a great example to my son of what it’s like to be a loving, respectful husband.

I want him to see what a healthy relationship is by modeling that with the interactions with my wife,” Charette said.

LBCC’s Dean of Kinesiology and Charette’s former coach Randy Toturp holds Charette in high regards, not only as a successful coach, but as a person.

This is a big loss to the team and the department. He’s a person of great character and is still growing as a man. He’s staying

to help find someone best suited to continue the level of excellence he’s provided,” Toturp said.

Charette realized that the time he puts into coaching volleyball would be a distraction from the formative years of his son.

While he was coach, he committed himself to producing results and developing his student athlete’s personalities and lives outside of the sport.

Charette’s overall record as head coach at LBCC was 159-30, winning three state championships, and appearing in the finals one other time.

“Maybe in a year I’ll hate not coaching and want to come back. Maybe in a year I’ll realize this was the best decision for my family. So, we’ll see,” Charette said.

Kameron HendricKs LBCC sprint swimmer Sullivan Moore poses with three of the medals he has earned for his dominant performances. Moore broke five school records during his two years at LBCC.

Opinion: AI is damaging the reputation of artists

By Sam Huff

The rise in popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to the realization that it is capable of generating music, art and even school papers without much human aid, raising concern among artists over the value of their work.

AI-generated art is hurting freelance independent artists. Many of them rely on commissions, but now with online accounts able to create AI-generated works and pass it off as something done by them, it damages the credibility of other artists.

The Copyright Act of 1976 allows copyright ownership of artistic works. It grants exclusive rights to reproduce and adapt their works, but what do you do if the owner is a machine?

Since these machines are AI-based technology there are little regulations put in place. Which means the amount of protection artists have for their work is very little, leaving it vulnerable to AI companies to essentially steal without repercussions.

AI is in short a system of written algorithms that try to generate new images in relevance to the aesthetic that it has been taught through what are called Generative Adversarial Networks(GAN).

Due to the Large-Scale Artificial Intelligence Open Network(LAION) and systems like DALLE or Stable Diffusion, these AI

are able to scrape for publicly available images from sites like Deviant Art, Pinterest, and Getty Images. Companies can then use these images in their algorithms to create AI-generated art.

An example of a company in question would be Lensa-Prisma Labs. They use artificial intelligence to duplicate photos in different styles of artwork. Lensa uses Stable Diffusion and text-to-image model AI for the app.

The problem with AI-generated art is it uses many works from other artists without their consent or even compensation. This hurts the business of freelance independent artists, and devalues work created by humans.

For the high amount of entertainment we consume at such a fast demand we should be fairly compensating the work that goes into it and crediting the artists that make it.

Artists have now become hesitant to post their works online due to AI scraping. This can be detrimental to a freelancer’s business because social media platforms are a way for artists to find new commissions, projects, make connections and engage with their audience.

AI-generated art devalues the work done by humans. It promotes the idea that companies can switch to AI and pay little for creative labor but still make the most

money in the shortest amount of time instead of appropriately paying the artist for their time and labor.

Many solutions have been suggested in regards to copyright concerns. Some have pushed for federal statutory private protections where users can protect their images from the platforms.

Getty Images, who is suing Stability AI over alleged copyright violations of mil-

lions of copyrighted images from the site, is an example of corporations taking action against AI.

Others have prompted legislators to pursue a broad licensing scheme for underlying works.

While it is not a permanent solution to AI mimicry, it is a necessary first step in the field of artist protection tools.

Opinion: LBCC must continue to address ongoing concerns about campus safety

By Bianca urzua

While Long Beach City College has implemented certain tools to maintain safety on campus, administration needs to continue addressing the valid concerns of faculty and students on campus.

A sense of security within United States schools has become foreign due to countless mass shootings throughout the years. It has opened many eyes and put into consideration whether administrations are doing the right things to make our country and schools safe.

The feeling of being safe looks different for everybody. When it comes to school, students should only come to class with one question: “What am I going to learn today?” not, “Will I make it home today?”

According to an article in EducationWeek.org, there have been about 19 school shootings this year alone, and even more years prior. There have been 163 school shootings in total from

2018-2023.

Every time those numbers go up, the fear of going to school rises. Long Beach City College has taken these numbers and real-life situations into consideration when implementing all of its regulations and tactics. From upgrading all safety devices around campus to providing training for staff and students.

LBCC vice president of business services Raymond West and all of LBCC is working on implementing regulations and tactics to make the college safer.

According to West, the school’s plans for safety include equipping the campus with security cameras, upgrading phone systems for emergencies, and ensuring that first aid kits and fire extinguishers are available around campus.

Even with all these tactics and regulations, the sense of feeling safe at the school you attend is still concerning for some. Students spend the majority of their days in school, whether it’s early

in the morning or late at night.

When coming to college, just like every other public environment, people all just go about their days but do they ever stop to wonder about their safety?

If so, is the college prepared with the knowledge and resources?

There are some people that only need certain regulations such as police patrols around campus to feel safe, but that varies for someone else.

To ensure that the college is prioritizing the safety of the students and staff here at LBCC there has to be an extreme level of security being demonstrated.

Establish resources such as clubs where students can share their opinions on what makes them feel safe.

Have anonymous tip reporting tools, where anyone can report anything they believe is threatening the safety in the college.

Have mandatory training sessions to be completed by students and staff at the college in order to better know

how to navigate through any sort of violence, exposure to weapons, bullying, threats and more.

Training sessions should also be scheduled at more widely accessible times that fit within professors’ schedules.

Students are not the only ones that have safety concerns, professors do as well, raising concerns over the design of classroom exits, as most rooms only have them in the front of the room, leaving only one path of escape in the case of emergencies.

Inoperable windows, classrooms with only one entrance and an open campus can make it much harder for students to escape when in close proximity to an active threat.

College administration needs to establish that they are listening to student and faculty concerns. Establishing trust between all members of the campus is the first step in creating a sense of safety.

IllustratIon by sam Huff

Graduates embrace success and heritage

by Veronica Towers

Being that most of this year’s graduates began their college careers during the height of the pandemic, LBCC’s 2023 graduates are being called “the COVID class.”

“I think about this graduating class and what defines them, most of these students either started during COVID or did the bulk of their education during COVID,” Superintendent-President Mike Munoz said.

In celebration of this class, the Student Equity department put on various ceremonies on May 19 and 20 for graduates to be recognized for their accomplishments in inclusive and individualized ways.

Over the span of two days, participating graduates were honored in the Lavender Graduation for LGBTQ grads, the APID graduation for Asian Pacific Islander Desi grads, the Black graduation for Black/African American grads and the RAICES graduation for Latino/a/x grads where symbolic and cultural practices took place.

The ceremonies all featured faculty speeches, praise and the standard name reading of each graduate. Each ceremony provided its graduates with cultural graduation accessories such as stoles, pins, or cords that can be worn at the final commencement ceremony on June 8.

Editor-in-chief: Veronica Towers

Managing editor: Cain Carbajal

News editors: Michelle Cardenas

Dame Cortez

Bianca Urzua

Lifestyle editors: Casper Torres

Jordyn Wieck

Sports editors: Tyler Bermundo

Lesly Gonzalez

Kameron Hendricks

Gabriel Medina

Davis Ramage

Opinion editors: Lauren Benson

Grace Jones

Staff

Emily D’Amico

Audrey Herold

Sam Huff

Cindy Jester

Andrea Lawrence

Adviser: Walter Hammerwold

Photo and online adviser: Chris Viola

LesLy GonzaLez Long Beach City College graduate celebrates his upcoming commencement at the Asian Pacific Islander Desi graduation celebration.

Cain CarbajaL Samantha Rodriguez walks at lavender graduation.

Cain CarbajaL

Graduate Liliana Martinez waves Mexican flag at the Latino cultural graduation ceremony.