Daily Forty-Niner, March 1, 2021

weekly digital print edition

DAILY FORTY-NINER EST p 1949

Vol. LXXII, Issue 22

www.daily49er.com

Monday, March 1, 2021

Inside the

Niner

MARCH MADNESS NEWS

ARTS & LIFE

Where are the cameras?

Creativity from home

pg 3

pg 6

2 NEWS

MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | NEWS@DAILY49ER.COM ON THE COVER Illustration by VIC FITZSIMONS

Daily Forty-Niner 1250 Bellflower Blvd., LA4-203 Long Beach, CA, 90840

Editorial Office Phone (562) 985-8000

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Madalyn Amato

T

Statement of recognition

he face of the Daily FortyNiner is changing, inside and out. The past of our publication serves as a reminder that we not only can, but must, do better.

Each year, the editorial staff of the Forty-Niner renews, and with each team comes new learned and lived experiences and perspectives.

Our mission of “striving to uplift student voices, being an accessible resource and representing and informing the community in an inclusive way” must start with us, the editorial staff of 2020-21.

To continue with the process of betterment, starting this semester, the Forty-Niner is appointing a community engagement manager to close the gap between the publication and those who we serve. We will continue with our internal education and accountability through conversation and guided learning, focusing our efforts on addressing issues of race, racism and the role journalists play as storytellers.

We recognize that the issues the country is facing as a whole are also issues that affect the industry we belong to and our very own newsroom.

The lessons we are learning through internal accountability and conversations are being incorporated to better equip us to cover diverse stories.

We recognize our privilege and authority as a source of news, and, as the editorial staff for 2020-21, we have decided: it’s time for change.

At times, we have failed our community.

We have not always done our due diligence in covering all the communities that make up our diverse campus. We have misrepresented those communities through uncharacteristic and careless language. We have made editorial oversights and misjudgments in publication of certain stories that demanded to be better refined.

Our newsroom is always open to accepting pitches from the community to widen the scope of the stories we tell.

As we continue to hold ourselves accountable, we encourage you to do the same by submitting your thoughts in a letter to the editor to our editor in chief, Madalyn Amato, at eic@ daily49er.com.

Lauren Berny

Multimedia Managing Editor multimedia@daily49er.com

Editor in Chief eic@daily49er.com

News Editor Julia Terbeche news@daily49er.com Arts & Life Editor Paris Barraza arts@daily49er.com Opinions Editor Kelsey Brown opinions@daily49er.com Sports Editor Samantha Diaz sports@daily49er.com Design Editor Alejandro Vazquez design@daily49er.com Advertising Manager Carter Magee advertising@daily49er.com Business Manager Sai Zin Phyo Lwin business@daily49er.com

Special Projects Editor Peter Villafane Photo Editor Andrea Ramos Video Editor Abel Reyes Social Media Editor Celeste Huecias Podcast Editor Cameron Johnston Podcast Assistant Luke Pajari Design Assistant Anna Karkalik News Assistant Iman Palm News Assistant Fernando Haro Arts and Life Assistant Xochilt Andrade Opinions Assistant Bella Arnold Special Projects Assistant Giselle Alexandra Ormeno Photo Assistant Richard Grant Social Media Assistants Ashley Ramos Desiree Aguilera

Our new mission statement

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he Daily Forty-Niner is an editorially independent, student-run, multi-platform publication that covers CSULB and local community news, arts and life, sports and opinions.

We serve the campus community through fact-based and ethical journalism.

Our laboratory environment provides students with practical experience that prepares them for professional careers.

We strive to uplift student voices, be an accessible resource and represent and inform the community in an inclusive way.

Vision We are an evolving publication that seeks to: • Provide a voice for all students • Give visibility to all parts of our campus community • Welcome civil discourse and diversity of thought • Continuously learn, grow and improve Diversity We are committed to: • Diversity in reporting • Creating and maintaining a diverse newsroom • Fair and equitable hiring practices • Accurately represent the perspectives of our diverse student body and local community

Dominique Hernandez Briet Sarthak Sheladia Webmaster Dinesh Reddy Kommera Community Engagement Ashley Ramos Manager PR & Promotions Manager Alejandro Vazquez Distribution Manager Carter Magee Design Adviser Gary Metzker Content Adviser Barbara Kinglsey-Wilson Advertising & Business Jennifer Newton Adviser

Letters to Editor editor@daily49er.com

Story Ideas tips@daily49er.com

Corrections correction@daily49er.com

Job Inquiries jobs@daily49er.com

Letters Policy: All letters and emails must bear the phone number of the writer and must be no more than 300 words. The Daily Forty-Niner reserves the right to edit letters for publication in regard to space.

Editorials: All opinions expressed in the columns, letters and cartoons in the issue are those of the writers or artists. The opinons of the Daily FortyNiner 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 Forty-Niner.

NEWS 3

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Insufficient security cameras on campus In comparison to Fullerton and Northridge, Long Beach State falls short with its campus surveillance.

By Jose Roldan Staff Writer

L

ong Beach State, a campus that spans 322 acres, has only about 100 security cameras — less than half the number seen at universities of a similar size.

According to University Police Department Capt. John Brockie, officers are able to monitor the campus despite having a lack of cameras, though this remains a budgetary issue.

In fact, CSULB began implementing surveillance cameras in the 1990s and there have been a few iterations leading to their current system, says Brockie.

“Cameras are just one part of a comprehensive, multifaceted approach to keeping the campus safe,” Brockie said.

Home to over 39,000 students, CSULB has a slightly smaller student population than California State University, Fullerton, which has 40,000 students and spans 236 acres. Fullerton has over 500 security cameras, meaning it has more than CSULB despite its smaller size.

California State University, Northridge has about 420 cameras for its 38,000 students and 356 acres.

According to data from the Annual Security Report, CSULB reported a relatively low number of crimes in 2019, though the campus had seen more motor vehicle thefts than CSUF and CSUN. In 2019, a student reported to university police that their car had been stolen at gunpoint at the Pyramid Parking Structure.

Stolen cars have been reported at CSULB’s parking lots and structures over the years, in

GARRETT TROUTMAN | Daily Forty-Niner

The university began installing security cameras in the 1990s, according to UPD Capt.

John Brockie. addition to other crimes such as an armed robbery last year.

Brockie said that implementing additional surveillance cameras would help in lowering crime rates and maintained that cameras’ exact locations are not disclosed to the public “since doing so may aid someone planning to commit a crime.”

CSULB began implementing surveillance cameras in the 1990s, Brockie said, and there have been a few iterations leading to the current system.

According to CSUN UPD Capt.

Scott VanScoy, Northridge’s system of closed-circuit television, or video surveillance, has led to a “drop in crime by 55% because of the analytics.” The system costs $250,000 annually for maintenance, he said.

“We put in a system here at CSUN with analytics that was about 384 cameras. That cost us close to $5 million,” VanScoy said.

“CCTV cameras are very expensive to install, however in the long run they pay off if you can use them as

a workforce multiplier.”

According to a research report from the Office of Legislative Research, the estimated cost of a single standard resolution camera “sufficient” for schools ranges from $500 to $1,000, and higher resolution cameras can cost up to $8,000. A security system for a large school with extensive grounds could cost as much as $200,000, according to the report.

“We implemented cameras in one of our large parking structures

just about a year or so ago and it did turn out to be billions of dollars just to do that one parking structure,” Fullerton UPD Capt.

Scot Willey said.

Willey said that parking structures require “dozens and dozens of cameras” on each floor, which “when you multiply that by six floors on a parking structure... can be extremely, outrageously expensive.”

“You’re never going to find a police department that doesn’t want to have thousands of cameras,” Willey said.

Jonathan Flores, a fourthyear kinesiology major, said that although he hasn’t really felt unsafe on campus, he felt it to be a problem that CSULB has significantly less cameras than universities of a similar size.

“The school makes so much money off of student fees alone that I’m sure a budget could be allocated to increase overall safety of our campus,” Flores said.

“Especially if we are being charged full tuition during a pandemic for resources and faculties we cannot use.”

Lizeth Romero, a fourth-year human development major and child development and family studies minor, said she would feel more comfortable with more surveillance cameras on campus as she feels this may deter crime.

“I would not consider it the number one priority,” Romero said. “But after learning that Long Beach has significantly less cameras than CSUF and CSUN, it may be a good idea to spend a bit more money on security cameras.”

Brockie did not comment on the number of cameras at Northridge and Fullerton, though he maintained that increasing campus security remains a concern within CSULB’s police department.

“Moving forward, we will install more cameras as deemed appropriate as part of our ongoing safety assessments,” Brockie said.

“The school makes so much money off of student fees alone that I’m sure a budget could be allocated to increase overall safety of our campus.”

- Jonathan Flores fourth-year kinesiology major

4 NEWS

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New sustainability programs in Long Beach After the nation exited the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017, CSULB and the city joined efforts to create policies to combat climate change.

By Fernando Haro Assistant News Editor

L

ong Beach State and the city of Long Beach are combining efforts in the fight against climate change with several sustainability programs looking to reduce greenhouse emissions, among other pollutants, over the next decade.

After former President Donald J. Trump decided to leave the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017, CSULB and the city decided to join initiatives that would continue to abide by the rules set by the accord.

Such initiatives include a collective called “We Are Still In,” which now has over 3,900 pledges and was created to provide structure to hundreds of institutions, cities and Native communities committed to addressing the climate crisis.

After the Biden-Harris administration showed full support of this issue by rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement on Inauguration Day, the United States has officially become “once again a party” to the accord as of Friday, Feb. 19, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Moving forward, “We Are Still In” continues to call for national mobilization on climate action and clean recovery.

“I’m glad we’re back in the Paris accord,” CSULB President Jane Close Conoley told the Daily Forty-Niner. “I wasn’t going to let [Trump] taking us out of it stop our commitment to moving toward carbon neutrality.”

In addition to joining the collective, CSULB has implemented sustainability programs and policies, going as far back as 2014, that look to achieve climate neutrality by 2030 and reduce the university’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor and fluorinated gases, create a natural process called the greenhouse effect that helps regulate the earth’s temperature.

However, man-made objects like cars and refineries emit large amounts of these gases, which absorb energy from the sun and produce radiated energy.

This effect warms the planet far from what is considered normal, worsening the effects of climate change.

“I know we can’t turn back all the effects of climate change, but we can slow it down and hopefully stop the rise in global temperature,” Conoley said. “People have to be willing to change, and that’s hard.”

Since its climate change efforts began, CSULB has created the President’s Commission on Sustainability and made annual greenhouse gas emission reports available to the public. The Beach has also joined the Second Nature Climate Leadership Commitment, a pledge among university presidents and chancellors in the fight against climate change, and the Climate Leader Network.

Through these efforts, CSULB has managed to implement new sustainability measures, including the addition of solar panels on campus, in which the university receives 30% of its energy.

And to get students and faculty involved in the sustainability efforts, Conoley said there are plans to move the university’s organic garden to the center of campus in the future.

“One of my goals would be that everyone that graduates from Cal State Long Beach leaves with a commitment to save the planet and [is] not just waiting for somebody else to do it,” Conoley said.

“We really want to educate a lot of people to be part of the solution.”

Meanwhile, the city Long Beach, which joined the “We Are Still In” pledge alongside CSULB four years ago, has been working on its own climate action plans that look to reduce carbon emissions and maintain a healthy population.

“I think, obviously, it doesn’t take a scientist to realize that sea-level rise is happening, it’s happening Long Beach,” Mayor Robert Garcia told the Forty-Niner. “We have temperature spikes which are more regular in Long Beach but of course across the country as well.”

Garcia said that the new Climate Action and Adaptation Plan,

The third-largest oil reserve in the country, the Wilmington Oil Field passes through the city of Long Beach. A Port of Long Beach refinery, left, emits a white plume of steam, which can contain dozens of toxic chemicals that contribute to the increasing effects of climate change.

FERNANDO HARO Daily Forty-Niner

which was proposed to the city last November, touches on everything from reducing poor air quality in low-income communities to city infrastructures looking to provide clean energy.

“The thing about Long Beach is there’s a history of course for many, many years of oil production and fossil fuels production,” Garcia said. “We’re really trying to change from that, and we’ve been doing so for the last few years and moving away from that, and a lot of it’s been working.”

As the second-busiest port in the nation after the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach is home to a large number of the state’s oil refineries. The Wilmington Oil Field, which stretches through Long Beach and operates in partnership with the city, is the third-largest oil field in the contiguous United States.

According to a 2017 NAACP report, there are “health and environmental justice issues that come as a result of a concentration of refineries and other facil-

ities in lower-income neighborhoods.” The report found that oil and gas pollution have been taking a “serious toll” on Black communities in particular.

Those most affected by climate change effects, like continued rising temperatures and sea levels, include communities of color in North, Central and West Long Beach, some of which face higher health burdens as a result of these environmental issues, according to the CAAP. Office of Sustainability Communications Specialist Courtney Chatterson said the city of Long Beach is working to address these issues by creating programs that target disadvantaged communities, including a fruit tree planting program and an emergency efficiency program to reduce households’ greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2010, Long Beach created a sustainability plan that looked to reduce emissions from city facilities by 15% by 2020, Chatterson said. By 2015, Long Beach had reached 16%.

Though the 2020 data is not yet available, Chatterson said her department is “anticipating an even greater reduction” and more progress toward improved health conditions for these communities of color.

But while Long Beach has managed to set a nationwide standard for clean act policies, including the port’s Clean Air Action Plan, “there’s still a lot of work to be done,” Chatterson said.

Chatterson said that the city hopes to lay the foundation for future policies that not only reduce greenhouse emissions but also “take into account the inequalities that we see across our city and the impacts that will definitely be hitting certain communities harder than others.”

“What we need to do to make sure that we’re taking care of all of our residents,” Chatterson said. “And everyone has an equal chance at flourishing in the city.”

Julia Terbeche, news editor, contributed to this story.

NEWS 5

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Virtual learning deemed ‘absolute hell’ Very few classes were held online prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, though that number has grown to represent the vast majority of the Beach’s course sections.

By Julia Terbeche News Editor

P

rior to the coronavirus pandemic, only 4% of Long Beach State’s courses were held fully online. Now, that same number represents the classes being held face to face — a transition that has significantly affected the student body, according to campus administration.

“During this time, everyone has been impacted by the pandemic,” Jody Cormack, vice provost for academic programs and dean of graduate studies, said. “We have heard from many students who are impacted due to job loss, health emergencies and family situations. Not one issue has been the same.”

In the fall of 2019, 370 sections were held fully online, 214 were hybrid and 8,597 were face to face. A year later, those numbers flipped and nearly 9,000 sections were held remotely, 207 were face to face and 29 hybrid.

This spring, about 8,200 are being held online and just 108 are face to face.

With the vast majority of classes being held virtually, many students have expressed that they’ve been struggling with their education.

Roxy Mendoza, a third-year psychology major, said she feels like she is “not learning anything” through remote instruction, especially as a recent transfer student.

She said she feels like she “lost her college experience to Zoom.”

“I feel like I’m only going to class to get a passing grade instead of actually learning the material,” Mendoza said. “At this point I’m so frustrated I’m trying to graduate a semester early so I don’t have to deal with online learning.”

Celine Trinh, a third-year psychology

Souce: CSULB major, said that her motivation has been most affected by the lack of on-campus classes and feels additional stress and uncertainty during this time.

“It’s a lot harder to keep track of everything and stay focused when I don’t have to follow a certain routine,” Trinh said. “I feel quite helpless and hopeless at times because online learning doesn’t feel like I’m learning.”

Though 108 courses were approved to be held on campus beginning Jan. 19 for spring 2021, Provost Brian Jersky delayed their start date first to Feb. 1 and again until March 1 due to coronavirus-related concerns.

As of Monday, Feb. 22, these courses have been officially cleared to come on campus starting next week on March 1.

Only students already enrolled in the minimally approved face-to-face classes will return to campus; all others will continue with alternative modes of instruction.

“This welcome trend is giving us a hopeful glimpse that life is starting to slowly return to normal,” Provost Brian Jersky said in a campus-wide email. “It also reminds us all that we need to keep our guard up in these coming months to continue this positive trend.”

Administrators project there will be a slight increase in campus-goers this spring compared to the roughly 1,000 individuals last fall.

CSULB is likely to see 1,108 people daily this semester, about 1,031 of whom are students and 77 faculty, according to data provided by Lizzet Rojas, data and program

analyst for student success.

Students have been vocal about wishing to return to campus, including second-year engineering major Rani Hanna, who feels it is “unfair to the students who just don’t have the resources at home to expect to learn at the same pace.”

“This is absolutely hell,” Hanna said.

“Honestly if our departments aren’t fully in person next fall I’m gonna cry. Everybody needs to be back on campus.”

The minimal classes approved to be held in person include lab classes, art classes and other hands-on environments.

Nikolas Pourghahreman, a second-year pre-industrial design major, said his major relies “heavily on physical class” though no industrial design courses are being offered in person this spring.

As an art student, Pourghahreman feels that he is losing out on valuable experience working with “saws, mills and other various shop tools” as he and his classmates no longer have access to these materials.

“I worry that I won’t be as prepared for the design field, as those in years before me had a much more expansive education and those after me will have a more traditional experience,” Pourghahreman said. “The pandemic has created an uncertain present time, but I believe for some it will have grave impacts on their future, myself included.”

Cormack maintained that university administrators have been working to address these issues, particularly Enrollment Services, who has been “actively working” with students who have been impacted with regard to employment, health or family issues.

She said that the campus remains in the process of determining the amount of in-person courses for fall 2021 and awaits approval from “all stakeholders.”

“On our campus, we bolstered and expanded online advising, reached out to students who seem to be struggling in their courses and have expanded our emergency individual class withdrawals for students who need it,” Cormack said.

6 ARTS & LIFE

By Paris Barraza Arts & Life Editor

O

ver a dozen students sit in front of their cameras, some sweeping brushes across their cheekbones to apply face paint, others tediously applying coffee beans in the shape of a mask or using chocolate syrup to ooze out of a gruesome wound.

Occasionally, a student will glance at the camera and ask their professor for advice on how to apply the next portion of their makeup look.

Professor Gayle Baizer leans in close, the same way she would to examine a student’s work if they were in person.

This goes on for another hour, tiny square boxes of students in an upper division class in the theater department working from home, practicing and building upon skills so that when the return of live shows and productions is deemed safe, technical theater students will have not missed a beat.

Because the performers that take the stage are not the only ones who lost out due to the coronavirus pandemic. So did everyone part of lighting crews, costume design, set design, choreographers—the list goes on, but these are just some of the roles in technical theater, who help transform ideas into productions.

Bazier said that she adapted so that her class would still be doing the same work had they been in person, one-onone in a classroom. She has created experimental projects, including having students develop a character, create a moodboard and present the finished concept all via Zoom.

“It was extremely successful, they did a great job and that tells me that that’s gonna work fine, that we are able to make that transfer, because with a fine art and a three-dimensional, studio-type class, you want to make sure that you can do those projects, it’s really important,” Baizer said. “So, so far, no glitches.

And if we have a glitch we laugh at it and move on. You know, it’s not worth it.

They’re extremely creative and it’s just a lot of fun with them.”

One of Baizer’s students is Marissa Sellers, a fifth-year technical theater major. Sellers is a costume design teacher at the Huntington Beach Academy for Performing Arts, having a dual perspective of both what it is like to work within and teach technical theater amid the closures of venues and cancelations of performances due to safety concerns.

In her classroom, Sellers has felt the limitations of what can and can’t be done in order to protect against the spread of the virus. Sewing machines, Sellers pointed out, were not to be used due to it being a shared tool. Without shows, students don’t have the opportunity to dress actors either.

But Sellers is keeping her students busy learning, the students now having time to try their hand at skills like embroidery, as well as creating mock designs and renderings of makeup looks.

And when Sellers logs into her classes at CSULB as a student, she gets the same experience of working with what you can do.

In Baizer’s class, Sellers said she gets all the hands-on experience she would have received even if it was in person.

In a stagecraft class last year, Sellers said that while students couldn’t use the on-campus shop, one of the many studios and labs accessible for technical theater students to work in, they got the opportunity to better understand how to design a production and tell a story through those designs.

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Lights, camera, Zoom!

While students part of technical theater at CSULB have had less in-person productions to work for, the loss brings new lessons.

Photos courtesy of Gayle Baizer

Rebecca Martin, Melissa Villegas, Devin Justice and Osvaldo Mendoza are part of the 443 Special Applications in Theatrical Makeup Class where assignments require students to use nontraditional makeup items.

“This is the first time a lot of my friends in theater, including myself, have had a break, and have had the opportunity to learn these skills…It doesn’t feel like I’m lacking in experience,” Sellers said. “It feels like I’m gaining a new skill set, though it might not be what I expected.”

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Sellers was involved in about 20 shows a year, 12 of them from her work at the performing arts school.

This breather from the “gig to gig” life, Sellers said, has allowed her to learn how to relax. While it may not be the traditional lesson to have learned, it’s one that is necessary in the field.

While the quantity of opportunities may have diminished during this time, Sellers still had work, including a shoot for a dance that was filmed in the summer. For Seller, having two to three months to create costumes was a welcomed reprieve from the tight deadlines of pulling together costumes for shows.

For Ashbrooke Hinkle, a fourth-year technical theater major with an emphasis in stage management, her role is key in the world of technical theater. As a stage manager, Hinkle coordinates between the various departments working together on a production, making sure everyone is informed and on the same page.

It’s a lot of communication, but whereas Hinkle could once hold people accountable at a rehearsal or in-person meeting, it’s trickier when the entire crew of a production will only ever meet through their laptop screens.

Hinkle transferred to CSULB in fall 2019, adjusting to the new change and like everyone else, under no impression that her college experience would change so drastically in the coming months.

Part of her responsibilities means that Hinkle is constantly emailing different faculty members within the department.

But, establishing a relationship with people Hinkle has never met in person before comes with the added challenge of making a good impression via email, which like text, can be ripe for miscommunication.

Hinkle, who is friends with Sellers, said that the two of them and some of their peers were going to be part of the same production in the spring 2020 semester, before the coronavirus pandemic. She was also lined up to be an assistant stage manager.

In the fall semester, Hinkle still participated productions, including two Theatre Threshold shows and the department’s main show, where Hinkle spent almost 16 weeks communicating and coordinating with the cast.

Although Hinkle was dependent on people seeing her messages and responding to her, she and her co-stage manager made it work. And when students like Hinkle graduate, she said she hopes future employers take this time into consideration.

“I hope they want new people in the profession, and I hope that they take chances on us college kids who didn’t really get the chance to totally refine our skills in college, and so I hope that they just…are understanding that we didn’t get the chance.”

Back inside Baizer’s virtual classroom, Sellers is applying Post-it notes to her face to achieve a checkerboard effect.

It’s part of Baizer’s lesson, which was for students to use nontraditional makeup items to create a look.

While virtual learning may not be ideal, it doesn’t mean that the students don’t find success during this experience.

“I think we would all much rather be on campus together and in that learning environment,” Baizer said. “However, rules are meant to be broken. There are ways to get around missed opportunities and make them opportunities, and that’s what we’ve done. We’ve taken dirt and spun it into gold.”

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ARTS & LIFE 7

From school to the service CSULB student Andrew Foster shares how he was accepted into a national program where students join the U.S. Coast Guard upon graduation.

By Paris Barraza Arts & Life Editor

I

n spring of 2022, Andrew Foster will graduate from Long Beach State with a degree in civil engineering.

But instead of the post-graduate job search most anticipate upon completing their schooling, Foster, 23, will be heading over to officer candidate school in New London, Connecticut to begin a 17-week specialized course that if he passes will make him an ensign, or a junior officer, in the United States National Coast Guard.

This is the next step for Foster, who is part of the College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative Program, a national scholarship program for students in or pursuing a full-time bachelor’s degree program and interested in serving in the U.S. Coast Guard.

Selected candidates for the program, like Foster, will complete basic training during the summer and receive full funding for two years of college, which not only includes tuition and fees, but also medical benefits, a full-time Coast Guard salary and housing allowance.

Foster learned about the CSPI program while at Solano Community College in Fairfield through his fiancé’s father, who was in the Coast Guard and retired as a Master Chief, the highest rank someone enlisted can obtain. After understanding more about the Coast Guard, Foster was compelled to pursue it.

“I was still trying to figure out whether or not I was going to go to a four-year college and pursue a bachelor’s degree because that wasn’t something that was always an option to me,” Foster said. “However, the CSPI program definitely gave me that opportunity.”

Foster’s stepfather approved of his decision, and his mother, although excited for Foster to finish schooling and get a degree, couldn’t help but feel the initial nerves any parent would feel toward their child enlisting in the service, enhanced by the fact that Foster is an only child.

Foster called his family when he received the news he’d been accepted into the program. It was exciting, he said. But the realization that he was now enlisted in a military service didn’t sink in until he was sitting on a bus with his fellow recruits, headed to begin training miles away in New Jersey.

Since Foster is still a student, his main responsibility as part of the CSPI program is to hit the books and participate in 16-hoursa-month worth of Coast Guard activities.

But in the future, his career path could look like that of Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Bor, Lt. Quentin Long or Lt. Cmdr. Jay Hagwood,

all three CSPI program selectees who now hold officer positions and currently serve at the Los Angeles-Long Beach Coast Guard Base, tucked away in the Port of Los Angeles.

Hagwood was accepted into the CSPI program in 2008 while he was enrolled at Old Dominion University in Virginia. He said that he always knew he wanted to join the service, seeing as his father served in the U.S. Navy and people around him joined the military, it wasn’t until he came across the CSPI program that he knew what he wanted to join.

At the Los Angeles-Long Beach sector, Hagwood is the Incident Management Division chief.

Under his purview is responding to environmental pollution as well as the three response boat stations within the Los AngelesLong Beach sector’s area of responsibility, which goes up to San Luis Obispo County Line.

These boats are used by the Coast Guard for work including search and rescue.

The experience of working in the Coast Guard has provided Hagwood the “opportunity of exposure.”

“I grew up in a small area in Virginia and hadn’t really left that area for most of my life leading up to getting in the CSPI program... so the ability to travel almost 13 years later, I’ve been to 22 countries and have moved and lived on each coast a few times, back and forth, so the ability to see the country and see the world has really been a blessing,” Hagwood said. “I’d say that’s been the biggest impact.”

For Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Bor, the Coast Guard has provided him an opportunity to work for something that was larger than himself.

When he first started out, Bor worked in search and rescue.

Later, the Coast Guard encouraged Bor to attend law school, where he became a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and has prosecuted environmental crimes.

That work, Bor said, was fulfilling to him knowing that he was making an impact on environmental protection in the U.S. Currently Bor is the Chief of the Inspections Division at the Los Angeles-Long Beach sector, where he and his team board commercial vessels to ensure that the required safety and security regulations are being met so that no boats are leaking oil into the ocean nor at risk of being a potential fire hazard, among other things. Likewise, Bor and his team are to ensure that ships entering the Port of Los Angeles are safe so that nothing disrupts transport.

Bor learned about the CSPI program in 2002 while enrolled in Rice University in Texas. At the time, Bor had been a civil rights intern with the Department of Transportation. His boss was a Coast Guard officer who suggested Bor look into the CSPI program.

The CSPI program not only solved Bor’s financial needs, as he needed scholarships to pay for his tuition, but captured his

LAUREN BERNY | Daily Forty-Niner

Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Bor, top, dressed in uniform wearing ribbons awarded to him. From left, Andrew Foster, Lt. Cmdr.Stephen Bor and Lt. Quentin Long at the Los AngelesLong Beach Coast Guard Base.

interests to do humanitarian and environmental work.

On top of that, Bor said he gets to see someone like himself in a leadership position in the service, a testament to the Coast Guard’s strive for diversity.

“We don’t often see Asian Americans in leadership positions,” Bor said. “And so having an opportunity to serve with incredible people that we work with every day, and also to mentor other junior officers and enlisted members to reach their fullest potential is something that I can’t even put into words how important that has been to me.”

Like Bor, Lt. Quentin Long shared how serving in the Coast Guard has provided him an opportunity to “lead people for a common goal,” an experience he

said that would have been difficult to do prior to the CSPI program.

Long was enrolled at Clayton State University in Georgia when a Coast Guard recruiter handed Long a card at his work. He followed up, and now, Long is the Chief of Intelligence, where he is advisor to the captain of the port and its subunits on law enforcement issues, marine safety issues and national security concerns.

“So many people don’t realize but we’re part of the intelligence community on a national level,” Long said. “So there’s 18 intelligence agencies that’s involved in that national level intelligence community and we participate in research, collection of information so that we can use it for strategic advantages and for

decision making.”

Had CSULB been in person, Foster would be easy to spot.

That’s because CSPI program recipients are expected to wear their operational dress uniform, the deep blue shirt and pants worn in the Coast Guard, or their tropical blues, a lighter blue shortsleeved shirt with slacks, at their universities at least once a week.

It’s about representing the Coast Guard and letting students know about the existence of a program like CSPI. “Ask about the CSPI program, I will tell you about it,” Foster said, inviting CSULB students to approach him when in-person classes resume. “It’s a great program. I am so lucky to be a part of it. If anyone asks me if they should do it, my first answer will

8 OPINIONS

MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | OPINIONS@DAILY49ER.COM

PABLO UNZUETA | Daily Forty-Niner

After angry rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, the building was barricaded under a gridlocked military presence.

Senate Republicans, you cannot have it both ways A reflection on Trump’s acquittal and the Senate’s failure to do its job.

By Felix Gama Contributor

U

nsurprisingly on Feb. 13, 2021, the Senate voted to acquit former President Donald J. Trump on the impeachment charge of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.

The vote to convict fell short of the two-thirds supermajority that the Constitution requires, only reaching 57 votes, 50 Democrats, including two Independents that caucus with Democrats, and seven Republicans.

Throughout the second impeachment trial, the

House Impeachment Managers pointedly delivered an emotional and fact-based case against the former president, laying out the undeniable truth that Trump actively sought to sow doubt about the 2020 presidential election.

Trump perpetuated the lie that the election was stolen from him and fostered anger amongst his most fervent and potentially violent supporters. Knowing that he was out of options, he rallied his supporters on Jan. 6 and directed them to the Capitol, knowing full well that the situation could get violent.

Trump incited an insurrection against the Capitol, against democracy.

As I listened to both sides state their case, I considered the long-term implications of what an acquittal could mean for the country, and honestly, I was scared. After 44 Republicans voted against the constitutionality of convicting a former president, it was clear that those Republicans cared more about their political futures than the fragility of our Constitution.

In their view, a president could commit a myriad of crimes on their last day in office and avoid

any accountability.

Just like Jan. 6, Feb. 13 will live in infamy because the U.S. Senate failed in its duty. Senate Republicans were unable to set aside their partisan ways to unite against a president who would rather see his own country burn than to admit defeat.

To those 43 Republicans who voted to acquit, I say this: You cannot have it both ways. You cannot condemn the violence if you do not condemn the man who incited it. You cannot claim to love this country and its Constitution if you refuse to protect and defend it. You cannot call upon the Founding Fathers’ wisdom if you refuse to use it in your judgment against the tyrant that sought to overthrow the will of the people.

And to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, you cannot stand on the hallowed Senate floor and say, “There’s no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it,” after you literally voted to acquit him. Mitch McConnell, you cannot have it both ways. You failed our country.

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OPINIONS 11

MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | OPINION@DAILY49ER.COM

Prior to serving as a California senator, Vice President Kamala Harris worked as attorney general for the state.

We see you, we don’t trust you The problem with Kamala Harris, the first Black woman to serve as vice president.

By Giselle Palomera Staff Writer

W

hen Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris as his vice president pick for the 2020 campaign, many people of color saw this as a band-aid fix for a bullet hole of

a systemic problem.

I am not a woman of color, but my family roots are Mexican and Colombian. My first language was not English and my parents were immigrants.

To me, Biden choosing a Black woman who climbed the ranks of the justice system as a “tough-on-crime” prosecutor in the face of the Black Lives Matter movement that called for the defunding of the police force, seemed performative and problematic.

As a woman of color, how does she not keep in mind the prison-industrial complex?

The prison-industrial system works against the progress of Black people and is seen as a form of modern slavery. Finding small ways to criminalize Black people so they end up recycled through the justice system.

Harris gained traction in the Senate after raising through the prosecutors ranks.

She has an eight-year prosecution record, during which time she spearheaded a program to detain and imprison single mothers for truancy records in California. Single mothers, even with doctors notes that excused the children’s absences, ended up in prison for a minor infraction.

Cheree Peoples was arrested in April of 2013 and a GoFundMe campaign called “The Journey of Ms. Cheree Peoples” was started to fight for Peoples’ freedom.

Peoples “had complied with all the rules and regulations in the Orange County public schools system, and had provided all the documentation to support the cause for her child’s absences who spent many days in the hospital and could not regularly attend school. But that didn’t matter to Kamala Harris and her prosecutors’ office. Ms. Peoples was to be made the example so that Harris could prove she was tough on truancy,” reads the GoFundMe post.

Harris considered herself “Top Cop” of California and in a time where Black people are calling for the defunding of the police force in 2020, it is contradictory to support a cop.

Whitehouse.gov

As San Francisco District Attorney, she prosecuted more mothers for truancy. In 2011, she adopted harsher policies that punished truancy with fines up to $2,500 and a year in jail.

Once Black people enter the justice system, the odds are against them and the fines pile up, along with infractions, other charges and a long bureaucratic waitlist for any representation or assistance. This is exactly what the protestors were against during the BLM protests.

Harris is a “tough-on-crime” politician who does not spare the Black community from landing in the pits of our justice system that needs heavy reform and many more years of progress.

I am happy to witness the “crack in the dam” of the patriarchy by having added a woman’s name to the long list of male leaders.

Still, her actions to date have proven no regard for the systematic or social issues that cause children to be missing school in the first place.

Harris has proven that she does not keep these parents’ interests in mind, who worry about their child surviving the night. This is about life and death, prison or freedom, not attendance.

In Peoples’ case, she was a single mother with very little resources in dealing with her terminally ill child. School truancy was the last thing on her mind when she just needed her daughter to survive the night. If Harris wanted to help the Black community, she would have established programs or found resources to get those children to school, not incarcerate their parents.

As DA, she is also known for arresting and prosecuting over 8,000 people for marijuana-related charges and, years later in an interview, admitted to smoking weed in college.

Now the marijuana industry is booming with record-sales, as evidence has emerged throughout the years showing the healing benefits of marijuana use.

Harris had no problem putting people away for an issue that stopped being considered a crime, after substantial evidence deemed marijuana a medical necessity.

I get it, because these were our options in 2020: Trump or Biden.

Harris or Pence.

Trump and Pence did nothing for the progress of the Black community and spearheaded hate campaigns to entice violence against all people of color and other minorities. We can only hope for something better from the Biden administration, despite its troubling past.

12 SPORTS

MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | SPORTS@DAILY49ER.COM

With the help of private donors, Blair Field receives new equipment to help the Dirtbags improve their skill.

EMILIO ALDEA | Daily Forty-Niner

A ‘game changer’ The Dirtbags’ newest addition to the team is a state-of-the-art bullpen equipped with the newest in sports technology.

By Kate Michel Staff Writer

W

hile prepping for the upcoming season, the Long Beach State Dirtbags received a little help from the future. Located near the third base line, the newly announced Steve Trachsel Bullpen features a camera and video component which will give the team a more in-depth look at the biomechanics of each player.

The new camera system in place is called BATS, similar to what

many MLB teams use now. Head coach Eric Valenzuela said he believes this technology will give the team a competitive edge against its opponents.

“There’s a lot of different programs that we are competing against that are doing huge renovations so we got to do our deal as well and continue to build ours,” Valenzuela said.

The renovation will allow Valenzuela to work with his pitchers in maximizing their efforts and increasing their development.

The system records the velocity at which a pitcher throws as well as their positioning. It will allow pitchers to break down their mechanics and review their progress with the coaches.

The project, which began con-

struction in late December, cost nearly $200,000 and is funded fully by private donors. Among them is the namesake of the bullpen, Steve Trachsel, and Marilyn Bohl, an ongoing donor to the program.

As a former pitcher himself, Valenzuela said he believes these renovations will help the team in recruiting the best players possible and maintain the success of the program.

While bullpens are predominantly used by pitchers, the technology works to develop each part of a player’s game.

“In a weird way this will actually help our hitters,” Athletic Director Andy Fee said. “We’ve created a bunt station in that location so that hitters can go up and work

on putting down the bunts, which is a really big deal in the offense, although most people would never imagine that.”

The technology will allow hitters to review their bunts and determine whether it would be hit or a foul based on inlaid lines that have been placed in the bullpen as part of the renovation.

“There’s greatness here, there really is and there’s the ability and expectation of not only being good while you’re here, but moving forward and being a great professional as well and so I think it helps our guys, it helps in the recruiting world,” Valenzuela said.

With the renovation process approaching its final stages and the 2021 season looming ahead, Valenzuela said he hopes to max-

imize the team’s time in the bullpen and use these new resources to their advantage.

“We’ve already been on there, on the bullpen and it’s just a game changer for us,” Valenzuela said. “[We are] very excited about it and obviously thankful for Steve Trachsel and Marilyn Bohl for the contributions to the program.”

The Dirtbags begin their season against Hawai’i on March 19 and play their first homecoming game on March 26. Fans can purchase tickets for their virtual homecoming online through offer.fevo.

Games are available to stream via BeachVision or through the team’s broadcast partners on ESPN. Links will be posted on their schedule page as they become available.

“There’s a lot of different programs that we are competing against that are doing huge renovations so we got to do our deals as well and continue to build ours.”

- Eric Valenzuela Dirtbags head coach

SPORTS 13

MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | SPORTS@DAILY49ER.COM

Senior guard Deishuan Booker celebrates a made basket by raising his arms to the crowd against Fullerton in 2019.

Daily Forty-Niner

Long Beach suffers sweeping weekend A back-and-forth affair against Hawai’i ends in a missed three-pointer in the final seconds.

By Jeremy Taylor Staff Writer

J

unior guard Michael Carter III’s last-second three-pointer rattled in and out of the basket as Long Beach men’s bas-

ketball (4-6 Big West) fell to the Hawai’i (8-8 Big West) 79-76 Saturday night.

In a physical first half that saw pushing, shoving and players getting chippy toward each other, the Beach jumped out to an early 11-point lead. They seemed to be experiencing deja vu from Friday night’s game, mimicking the same moves and held a 38-31 lead at halftime.

Women’s basketball drops sixth Women’s basketball faces Hawai’i, brings losing streak to six.

They shot 50% from the floor and 44% from three-point range behind Carter III’s 20 points and seven rebounds.

The Rainbow Warriors bounced back early in the second half, scoring 11 consecutive field goals, including four three-pointers in a row. During that run, Long Beach was late getting back on defense on several possessions, and it looked as if Hawai’i was going to

By Samantha Diaz Sports Editor

T

he Beach endured a hard-fought weekend, but suffered back-to-back losses in the final seconds against the Rainbow Warriors (6-5 Big West). The games bring Long Beach’s (106 Big West) losing streak to six.

The teams traded back-andforth baskets throughout the night, keeping the game close with 13 ties and lead changes.

Long Beach couldn’t hang on in overtime and lost 76-73.

The Beach’s junior guard Jasmine Hardy put up a career-high 24 points for the Beach. She shot 8-for-12 on the night and 3-for-4 from the arc.

Hawai’i freshman guard Kelsie Imai sunk the game-win-

coast to a comfortable victory.

With just over nine minutes remaining in the game and Hawai’i leading 77-65, the Beach went on an 11-0 run to trail by one with less than two minutes remaining.

Hawai’i sophomore guard JoVon McClanahan hit two clutch free throws in the closing seconds, extending the Rainbow Warriors lead to three and sealing the victory.

Saturday’s loss allowed the Rainbow Warriors to leapfrog the Beach for sixth place in the Big West Conference standings.

Long Beach will face the second-ranked UC Irvine in the Walter Pyramid March 5 and 6 with their playoff hopes on the line.

Tipoff is at 4 p.m.

ning floater with 26 seconds left in overtime. Long Beach took a timeout and junior guard Justina King tried to answer with a layup, but fell short.

The Beach dropped a close contest Friday night as well, losing 77-75 to the Rainbow Warriors. Hawai’i junior guard Amy Atwell led all scorers with 25 points and sunk the game-winning shot with over a minute left on the clock.

King led the Beach in scoring with 18 points while adding six assists. Junior forward Naomi Hunt also scored 18 points including four three-pointers, while junior guard Ma’Qhi Berry added 16 points, alongside six rebounds and seven assists.

Long Beach takes to the court for its last conference games against UC Irvine March 5 and 6. Both games are set for 4 p.m. tipoff.

MARK LINDAHL | Daily Forty-Niner

The women’s basketball team plays Cal Poly in the first round of the Big West tournament fan-less at the Walter Pyramid in 2020.

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