Daily Forty-Niner; March, 22, 2021

weekly digital print edition

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Vol. LXXII, Issue 25

www.daily49er.com

Monday, March 22, 2021

'WE'RE NOT ALONE' Inside the

Niner

pages 4 and 5

ARTS & LIFE

SPORTS

Using music as a voice

Planning his leap for the future

pg 6

pg 15

2 NEWS

MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | NEWS@DAILY49ER.COM ON THE COVER Community members honor the victims of Tuesday's Atlanta-area shootings at a vigil in Cambodiatown Friday.

PHOTO BY JULIA TERBECHE

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Daily Forty-Niner

The Commencement Office sent a survey to the classes of 2020 and 2021 to vote on in-person event or a drive-thru ceremony.

Special Projects Editor Peter Villafañe Photo Editor Andrea Ramos Video Editor Abel Reyes Social Media Editor Celeste Huecias

CSULB considering inperson commencement

Podcast Editor Cameron Johnston Podcast Assistant Luke Pajari Design Assistant Anna Karkalik Design Assistant Gisele Robinett News Assistant Iman Palm News Assistant Fernando Haro Opinions Assistant Bella Arnold

By Julia Terbeche & Iman Palm News Desk

L

ong Beach State is considering hosting an in-person commencement ceremony potentially at an outside venue in accordance with new state guidelines, President Jane Close Conoley confirmed Tuesday.

“We are hopeful that the new guidelines we expect from the governor will allow for a face-to-face commencement,” Conoley said in an email.

According to Conoley, the university has plans to move forward with a face-to-face graduation for the classes of 2020 and 2021 this May in the event Gov. Gavin Newsom releases updated information that permits in-person gatherings.

As of March 11, California authorizes limited capacity live events under the red tier beginning April 1, 2021 with modifications such as a maximum capacity of 20%, a weekly worker testing program and in-state visitors only, depending on the state’s travel advisory.

Conoley said that the state’s

updated guidelines “may allow us to rent a big venue, for example Angel Stadium, and hold ceremonies there that will keep us within the guidelines associated with capacity limits.”

The hybrid ceremony is currently scheduled for May 18 to 21. It is not known yet if these dates will change for the proposed in-person event.

The California Department of Public Health confirmed in an email that the state has moved toward authorizing events of this degree starting next month.

“In preparation for the end of the school year, CDPH announced that graduation and commencement ceremony organizers can begin to plan for events following the Outdoor Live Events with Assigned Seats and Controlled Mixing guidelines, which take effect on April 1. More detailed guidance is forthcoming,” the statement reads.

This comes after the city of Long Beach and Los Angeles County have progressed from the purple tier, or widespread risk, into the red tier, or substantial risk, Monday, March 15 under California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

Under the city’s directive, places like movie theaters, restaurants and gyms are now

able to reopen with indoor operations and limited capacity.

Outdoor live events may resume in the city at limited capacity beginning April 1, which would be in time for the spring commencement.

Conoley said that Michelle Cesca, vice president for University Relations and Development, has been working with her team to develop plans for alternative ceremonies.

Prior to this news, students have voiced their disappointment surrounding the plan for a hybrid ceremony, leading some to even organize and sign a petition that urges the university to consider having an in-person commencement.

As of March 16, the change. org petition has over 350 signatures with a current goal of reaching 500 signatures.

Other California State University campuses like San Diego State University and California State University, Dominguez Hills have announced they are considering an in-person event this May. “We’re excited and hopeful and just trying not to get too far ahead of the governor,” Conoley said.

This story will be updated as more detailed information about commencement becomes available.

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NEWS 3

MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | NEWS@DAILY49ER.COM

By Madalyn Amato Editor in chief

D

ocuments obtained by the Daily Forty-Niner show that Long Beach State intended to use the dirt dumped on Puvungna in September 2019 as the foundation for a 500-spot temporary parking lot, despite President Jane Close Conoley denying those plans ever existed.

However, these plans never came to fruition, and construction workers ceased dumping on Sept. 28, 2019, according to an email sent by Jeff Cook, associate vice president for strategic communications at CSULB, on Nov. 23, 2020.

The documents are exhibits in a lawsuit filed against the university by the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation-Belardes and California Cultural Resources Preservation Alliance, Inc. In October 2019, JBMIAN-Belardesfiled the lawsuit in hopes of establishing a memorandum of understanding that would require the university to consult with the tribal groups before making any further decisions regarding the 22-acre plot of land. In addition, State Historic Preservation officer Julianne Polanco criticized the university’s actions saying they violate state law.

The university filed a response on Feb. 11, 2021, denying all allegations of any wrongdoing.

Cook said in an email response to the Forty-Niner that “deliberations about temporary parking in 2019 did not evolve into an actionable plan,” despite emails between other university officials suggesting otherwise.

“The most valuable insight, I believe, is President Conoley’s January statement which defines where we are today and our plans moving forward: namely, that no structure of any kind will be proposed for the land in our 10-year master planning process,” Cook wrote.

Emails between school employees dating back to Aug. 26, 2019 show that there were intentions to compact the dirt and use it as a foundation for the 500-spot temporary gravel parking lot. Conoley said at the time that the temporary lot was intended to alleviate impacted parking in the first eight weeks of the semester.

A map obtained by the Forty-Niner shows that the university had intentions to create a parking lot on either side of the existing lot, G2. The proposed lot would lie directly on land that is considered to be Puvungna.

The emails show school employees debating about whether to contact Craig Stone, professor of American Indian Studies and director of the Committee on Native American Burial Remains and Cultural Patrimony, or anyone else from the Native community before moving forward with construction.

Stone said in an email at the time that no one from the community was contacted prior to the start of this project. In fact, Stone said in September 2019 that he was “told that there would be no activity on the site.”

Winter King, a partner at the Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger law firm who is representing the JBMIAN-Belardes, maintained these claims in a press conference on March 15, 2021.

Activists within the Native community have recently begun to speak out against the university for these proposed plans. When approached about this topic in December of 2020, Conoley told a reporter with the Forty-Niner “there has never been a plan to do that.”

The president maintained in a video address on Jan. 21, 2021 that plans for “a new parking lot” were “untrue” and that “there are no plans in place for a structure of any kind.” She did not address in the video whether there had been any plans in the past, however.

Conoley also denied that there was any debris in the dirt, however, reporters with the Forty-Niner went out to the piles that remain on Puvungna on Nov. 30, 2020 and found construction-related materials still remaining.

In December 2020, Conoley told a reporter with the Forty-Niner that approximately three years ago, the university was asked by the Native community to provide dirt from the campus to be used as a berm, or barrier, for the site when ceremonial activities were being held at night.

Documents reveal plans for Puvungna As the lawsuit against Long Beach State continues to move forward, newly obtained information shows that the university did intend to build upon the sacred land.

Daily Forty-Niner

The typography map that shows the inital plans devleoped by the school in regards to the potential parking lot.

One of the emails obtained by the Daily Forty-Niner.

Daily Forty-Niner

“We were asked by Native Americans on our campus to use dirt that might become available from the campus to build earthen berms, you know, little hills, around the ceremonial area, around the undeveloped area on our campus,” Conoley said, referring to Puvungna. “So when we started construction of the new student housing… we had Native American monitors at that site as the dirt was dug up. ” King said that in the plaintiffs’ documentation, no record of such a request exists, however, she was unable to deny that the request was ever made.

The plaintiffs also filed for a review from the Office of Historic Preservation in conjunction with the lawsuit.

Polanco said in August 2020 that CSULB did not properly consult with the OHP before the construction project began, something required by PRC 5024 and 5024.5.

According to Polanco, CSULB only submitted an initial draft of its treatment plan as of Aug. 10, 2020, when the review was filed, despite the OHP requesting a final copy. She said the draft “appears to reflect an ongoing need to consult further with tribes.”

Construction companies began dumping the trash-laden dirt on Puvungna on Sept.

20, 2019. The dirt was being relocated from the construction site where Parkside North Dormitory is being built.

Polanco said that the use of heavy machinery on the land is not only “inappropriate” on any NRHP-listed property, but also the vibrations caused by the machinery may have serious side effects on the buried artifacts.

The university’s treatment plan, submitted to the OHP, includes plans for sensitivity training for all persons involved with future developments and monitoring by Native Americans and archaeologists, soil stabilization and no future vehicular traffic on the land. There is no current plan to remove the dirt piles in question.

The OHP’s review concluded that the university must seek other solutions to reallocate construction-related debris, as “the action of soil deposition has the strong potential to become an adverse effect to the historic integrity of the NRHP historic district.” Polanco said she supports the JBMIAN-Belardes’ terms of the lawsuit in seeking an MOU with the university.

Rebecca Robles, Acjachemen Tribal Culture Bearer of the Juaneño Band, also maintained during the March 15 press conference that the “correct tribal leaders” were never contacted.

“It’s supposed to be a dialogue with the tribal leaders, whose information comes from their tribal councils,” Robles said.

King maintained that the actions that were taken in 2019 still violated the law.

“It was clear to me that the university had violated this state’s premier environmental protection statute,” King said. “It’s really the most blatant and obvious CEQA violation that I’ve seen in my 16 years doing this kind of work.”

The California Environmental Quality Act, along with California Penal Codes 5024(f) and 5024.5(a), both mandate that agencies must seek commentary documentation from the office before embarking on projects or making changes to locations registered with the National Register of Historic Places. Puvungna received its registration in 1974.

By definition, failure to contact the Native community caused the university to violate both of these laws.

King said that according to the environmental impact report filed for construction on the Parkside North Dormitory, the university maintained that Puvungna would be untouched.

Joyce Stanfield Perry, tribal manager and cultural resource director for the Juaneño Band, said during the press conference that “it’s unfortunate that the university is unwilling to put in writing what their intentions are for the land.”

“People should not be confused by seeing posts or videos. Legal actions speak way louder than words, and we need a legally binding agreement,” Stanfield Perry said.

4 NEWS

MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | NEWS@DAILY49ER.COM

JULIA TERBECH

MADALYN AMATO | Daily Forty-Niner

JULIA TERBEC

NEWS 5

MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | NEWS@DAILY49ER.COM

‘Standing strong

By Madalyn Amato Editor in Chief

A

round 200 people gathered to “mourn victims of senseless violence and brutality” at MacArthur Park Friday afternoon as part of an anti-hate rally and vigil organized by community leaders and Councilwoman Suely Saro.

“I really felt like people needed a space to come together and to just connect given how heavy everybody’s been feeling,” Saro said. “I feel like [this is what] the community asked for, which is a space to acknowledge those who’ve passed recently and a space to connect and breathe and check in with each other.”

Leaders from local organizations had the opportunity to speak throughout the event, many echoing sentiments of unity and building community.

Romeo Hebron, executive director of the Filipino Migrant Center, said the recent attacks against Asian American Pacific Islander communities are “nothing new” as they are a result of “institutional and systemic issues” in America. He maintained that now is the time for communities to work together to fight the systems that are in place.

“How are we going to turn these into something positive for our communities, for our people, for all people who are facing oppression and exploitation? How are we going

Long Beach residents gather to remember those who were killed Tuesday and emphasize building communities and unity. to channel these and not just for the Asian community, but for all people?”

Hebron said. “And so, even though we’re gathered here today for a very somber occasion and we want to honor the lives of those who are lost, I want everyone to, if you can, just take a look around, just take a few seconds to scan right now and just look around at all the people who are out here. And just, just, we should remind ourselves that we’re not alone.”

Data collected by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism showed that in 16 of the largest cities in the U.S., anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 149% in 2020. AntiAsian rhetoric and attacks against the AAPI community as coronavirus cases began to rise are considered to be the root cause of the increase, according to CSHE. Charles Song, president of Equity for Cambodians, addressed the root causes of the increase in violence.

“We have different colors tonight here standing strong against the hate, and this is the symbol of hate that we all been suffering from for the last four or five years,” Song said.

“As an Asian American, although it has not been happening in our city, I

want to take an opportunity to thank the councilwoman for bringing this resolution to the floor for the simple fact that the next city might be Long Beach, the next time it’s gonna happen, [it] might be one of your mothers or my kids.”

The resolution, introduced by Saro Tuesday to the Long Beach City Council, called on the body to “condemn xenophobic hate and harassment toward the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.” It was adopted unanimously.

Long Beach is home to the largest population of Cambodian individuals outside their home country in all of the U.S. Of the 400,000 residents in the city, over 65,000 identify as AAPI. Many speakers emphasized the need to acknowledge the violence against AAPI women, in particular, in the wake of Tuesday’s killings.

Jade Cagalawan, an organizer with Gabriela South Bay, condemned the violence that took place Tuesday and “the recent hate crimes that have escalated across the United States.”

“Asian women are often commodified and stereotyped as

against the hate’ Clockwise from top left: Oota Poon, a resident of Long Beach, stands in honor of those who lost their lives Tuesday. Jerry Garcia, a Long Beach resident, holds a sign at the anti-hate, peace rally Friday afternoon at MacArthur Park. Demonstrators gather in Cambodiatown for the anti-hate rally organized by Councilwoman Suely Saro. Participants fly the Filipino flag during the rally.

HE | Daily Forty-Niner

CHE | Daily Forty-Niner

subservient sexual objects for men,” Cagalawan said.

Calling for justice for the victims, Cagalawan demanded that government officials to be held accountable for “upholding white supremacy,” which she said is “rooted in American imperialism.”

Another participant in the event, Tiffany Davy, said she attended the event “in honor of my great grandfather, who was born in Hong Kong.” Davy stood in solidarity with others affected by “this pain that we’re experiencing.”

“That connection to our communities, the Black and Asian communities, has existed for centuries,” Davy said.

Although anti-Asian hate crimes have not been documented in Long Beach within the last year, according to reporting by the Long Beach Post, Saro wanted to ensure that those in the AAPI community not only felt heard, but also felt safe to come forward in the case of an attack occurring.

Saro maintained that there are mental health care services, support and counsel offered in the community.

“We need to ensure that people’s experience are important and validated. Verbal harassment leads to physical assault that leads to higher level of assaults or crime, and I feel that if we can just get people to start sharing and reporting, early on, then we can make sure we’re catching it before it actually happens,” Saro said.

“So by doing this, I’m hoping that it inspires people and encourages people that Asian Pacific Islanders’ experience are real, and that we should take everything seriously.”

MADALYN AMATO | Daily Forty-Niner

6 ARTS & LIFE

MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | ARTS@DAILY49ER.COM

A music an

years in the making CSULB student Pati Delmar released her single “I Could Be Your Only” in January complete with a music video. Now, Delmar is looking back at just how far she has come.

By Bella Arnold Opinions Assistant

Delmar is a first-year transfer student majoring in business management at CSULB. With her business degree, she hopes to return to the film and music industry in a new way and be a “voice for atty Ramirez didn’t sing in front of anyone women” on sets. until she was 19, never feeling comfortable “I see all these things that can be improved, so that’s to share her why I’m back in school,” Delmar music. said. “The plan is to use a But now, business degree [to] come into Ramirez, corporate for productions. Most known as of the people that are running Pati Delmar, is a musician the show have never even been with a new single released in on set before.”

January.

Though quarantine forced her Delmar, currently a Long to reexamine her place in the Beach State student, has film industry, it also gave her always been drawn to the the opportunity to devote time entertainment industry. to her first love, writing music.

Though she has always loved Growing up, Delmar was singing and writing music, drawn to artists who told she lacked the confidence to “honest” stories like Selena share her art and searched Quintanilla, Etta James and for creative fulfillment Julie London. When writing, elsewhere.

Delmar finds inspiration from According to Delmar, her own life and relationships, being one of the only Latinas but also finds joy through giving throughout high school made a voice to other people’s stories. her feel hypervisible and “It’s always been about the discouraged her from being music first and everything open about her ambitions. second when we’ve worked Yet, every venture Delmar together,” Kennedy Hollows, pursued had some glimmer musician and friend of of music involved. In high Delmar’s, said. “To see where school, she played the she is at with it now, to her clarinet and continued to coming out with solo songs and write music for herself. directing her own music videos, Initially, Delmar’s plan is such a beautiful thing and was to become a detective, just a testament to her vision of and she attended West where she wants to go and how Virginia University to pursue she wants to go about it.”

Photo courtesy by Pati Delmar that goal. After entertaining According to Delmar, she that major for a short time, “missed being creative” and Pati Delmar is a musician and singershe quickly found out that a discovered that two of her songwriter who has always had a love future as a detective was no friends shared that sentiment. for music but only recently began to longer the right fit.

The trio decided to start pursue music. Her music is available to “This [didn’t] feel right a collective production crew anymore,” Delmar said. “So called Opiasol Collective. Their stream on Spotify and Amazon Music.

I decided to, kind of, pursue first project was creating the audio because I figured I’d music video for her new song, “I be close to music but I still Could Be Your Only.” According didn’t have the confidence to actually do music.” to Delmar, they enlisted her boyfriend and two more Once she left WVU, Delmar had to reexamine her plan friends to be actors and the “all girl crew” took a concept, and decided to attend the Los Angeles Film School in shot the video on her iPhone and turned it into a fully Hollywood, where she would earn her associate’s degree produced music video. in recording arts as well as make valuable connections “When it was done I was like, ‘I just made a music that would prepare her for an eight-year-long career as a video,’” Delmar said. “It was so crazy to me because I had production assistant in the industry. always been on the assistant side.”

Delmar has worked on major shows such as “The The music video for “I Could Be Your Only” was Voice,” “Grownish” and “Blackish” until the coronavirus released shortly after the song’s January debut. Delmar pandemic. In March 2020, the film industry halted, and is working to release her first album, independently, Delmar, once again, had to recalibrate her trajectory. before graduating in spring 2022.

According to Delmar, her experience in the film Delmar brought her hand to her face, laughing as she industry has helped her creatively as a musician and recounted her return to music. refined her ability to “see the story.”

“You just write without thinking for 20 minutes, and “If anything, it made me a better artist in general,” it just relieves tension,” Delmar said. “I finally felt the Delmar said. “I think of creating content, in general, not support I always needed to sing. It’s my own way to be just music. It has significantly helped my storytelling creative and kind of like therapy too.” abilities.”

P

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ARTS & LIFE 9

By Jessi Jarrin Staff Writer

W

hen Gum Cabug first spotted an abandoned building in Hawaiian Gardens 24 years ago, she peered into the keyhole hoping to get a better look inside. To her delight, she was given the chance to check out the building.

The seller, according to Cabug, warned her not to get her hopes up, the building then seemingly dilapidated with its windows boarded up.

In March 1997, Gum’s Mall of Antiques and Collectibles opened.

According to Cabug, the building was designed and built by a Disney Imagineer to educate people about the rainforest, complete with flora, nature landscapes, waterfalls, animals and a rain machine. Cabug told the seller that she would keep all of what he built and work the vision for her store around it.

“It just blows your mind,” Cabug said.

Cabug said that she wanted the store to be more of an experience for guests unlike big-box retailers, keeping the animals and nature landscapes.

“I want [customers] to appreciate the history of the items and just enjoy the day out and not necessarily buy,” Cabug said. “Of course, I would love sales, but like I say, things do sell themselves.”

With over 75 vendors, Gum’s Mall of Antiques and Collectibles contains an eclectic and nostalgic collection of goods as well as a black cat named Luna, a cockatoo named Lancelot and plenty of turtles.

Cabug said she wants each customer who walks into her store to feel a sense of awe, hoping the ambiance of the building transports her customers into a kind of “wonderland.”

Cabug sees her operation as a way to cherish history, but along with that, Cabug explained that shopping at her business also promoted sustainability and supports the entrepreneurial

PETER VILLAFANE | Daily Forty-Niner

Vendor spaces, top, are packed with a wide variety of antiques. The entrance to Gum's Antique Mall in Long Beach has a container of hand sanitizer and a sign displaying the store's Instagram handle.

spirit of the vendors.

And if there is one thing Cabug’s former career with an airline taught her, it’s customer service.

“I really really want people to know that when they come in here they feel like, ‘Hey, it’s a family,’ even though they’re shopping,” Cabug said. “I try to remember every customer’s name.”

Instead of trying to “push items on customers” Cabug encourages her customers to explore and have fun. Cabug also shared that they are working to add a coffee shop later this year, which she hopes will allow her customers another way to sit back and relax.

“We want customers to feel that warm welcome like the oldfashioned brick and mortar, mom and pop shops,” Cabug said, acknowledging the importance of community.

According to Cabug, the reality of handling her store amid the coronavirus pandemic was “stressful at first,” but emphasized that was no longer the case since her team decided it was best to look forward and not stress over things they could not control.

Cabug also said that if her customers feel comfortable coming in, then she feels comfortable serving them. Gum’s Mall of Antiques and Collectibles also has an Instagram, which helps customers get a feel of the store and what treasures they can find before arriving.

Still, Cabug reminds customers to be safe and consider safety precautions. The building itself is large, allowing customers to stroll around with enough space between them.

One positive outcome since the coronavirus pandemic has been that Cabug’s son and grandchildren are able to help her with store operations.

“One thing that I experienced the most working in the store is that something that might not seem valuable to others can be so valuable to someone else,” Conan Cabug, Cabug’s son, said.

He also shared that he can now fully appreciate the meaningfulness of the items and customers because of his first-hand experience working alongside them.

And through all of this, Cabug looks ahead.

“I love what I do,” Cabug said.

“I want to keep going for another 24 years.”

10 OPINIONS

MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | OPINIONS@DAILY49ER.COM

Stand with Myanmar as its citizens demand democracy A CSULB student shares their experience of violence unfolding in their home country.

By Daily Forty-Niner Contributor

“G

ood morning. This might be my last day alive.

Just know that I love you so much. Please never forget that.”

This was one Myanmar citizen’s last text message to her parents before she was shot in the head and killed.

While other countries are getting shots of coronavirus vaccinations to tackle the global pandemic, the citizens of Myanmar are getting shot by live ammunition. I am a Long Beach State student currently living in Myanmar, and this is my message to the CSULB family about my experience.

Protests in Myanmar started as soon as the military conducted a coup. However, it formally didn’t have a name until the doctors and teachers refused to work for as long as the military held power. As a result, the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) was formed.

Almost every single day since February 28, I wake up to gunshots. As I look across the street, I see people of different religions, gender and sexuality running while the Burmese military chases them with guns and tear gas. I hear screaming.

Every day, if you are out to protest, you will be bruised from running. You will fear for your life. You will run into random houses. Strangers will hide you as the police shoot bullets towards their windows and doors, trying to arrest both the house owner and the hiding protestors.

Myanmar has become a place where a home cannot even be safe anymore. A law was passed enabling the police force to enter homes and arrest people without any warrants.

Many households brought in protestors and fed them, as well as provided them clean clothes as they hid from the military. In retaliation, the military announced with a loudspeaker that they would go into every household in that township and request housing documentation with the amount of people living in the home.

If they lie or forge documents, they will be subjected to at least seven years of prison. As a result, several protestors left the houses to surrender to the police. I do not know what has happened to the “prisoners” unlawfully detained.

Feeling distressed, I scrolled through my friends’ text messages and stories that they posted on their social media.

It was another day with accounts of rape, brutal beatings and killing of innocent citizens and bystanders. The people who were released from jail told their stories. Both females and males had been raped. They have been scarred for life.

Many of these people are teenagers, ages ranging from 13 to 25. On the TV, the only news channel available was from the military. They use the station to spread their propaganda by stating that the citizens are killing each other and our movement for democracy has incited violence

Illustration by MADALYN AMATO | Daily Forty-Niner and “the perpetrators will suffer the loss of life.” Sadly, this has been turned into a day of chaotic normalcy in Myanmar.

In the last few days, National League of Democracy officials were detained.

However, likely due to racism, only Muslim leaders were tortured and killed. One NLD Muslim leader was arrested and then returned to the family the next day dead.

In a photo I saw, he had stitches from his neck to crotch, a sight painful to see.

On March 3, I suffered a day full of heartache and panic attacks. That afternoon, my best friend frantically texted me about her situation. Her family has been hiding a group of protestors who were trying to escape from the military.

The military started shooting at the windows, and she made me promise that I would spread information on what is happening. She made me promise to say what township this has occurred.

The sad part is that she is not alone. It is happening everywhere. It is happening below my neighborhood. It is happening in other cities with many casualties. With a heavy heart, I told her to stay safe and only text me when the police had left the neighborhood. Her family was safe, but her cousin, a 14 year old, was shot in the arm and in the thigh. He is now in an operation room.

The evening was worse. The military started using machine guns in one township. Seeing videos of the citizens on the ground in a pool of blood unable to get up even to run has traumatized me. The casualty that day was over 50 deaths with hundreds more injured.

On March 6, the military burned barricades that the citizens set up to delay military responses and the military arrested over 700 people in just one day in my city, Yangon. I do not know the position of other rural areas where internet access

may be limited.

The military revoked the licenses of all journalists and journal sites that support the NLD, as well as the Civil Disobedience Movement, a strike from all civilians where they do not go to work for as long as the military or the Tatmadaw holds the power.

Several of the news media sites did not care that their licenses were revoked and as a result, all their offices were raided with equipment confiscated or destroyed.

Today, the military has been seen raiding ATMs and banks.

On the week of March 7, the military changed their tactics from live ammunition to detainment and torture. All throughout the week, pictures of dead men, women and students popped up on my social media.

I saw pictures of bruises of the beatings with batons. I saw people mutilated, or mutilated and stitched back up. I saw people with skin peeled off. One political figure was returned to their family, dead.

His face seemed to have been burned by chemicals, teeth extracted, and his body was stitched. And still, I saw videos of the police shooting at houses at night.

On March 10, over 700 people were detained just in Yangon. And on that night, the military-supporting news channel announced that the military has been “patient” with the civilians who they claimed had been violent, despite only bringing shields to the protest for their own protection, and that the military was making sure that “no casualties” had been made. But, they will not be patient any longer.

They said that starting on March 11, they will utilize full force on the protestors of Myanmar. Personally, I believe this was a call to war. I know for a fact that all protests were not violent. The military has been shooting the protestors. There is no

way it is unfolding how the news channel suggested since, in Myanmar, no civilians have the right to hold guns.

I sincerely hope that the military ceases the use of excessive force and torture towards its citizens.

In desperation, I call onto the international population to help Myanmar citizens fight for their freedom. Having attended multiple protests, I have personally seen the generosity of civilians towards one another.

I have seen pregnant women, fearlessly marching through the streets. I have seen young teenagers, donating food and water to other protestors. I have seen street vendors living in poverty yet donating all their food towards protestors.

I am in agony, seeing that the military and the police have the audacity to kill and abuse these people.

I must keep myself anonymous for the sake of my family, but I need your help. I cannot bear to see other citizens in poverty as the coup progresses.

I still believe that Myanmar’s freedom is in our grasp. I still believe that I can make a difference, whether it be as a keyboard warrior or a person out in the streets protesting. I believe that justice will prevail. I believe my generation will be the last generation to experience this tragedy.

I may get arrested for speaking out like this if the military knocks on my door at night and takes me away, but I will not be silenced. Our country needs the global population to walk with Myanmar in this movement towards democracy.

If it’s possible, please keep up to date with the crisis. Please speak out. Please donate to organizations like Mutual Aid Myanmar or Start Some Good. Please do what is in your power to help Myanmar be a free country again.

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OPINIONS 13

MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | OPINIONS@DAILY49ER.COM

Insulin is a right, not a luxury A simple clear liquid holds the key to keeping me alive, but is utterly unattainable for many.

MADALYN AMATO | Daily Forty-Niner

A vial of ​Eli Lilly insulin.

By Madalyn Amato Editor in chief

F

or me, it always starts out with dry lips. Then my throat begins to burn with thirst, and my eyes become blurred and dry.

The fatigue hits me like an absolute freight train and, after 15 long years of being type 1 diabetic, I realize very quickly: my blood sugar is high.

I have the privilege of being able to dose myself with insulin and know that I will have enough insulin to last me for the next time I need it, and the time after that.

Most type 1 diabetics don’t enjoy that luxury, however. They can’t enjoy that luxury because the American health care system has failed every single person in this country, but especially those who are dependent on medications to keep them alive.

If I were to not address my high blood sugar the moment I feel the skin on my lips tightening and the yearning call of thirst begging for a sip of water, I’d begin to feel the devastating pain of Diabetic Ketoacidosis.

Diabetic Ketoacidosis can set in within three hours or less of not receiving insulin.

Without the ability to process fats properly, the liver begins to produce a replacement called ketones to keep major organs functioning, which then causes the blood to become acidic and highly toxic.

For trendy people on TikTok, a keto diet is a fun way to lose weight. Bell peppers and a pound of cream cheese with a sprinkle of Everything But The Bagel Seasoning absolutely seems like a totally normal lunch. Ketones in the urine are a sign to those living the keto lifestyle that they are burning fat.

In a diabetic, ketones in the urine are the first nail in the coffin.

If immediate medical attention is not received, the body then begins to slowly but surely shut down. Although timelines vary between sources, Medline Plus maintains that without insulin, the inevitable result is death.

In 2018, the American Diabetes Foundation found that the average cost of insulin had increased from 15% to 17%

between 2012 to 2016. The price of insulin per unit rose from $0.23 to $0.34 during that period, meaning each vial costs roughly $230 to $340. One vial will last a type 1 diabetic on average two weeks, meaning the monthly average cost for diabetics to maintain an adequate insulin supplies can range from $460 to $680. For a full year insulin can cost up to $8,160.

Despite the fact that the insulin that I use today is the same insulin that was created in 1921, its price continues to increase exponentially, tasking many with making life-or-death decisions they shouldn’t have to face because of an auto-immune disorder.

Growing up I was constantly plagued with taunts of being “fat” and “infected,” oftentimes my diet being blamed for my development of type 1 diabetes. By definition, type 1 diabetes is caused by the immune system attacking the insulin-producing beta cells in your pancreas, rendering you unable to produce the hormone

“

35 cents per unit, or about $350 per vial.

In total, there are three types of insulin: short and intermediate acting, rapid acting and long acting. Depending on delivery method, a type 1 diabetic on average can use anywhere between one of these formulations to all three.

I currently use an insulin pump that delivers the medication to me 24/7, much like a pancreas delivers small doses in a functioning body. Whenever I consume carbohydrates or my blood sugar is high, using the insulin pump I dose a set amount based upon a sliding scale designed to mimic what my body would naturally do.

Some days I take 50 units of insulin, other days I take over 100.

The cost of my current insulin pump is a whole other story that I won’t get into now, however, it should be noted that the equipment, which helps make living with this disease more palatable, can cost anywhere between $5,000 to $10,000 on average.

I have the privilege of being able to dose myself with insulin and know that I will have enough insulin to last me for the next time I need it, and the time after that.”

yourself. This leads to the body entering a stage of deterioration.

Before the creation of artificial insulin, type 1 diabetes was a death sentence, and those who were diagnosed, often children and young adults, were left to waste away and die in hospital beds. Diabetic Ketoacidosis would set in, and patients would become extremely malnourished. Their bodies would eat away at fat stored within muscles and organs before their brains and hearts would shut down.

Although there is now artificial insulin to save type 1 diabetics from this terrible fate, the erroneous cost of the drug has forced many to face the same horrors that patients faced a century ago.

In 2019, GoodRx estimated that all 23 brands of insulin had the average cost of

Without an insulin pump, type 1 diabetics must use a long-acting form of insulin, a formula that is slowly absorbed into the body, to mimic the small dosing that comes along with the pump. That means that there are then two insulin costs patients must cover, doubling the price to simply survive.

This crisis is not a new topic and has been written about for years, and yet, nothing has changed. Is the answer to the problem as simple as challenging the government to do better? Maybe not.

Three companies own 90% of the world’s insulin supply. ​Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi have monopolized a life-saving medication. Each company separately owns the patents for their “formulas,” despite them being virtually identical.

This means they are able to set their own prices and, without government accountability, those prices continue to rise.

Insulin, like most medications, can only be attained with a prescription from a doctor. And for those who don’t have access to adequate health insurance, the lack of accessibility and high prices can be deadly.

Advents like the Affordable Care Act allowed thousands of diabetics to get the coverage they needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle for the first time in their lives. I am currently insured with CalOptima and couldn’t be more grateful.

Most diabetics ration their insulin so they don’t go long periods without it.

I was just 8 years old when I was diagnosed and have rationed my insulin in fear of running out. I’ve skipped meals to conserve insulin, and I’ve been flat out denied insulin at the pharmacy.

Prolonged periods of an absence of insulin can lead to excessive episodes of Diabetic Ketoacidosis, which can lead to kidney failure, blindness and permanent nerve damage—often resulting in limb amputation.

So, I guess the upside is that I won’t necessarily die immediately, but rather a slow and painful death.

The American Journal of Managed Care found that, in 2019, one in four type 1 diabetics had rationed their insulin within the past 12 months.

Insulin, just like oxygen or water, is absolutely required for any human being to live, some just need it from a vial.

It is absolutely disgraceful that, in a country that prides itself on being the best in the world, there are people choosing between keeping a roof over their heads, food on their tables or a pulse in their heart.

The pharmaceutical companies that produce insulin have blood on their hands, the American government has blood on their hands and every politician who has not advocated for equal access to health care has blood on their hands.

The knowledge that if at any point in time I run out of insulin my body will begin to effectively eat itself is one of the most terrifying pieces of information to ever be logged in my brain, and I would never wish this fact of my life on my worst enemy.

I deserve to be healthy. I deserve to live. I deserve better.

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SPORTS 15

Jason Smith: on track for success The senior track and field star holds multiple records at Long Beach State and has his sights set on a much larger playing field.

By Pristine Tompkin Staff Writer

J

ust before Jason Smith takes to the Jack Rose Track, he looks down on his wrists to remind him why he competes. Written on athletic tape are the names of those who keep him motivated.

His left wrist has his mom, Lynncia, grandma, Elsie, and a close family friend's grandma, Audrey.

On his right wrist, he has his two grandpas, Louis and Delester, and his two uncles, Eddie and Dennis.

"Before every meet, I take time to myself to wrap my wrists, reflect on all the blessings that I have been given and the opportunities I have been given to compete for this university," Smith said.

The senior track and field star has played all four years of his collegiate career at Long Beach State, specializing in long jump and high jump. Smith is also majoring in kinesiology with an emphasis in sports psychology.

While many track and field athletes begin training at a young age, it took some convincing to switch Smith from playing baseball and basketball and give the sport a chance.

“Growing up I was a baseball kid, actually,” Smith said. “The track coaches at my high school were always hounding me to come out because they would see me on the basketball court and say, 'You’re fast, you’re athletic, have you considered coming out for track?'”

After quitting baseball, Smith began to run track during his junior year of high school, which would lead him down a more promising path in athletics. By his senior year, Smith was qualifying for state and setting school records.

He continued to make his mark starting his first year at CSULB. In fact, Smith won Big West Freshman of the Year in 2017.

Head coach Andy Sythe spoke highly of Smith and his accomplishments while on the track team at the Beach.

“He is the prototypical kid that we develop here,” Sythe said.

“Comes in with some good marks, but didn’t get highly looked at.

And then we bring them up to the level where they are amongst the best in the nation.”

Smith has the accolades to back up the high praise. The senior is a three-time All-American and the first two-time National Collegiate

Image courtesy of Jason Smith

Jason Smith holds the school record indoor long jump.

Athletic Association qualifier in CSULB's program history.

He is just as impressive in the classroom as on the track. If Smith qualifies for Nationals with his current grades, he will be eligible to be on the All-Academic team for track and field.

He currently holds the university record for the indoor long jump with a mark of 25-10' and .25" and is in the Long Beach State Top 10 for indoor high jump, indoor triple jump and the long jump.

Smith’s emphasis in sports psychology plays a valuable role in the way he prepares for competition, he said.

“I know a lot of mental skills that help control all these emotions that athletes go through in the competing environment,” he said.

For Smith, athletes like Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods are role models for mental toughness and resilience, not just in their sport, but in life as well.

When he’s not competing or practicing, Smith said he likes to decompress by playing Call of Duty and NBA 2K, or simply relaxing by hanging out with friends and family.

Sythe emphasized the importance that Smith’s family has

played in his success, as they are his biggest support system. He is used to seeing the Smith crew in the stands, but with COVID-19 prohibiting fan attendance at collegiate sports, Smith has had to rely on himself and his teammates for that extra push.

“Jason is my biggest supporter,” Smith’s teammate and best friend Kent Harris said. “As far as my teammates go, he has consistently had my back and not only my back, but has the back of all his teammates.”

Although track is a solo sport, Smith doesn’t play it that way. He is the model teammate and makes

his fellow athletes feel like part of something larger than their individual performances.

“The minute one of us does well, he wants to celebrate with us,” Harris said. “He’s able to look at sports very objectively.”

Smith’s track and field goals go far beyond the collegiate level.

This year he hopes to make the Olympic trials and hopefully the U.S. Olympic team, though if he doesn’t, he has another chance to make the El Salvador team since he has dual citizenship.

Smith’s next competition will be at the Jim Bush Legends Invitational on March 24 at UCLA.

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