Daily Forty-Niner; April 26, 2021

weekly digital print edition

DAILY FORTY-NINER EST p 1949

Vol. LXXII, Issue 29

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Monday, April 26, 2021

Capturing inclusivity Inside the

Niner

pg 5

NEWS If FDA approves, vaccines mandated this fall pg 2

ARTS & LIFE Parade goes virtual

pg 6

2 NEWS

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CSU, UC may require vaccines for fall

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Campus-goers may need to provide proof of vaccination, pending FDA approval.

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By Iman Palm and Julia Terbeche News Desk

T

he California State University and University of California systems have announced plans to require students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated in order to return to in-person instruction for the fall 2021 semester.

This requirement is dependent on full approval of the COVID-19 vaccines by the Food and Drug Administration as they only have emergency use authorization at this time.

Long Beach State President Jane Close Conoley confirmed this information in a campus-wide email Thursday, maintaining that all campus-goers this fall must show proof of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine “as a condition for participating in on-campus instruction and/or co-curricular activities or accessing campus facilities.”

“Earlier today, the California State University and the University of California announced our joint intent to require students, faculty and staff to possess proof of a COVID-19 vaccination,” Conoley said in the email.

“I believe that this is an important part of safely resuming a full university life back on campus and our progression toward the next normal.”

According to Conoley, this decision “came together very quickly” from consultation with UC and CSU leaders, and it’s something she is happy about

from a public health standpoint.

“I think getting vaccinated is our best path forward to get back together on campus,” Conoley said.

While she expects concerns to be raised “because people don’t like mandates,” she emphasized that she trusts the vaccines as well as CSULB’s medical staff and that there will be accommodations for those with any medical or religious concerns.

The fall semester will still include a mask requirement and social distancing regulations “at least as we begin,” she said.

CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro said Thursday that this potential requirement “is the most comprehensive and consequential university plan for COVID-19 vaccines in the country.”

Both the CSU and UC systems have been hesitant to move forward with requiring vaccinations for students, faculty and staff due to legal concerns, something Castro discussed in February at a virtual student press conference.

CSULB’s Housing and Residential Life announced earlier this month that any students looking to live on campus this fall must show proof of vaccination to reside in the dorms. This enforcement was given the green light by the CSU Chancellor’s Office last month, according to Executive Director of Housing and Residential Life Corry Colonna, since living in the residence halls is a “choice for students” and doesn’t infringe on any legal issues.

Looking ahead to the fall, Conoley understands that the mandate has yet to be finalized but hopes it can help in returning to a sense of normalcy.

“I am very relieved. I’ve missed campus life,” she said. “I think many of our students will be delighted to see each other again.”

News Assistant Fernando Haro Opinions Assistant Bella Arnold Special Projects Assistant Giselle Alexandra Ormeño Photo Assistant Richard Grant Social Media Assistants Desiree Aguilera 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

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NEWS 3

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Students of Color Conference promotes togetherness in fight for social justice Friday’s event hosted by ASI features workshops and keynote speakers Angela Davis and Mikki Kendall.

By Nicholas James Staff Writer

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ong Beach State’s Associated Students, Inc. hosted the second annual Students of Color Conference Friday, encouraging students from historically marginalized communities to embrace their identities and become agents of change in society.

This year’s theme, titled “Still We Rise: Reclaiming Our Power,” focused on “fostering an understanding of historical context, solidarity and communitybuilding,” according to the flyer, and featured guest speakers and interactive workshops. The free event was open to CSULB students only.

Workshops included a focus on racial capitalism as well as maintaining mental health for communities of color. The conference also included spoken word poetry and a Q&A with Angela Davis, political activist, scholar and founder of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism.

Davis is well-known for her connection to the 1970 trial of the Soledad Brothers, three Black inmates of Soledad Prison who had been charged with killing a white prison guard. Guns registered to Davis were used in a takeover of the courtroom by the brother of inmate George Jackson, Jonathan, that left four dead. Davis fled after being charged with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy and became listed as one the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted.

She was acquitted of all charges in 1972 after being incarcerated for over a year.

During the Q&A, Davis recalled her first experience with the FBI in 1950, when some of her family’s friends were being followed for being part of the Communist

The quest for guest tickets Some graduating seniors plan to purchase commencement tickets from their peers.

Party. Even the children were followed, Davis said.

“I got to witness the impact of state repression,” Davis said. “I got to learn

how to deal with the FBI when I was six years old being told, never talk to the FBI, don’t talk to the FBI. If they ask you a question, don’t answer.”

By Iman Palm Assistant News Editor

“Honestly, what students are doing is genius. I didn’t even think of it until I had seen the post, and now there are multiple posts a day of students trying to buy tickets,” Thind said.

Thind, who is planning to attend commencement, has considered buying extra tickets as well.

“It is nice that they are allowing more than one guest like they originally had, but two guests is still nothing,” Thind said. “I have a family of four, and having to pick who I want to come is incredibly frustrating.”

The university is planning to give graduating students two free tickets in midMay for guests, however, some students have voiced their desire to have additional guests, including on a private Facebook group for CSULB students, that they are willing to spend up to $100 for an extra ticket.

Ian Li, a fourth-year studio art major who will be attending the ceremony, feels it’s disheartening that students have to buy extra tickets from their peers to accommo-

S

ome graduating students from the classes of 2020 and 2021 have begun looking into purchasing extra tickets for commencement through social media, even though Long Beach State officials have yet to release any tickets for the ceremonies.

After the Commencement Office announced earlier this month that students participating in this year’s ceremonies will only be able to receive two guest tickets, some students have turned to social media in hopes of acquiring more tickets for family and friends.

Simran Thind, a fourth-year criminal justice major, has seen posts on social media about students selling or buying extra commencement tickets and supports their efforts in trying to accommodate more guests.

In her youth, Davis said, she felt inspired by activist communities to fight for social justice and has faith that today’s youth will enact change.

“I never saw myself as a single individual,” Davis said. “I think my own way of imagining myself in this world is to recognize the importance of community, just as I was inspired when I was young by the activist communities then. I remain inspired by activist communities, generations of activist communities, and right now I can say that I am most inspired by all the young people who are doing all of this incredible stuff.”

Another speaker, Mikki Kendall, discussed the importance of listening to one another to help restore peace in society.

Kendall, author of “Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight for Their Rights” and “Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot,” feels that “building takes listening, and not everyone’s needs are going to be the same as the ones you have.”

“Sharing is not just caring; sharing is literally how we survive,” Kendall said.

“None of us can float around on this island of humanity and not need to reach out to help others, and in a token, we should be reaching out to help others as we go.”

A United States Army veteran, Kendall said that American history classes often neglect to teach the full history, something she feels only is sometimes addressed in higher-level education.

“We are repeating the mistakes because we don’t know the history,” she said. “And we are not teaching it in any functional way, K-12, in America. You really learn history if you go to the right college and you take the right classes. And you can have these really in-depth discussions about history with these people where they will argue endlessly because the history they learned was wrong.”

date everyone who wants to attend their graduation.

“It’s pretty sad and depressing that we’d have to result to this, having to buy tickets from other students who won’t be attending,” Li said. “The school should at least do something about this, where if a student requests more tickets, [the university] uses the tickets that aren’t being used for these students who are in need.”

Li has also considered buying extra tickets from other graduating students for his ceremony so his mom, sister and girlfriend can all attend.

Despite these concerns, university officials have stated they won’t be encouraging any attempts to buy or sell tickets.

“We are not aware of how the selling or transfer of admission tickets would occur since a method for electronic ticket delivery has not yet been finalized,” Jeff Cook, associate vice president of strategic communications, said in an email. “Regardless, we would not condone attempts at buying or selling admission tickets.”

4 NEWS

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JULIA TERBECHE | Daily Forty-Niner

Thousands march throughout Downtown LA in a protest led by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles on Monday, June 8, 2020.

Derek Chauvin charged with murder of George Floyd The former police officer was found guilty Tuesday on all three charges in the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

By Nicholas James Staff Writer

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fter a six-week trial, former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of murdering George Floyd, being found guilty on all three charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Chauvin’s sentencing will take place in eight weeks, and he faces a minimum of 40 years without parole. His bail has also been revoked.

The three other officers involved in Floyd’s death, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, will be tried in August for aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

On May 25, 2020, Floyd was arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill.

During the arrest, Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes. As Chauvin knelt on his neck and back, Floyd stated that he could not breathe more than 20 times, according to prosecution and live video footage.

During the trial, witnesses described the incident with fear and anger, including Darnella Frazier, the then 17-year-old who filmed Floyd’s death with her phone.

“I stayed up apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life,” Frazier said.

Chauvin was arrested on May 29, 2020, and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison would later add a second-degree unintentional murder charge against Chauvin.

Deliberations by the 12 jurors took place on April 19, one day before the ver-

Derek Chauvin mugshot. dict was reached. Both the prosecution and defense went back and forth with 38 witnesses, including defense witness Dr. David Fowler, Maryland’s former chief medical examiner, who testified that carbon monoxide from auto exhaust possibly contributed to Floyd’s death.

The defense also claimed that Chauvin’s use of force was necessary to restrain Floyd, according to defense lawyer Eric Nelson, who felt that Chauvin did “exactly what he had been trained to do over the course of his 19-year career.”

Debunking the carbon monoxide theory, pulmonologist Dr. Martin J. Tobin testified that these findings were “simply wrong” and that Floyd died from a low level of oxygen caused by Chauvin’s knee on his neck and back and from being handcuffed.

The trial has made history as Chauvin is Minnesota’s first white police officer to be

charged in the death of a Black individual.

Since 2005, only seven officers have been convicted of murder in police shootings of the 139 that have gone to trial, and 37 have been convicted of manslaughter or lesser charges.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represented Floyd’s family, stated in a tweet that the verdict “is a gateway toward justice for Black people like Daunte Wright who should NEVER have been taken from their families” and shows that police officers can be held accountable for their actions.

In response to the verdict, Long Beach State President Jane Close Conoley stated in a tweet and a campus-wide email that the university remains “committed to fighting racism and hate” and “will continue leveraging our strengths and history as we work for social justice, equity and the public good.”

“I continue urging members of the Beach family to find ways to ensure that peace and justice prevail in our communities,” Conoley wrote. “We are in the midst of a national reckoning on racial justice and police reform. Within the past week, we have learned of two additional killings of Black men by police, reminding us that the Chauvin verdict is only a first step to address a much larger problem. At every level – local, state, and national – we must come together to ensure the dignity and safety of all.”

President Joe Biden said in a speech Tuesday that, for Floyd’s family, “nothing can ever bring their brother, their father back. But this can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America.”

“In order to deliver real change and reform, we can and we must do more to reduce the likelihood that tragedies like this will ever happen and occur again,” Biden said. “To ensure that Black and Brown people or anyone — so they don’t fear the interactions with law enforcement, that they don’t have to wake up knowing that they can lose their very life in the course of just living their life.”

Former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, stated in a tweet that while “a jury in Minneapolis did the right thing,” achieving “true justice is about much more than a single verdict in a single trial.”

“True justice requires that we come to terms with the fact that Black Americans are treated differently, every day,” the statement read. “It requires us to recognize that millions of our friends, family and fellow citizens live in fear that their next encounter with law enforcement could be their last. And it requires us to do some thankless, often difficult, but always necessary work of making the America we know more like the America we believe in.”

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ARTS & LIFE 5

Relics shoots for change Owner Drake Woodson is using his vintage camera store in Long Beach to show that the field of photography can be accessible to anyone.

By Jorge Villa Staff Writer

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Photos by JORGE VILLA | Daily Forty-Niner

Drake Woodson, 32, is the owner of Relics vintage camera store located on Retro Row. Relics sells a plethora of photography-related items including film stock, books and cameras.

Relics vintage camera store sources all its cameras from a variety of online marketplaces, which, after a thorough quality check, are stored behind a trophy-like glass case.

ucked in between local businesses along Retro Row sits an unassuming vintage camera store, but once inside, owner Drake Woodson is working to show it’s anything but.

Woodson is trying to change the landscape of photography by using his store, Relics, as a foundation for creating an environment that embraces diversity because, while Relics is the first Black-owned vintage camera storefront in Long Beach, Woodson and his shop are more than that.

“Relics is bigger than me and it’s so much more than that,” Woodson said. “It’s more diverse, versus just the man behind Relics. It’s easy for people to put you into what they want, and to see you as a bucket—there’s a Black guy, opening a camera shop, Black-owned camera shop, so it’s good for optics, but it’s very base level.”

Since opening Relics, Woodson has expressed that he feels welcomed by the Long Beach community, but that’s not always the case for Black-owned businesses.

Woodson recognizes the support comes from the trendiness of vintage cameras, but also because he is a Black business owner, Woodson said, which is why he uses his platform to address institutional racism. “[This is] so much more than just being Black this, Black that, you know, it’s a movement, it’s a community for photography of getting representation in a field that’s been historically white,” Woodson said.

Woodson received his first camera, a Minolta SLR, from his father when he was eight years old and had been collecting cameras ever since.

“I would always just kind of collect cameras, always just getting cameras for birthday gifts, holidays, cutting grass, things like that to get money and then buy more cameras,” Woodson said. “So many people are collecting other toys, you know, action figures and playing cards but for me it was cameras.”

Woodson’s hobby for collecting cameras and capturing images also came with the harsh reality that people would treat him differently for being Black.

“Walking around, taking pictures in certain neighborhoods, people will make me feel like you don’t belong there, like ‘Why are you shooting there, what are you doing, what are you up to?’” Woodson said.

Eventually, Woodson decided to take his experiences and focus on creating a space for other creatives to feel inspired.

“Going into camera shops, I felt super uncomfortable, the moment you walk in and then not feeling comfortable enough to ask questions and talk to the people in the shop,” Woodson said. “I want to make long term experience with my shop and make people feel comfortable, which was the opposite of what I went through, and also the opposite experience of what my dad went through.”

Woodson also plans on exhibiting artists’ works and hire more employees for different positions as soon as they find their footing.

“I want to be the Johnny Appleseed of film photography for underrepresented groups, with the motto for Relics, ‘cameras for the people,’” Woodson said.

Relics is open Wednesday through Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. The store is located at 2106 E. Fourth Street in Long Beach.

6 ARTS & LIFE

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Photo courtesy of Cambodia Town Inc.

Participants of the Cambodia Town Parade and Culture Festival in 2017.

Gathering in spirit: Cambodia Town’s 13th festival The once in-person parade and culture festival returns virtually, coming after the first virtual festival, which demanded time, determination and creativity.

By Matthew Brown Staff Writer

F

rom prayers to new year wishes to traditional songs and dance, the 13th annual Cambodia Town Parade and Culture Festival celebrated Cambodian heritage in familiar ways—all except for being in person.

Dozens of people logged onto YouTube on April 24 to watch the festival for the second year in a row due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cambodia Town Inc., a nonprofit, hosted the showcase, featuring performances from people in Long Beach and Cambodia, as well as leaders from CTI to the city of Long Beach including Mayor Robert Garcia.

This year’s theme is diversity in the Cambodian community, according to Richer San, who is on the board of directors at CTI. His wife, Sithea San, is also on the board as a chairwoman.

According to Richer, a lot of the productions put on this year will focus on minority groups in Cambodia. One such group is the Cham people, who are an ethnolinguistic group in Cambodia and Vietnam, many of them practicing Islam.

“The Cham people are an important group in Cambodian culture, but you don’t hear from them often,” he said. “We are able to show how beautiful their culture is, and how beautiful all of Cambodia’s culture is.”

CTI is also working hard now to promote their culture in light of recent hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

“The attacks against Asian Americans are unjustified and this is something we need to work together as a country to fix,” Richer said. “For us, we want to share our culture and educate the general community on who we are. This is our home too, we are Americans and have contributed to our society just like everyone else.”

CTI had set up a GoFundMe for the event and has received a few sponsorships this year to help hold a second virtual parade. The organizers plan on using the money raised from the GoFundMe to buy more materials to make Sampots, a traditional Cambodian clothing, as well as other Cambodian clothes and decorations.

Funds are also sent to CTI’s team in Cambodia who are filming productions for the upcoming virtual festival, as well as help people in need.

Ever since 2005, CTI has hosted the Cambodia Town Parade and Cultural Festival and has put on a festival annually since 2008. Its initial goal was to share their culture and have their district officially designated as Cambodia Town, which happened in 2007.

“We started the parade to really bring people in to promote Cambodian culture to Long Beach and the world because most people don’t know what Cambodian culture is,” Pasin Chanou, the chairman of CTI at the time and current treasurer, said. “We wanted to show that we have a long history, and now we are part of the community and are here to contribute.”

Floats would travel through Long Beach, celebrating Cambodian culture.

Dancers performed along side the floats and Cambodian musical and theatrical productions were put on.

The 2020 parade was set for April 4, three weeks after the country went into

lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event was put on hold, and CTI was left wondering what to do.

“We postponed the event initially for a month instead of canceling it because we thought things would get back to normal after a couple of weeks,” Sithea said.

“We didn’t have a backup plan because we didn’t think we would need one. We were 99% ready to have the festival, but no one could have predicted how long this would go on for.”

As weeks turned to months, CTI was scrambling to figure out a way to have a festival. The festival was usually funded by sponsorships and donations from local businesses in years past, but with the coronavirus pandemic, many sponsors pulled out. Sithea and her husband began discussing going virtual for 2020.

“Just like a lot of people, we did not know how to do virtual, so we talked to some companies who could help us do that, but we did not realize how expensive it would be,” Richer said. “These companies were charging anywhere from $200 to $300. We didn’t have that kind of money, and we were running out of options.”

With no other options, CTI was ready to make the hard decision and cancel the festival to hopefully return in 2021. That is when Sithea said God intervened and sent her a “miracle” in the form of Robert Collins, a videographer.

Collins is a Long Beach native who married a Cambodian woman and fell in love with the culture. He attended the festival in years past and had even volunteered to help out a couple of times. He came to CTI and offered his videography skills for free.

“Robert saved the festival last year,” Chanou said. “If we were to have selected

another videographer, putting the festival together would have been much more difficult, and probably wouldn’t have happened at all. With Robert, he already understood our culture and what we wanted to do, which made it a lot easier.”

From July to September, CTI recorded a total of 40 productions. According to Sithea, the team put in over 150 hours of work to get everything put together with a new goal date of Sept. 27. The work was stressful, and the team did not know if the hard work would pay off.

“I couldn’t sleep those couple of months because of all the stress and anxiety I felt,” Sithea said. “We didn’t know if this would work at all. That is the point I guess, because expressing your culture is not simple, because it is an entire culture.”

As the date got closer everything seemed to be coming together. A week before the festival however, CTI experienced a huge loss. One of its original members, Pasin Chanou’s sister, Rosana, passed away.

“It was a major loss for us,” Richer said.

“Without her, CTI wouldn’t be what it is today, and Cambodia Town might have never been recognized. We dedicated our first virtual parade and festival entirely in her name.”

Even with the devastating loss, CTI still prepared for its September date. The team uploaded the video to YouTube and set it to premiere at 6 p.m., where everyone in the United States could eat dinner and watch, and everyone in Cambodia could eat breakfast and watch.

“We were so nervous, even throughout the entire day, but it turned out way better than I expected,” Sithea said. “The work everyone had put in showed off in a big way and everyone who watched told me they loved it.”

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8 OPINIONS

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GISELLE PALOMERA | Daily Forty-Niner

As Long Beach reopens, a new normal emerges

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By Giselle Palomera Staff Writer

s a young adult, living in a nearly post-pandemic world, I had fears that the eventual return of society would be anything but friendly.

But as I strolled down Rosie’s Dog Beach walking path with my 16-year-old terrier mix, I was greeted by more people than ever before.

People seemed happier and more appreciative of the simple fact that we were all able to be in this social setting around each other.

Though I feared it would be full of serotonin-starved, socially anxious introverts, here we all were—saying hello, getting sun, eating fruit, supporting street vendors and walking our dogs.

To little surprise, there were plenty of people going about their day without a mask.

Pandemic over?

Whether these beach-goers were residents, tourists finding a new start or Long Beach State students taking a stroll down to the water, a Saturday at the beach seemed like the new normal.

Rosie’s was fully packed with many sights. Everything from people exercising in the new workout area of the Granada bike path and restroom stop, to people drinking on the beach in large groups under a canopy, to those tossing a football or playing a game of cornhole.

Long Beach residents and tourists also filled the streets of Naples and Belmont Shore, running errands, getting coffee at Peet’s, running in and out of Mac’s Liquor Store on Second asking for cold Hennessy bottles and walking on the sidewalk in groups where certain conversations went like this: “What is a michelada?”

“You don’t know what a michelada is?”

“A michelada is…”

I really hope they described it well because it is 2021, and we have survived the worst of a pandemic that made us all stay home where our primary contact to the world of knowledge was the Internet.

How do you not know what a michelada is?

Older residents quietly walked their dogs around the neighborhood, most with masks, often

just nodding, waving and occasionally just squinting their eyes behind their masks, hinting at a smile underneath.

Emotions seem mixed, with some residents taking no precautions whatsoever, to others who are essentially still walking around in full personal protective equipment.

According to the latest press release on the matter, Long Beach was allowed to move into the orange tier of reopening as of April 1.

Restaurants are now able to increase their indoor serving capacity from 25% to 50%, and bars can operate outdoors. Be prepared for longer wait lines for tables because of limited capacity.

When there are fewer new COVID-19 cases daily, Long Beach will move into the yellow tier.

This is when the risk of infection moves from being moderate to minimal, and businesses and establishments are allowed to fully reopen.

Since the orange tier has allowed a lot of restaurants in Long Beach to reopen, I decided to go to the Yardhouse in Shoreline Village.

I felt uncomfortable to be seated indoors, but thought it was a better alternative to eating outdoors during an evening in which wind gusts would make any hot plate cold in seconds.

There are still multiple signs around the restaurant that remind customers to keep their masks on until their food and drinks arrive, but many people in the surrounding tables had their masks off as soon as they were seated.

With customers so lax about the rules, you can see looming fear in servers’ faces, even over their masks and face shields.

One thing is for sure: if you plan to go out to eat, do not be afraid to over-tip the servers. The time for over-tipping is now.

As Long Beach moves into the next tier of reopening and more people become vaccinated, there will be a greater and more apparent new normal. I no longer believe that we will return to a pre-pandemic normal because many lives were lost and patterns of human behavior have been altered.

A new normal is starting to take place, where residents go back to their jobs and routines, but with a new pace and beat.

This pandemic has given some a greater appreciation for human life. In the United States, we have the privilege to be vaccinated and experience this new normal as other countries continue to being ravaged by the virus, its new variants and the World Health Organization’s bureaucratic process failing in the worldwide vaccination rollout.

MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | OPINIONS@DAILY49ER.COM

OPINIONS 9

Hit a home run with your diploma

By Joshua Villas Staff Writer

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he tradition of a 10hour loop of pomp and circumstance, hat-throwing and a waterfall of names being muffled out over a large crowd has a special place in my heart. I am glad that Long Beach State has announced that it will be holding in-person commencement services.

I was eligible to apply for graduation but had no idea if commencement was going to happen, so I did not apply. I decided to wait and finish my final semester, and hope that the ceremony would return to in-person learning in spring of 2022.

As a current “super” senior, who is older than many of my classmates, graduation feels long overdue. These past two Zoomesters have only prolonged this moment, and I am happy that the people that want the in-person commencement experience can have it.

Commencement for the 2020-21 school year will be held at Angel Stadium at the end of the current semester. The area is large enough, and hopefully things will go smoothly across all six of the separate stages.

Graduates will get to walk out onto the playing field, which I am kind of jealous of. I am also bummed that I will not be able to take a dorky picture of myself using my diploma as a bat like so many will probably do.

I was shocked when the university had first announced that graduates would only receive one guest ticket for commencement, but it was kind of funny to me. I could imagine how frustrating and awkward that was for students to bring up to their parents and loved ones.

The university and the venue later made the decision to offer two tickets per graduate, which I believed was a wise choice.

Remote learning has been hard for many students who were forced to stay home. Being in an in-person class surrounded by your peers and people in the same discipline is the true college experience. We have all been robbed of our beautiful campus and all of its amenities for the past two semesters, so now that vaccines are more

Tai’s Captures | Unsplash

readily available and the COVID-19 infection rates have gone down, in-person anything is a tangible win.

The drive-thru commencement ceremony that

the university had originally planned seems like a headache (traffic-wise) and bad for the environment with each fossil fuel-burning car sadly mulling around.

Hopefully in spring of 2022 I’ll get to walk across the stage, grab my diploma and shake the hand of some administrators I have never met. Or maybe we could do one of those awkward

elbow bumps instead of a handshake to be more sanitary.

Then I can finish it off by hitting a home run with my diploma.

10 SPORTS

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JULIA TERBECHE | Daily Forty-Niner

Student athlete families will receive first priority, while the remainder of tickets will be sold according to a tiered schedule.

Take me out to the ball game Fans are permitted to attend baseball and volleyball games in limited capacity.

By Samantha Diaz Sports Editor

L

ong Beach State student athletes have played their recent games to empty arenas. Beginning this weekend, restrictions have been lifted allowing fans to attend in-person games for the first time in over a year, the athletics department announced Monday.

The news was anticipated after the Dirtbags announced they would allow student athlete families to attend the series against Cal Poly April 10 and 11. About three dozen families scattered the stands over the weekend in Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.

“It’s nice to have people in the stands, we’ve been looking forward to having crowds back,” Dirtbags head coach Eric Valenzuela said postgame. “My family was here and for the [players] to have their family in the stands is special.”

The ease in restrictions follows the pro sports trend of filling arenas at limited capacity. Since Long Beach is in the orange tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, the school is permitted to have up to 33% of full capacity in its arenas, provided that there are individual pods separating each household by six feet.

According to Athletics Director Andy Fee, the 33% does not only include fans being permitted, but also accounts for the athletes, coaches and staff. The number of fans allowed will change with each venue and possibly for each game or series.

Families of the student athletes will be given first priority to all games, “which will take up all available seating for [the] majority of Long Beach State’s spring sports,” according to the announcement sent out by Assistant Athletics Director Roger Kirk.

Softball, women’s water polo, track and field and beach volleyball games will not be available for fans to attend, as each venue will be filled up by athlete’s family members. Women’s soccer will be hosting a “non-championship competition”

this spring, which will also only be available to family members.

Men’s volleyball has one remaining home game left while the Dirtbags have three home series remaining on their schedule. Tickets will be given each Long Beach State player “to allow one household of family members to attend games,” according to the announcement.

The remaining available seats will be sold online, according to a tiered schedule that gives priority to Beach Athletic Fund members who have donated to the program and have season tickets for either 2019 or 2020.

During weeks with a home series, beginning Thursday tickets will be sold to members who have donated $5,000 or more from 10 a.m. to noon, to members who have donated $1,000 or more from noon to 2 p.m. and to members of any donation level from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Season ticket-holders who are not Beach Athletics Fund members can purchase tickets each Thursday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and any remaining tickets will be sold to the general public on Fridays.

Games will be sold as a weekend series, not per individual game, for the remainder of the year. Seats will only be sold in “pods” of four, with no refunds for possible game cancelations or postponements.

Fans attending games must fill out the University Health Screen Questionnaire each day they attend a game and be able to show the information upon entry. Masks will be worn at all times, and social distancing rules must be followed. There will be no concession stands, but fans can bring in pre-packaged food and non-alcoholic beverages.

Although fans will have to adjust to a “new normal” while attending games, the change is a sign of progress in the right direction, and sure to provide a morale boost for Long Beach athletes.

“One of the greatest motivators is that you play for others, your teammates, your campus, your community,” Fee said. “A great part about Long Beach State is that our athletes get to meet fans and get to know them. We all miss it.”

MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | SPORTS@DAILY49ER.COM

By Samantha Diaz Sports Editor

A

ll of my most memorable moments at Long Beach State have happened during sports games.

I remember my first time in the Walter Pyramid attending a men’s basketball game. I remember standing in the student section when men’s volleyball defeated UCLA in 2018, the “oh shit, this team might be the real deal” game.

(That team, of course, was the real deal, as they went on to win backto-back championships).

And of course, I remember my first game at Blair Field. The game itself was not important, it wasn’t even a conference contest.

There is something special about leaving campus to enter the city and cheer on your college team with members of the community on a Tuesday night.

Finding street parking, walking down Park Avenue against traffic, provides you with a sense of Long Beach that the campus simply can’t provide.

It was this sense of community that was lacking during the COVID-19 sports season. Yes, we still streamed Long Beach State games and offered support via social media, but as vaccines became more available, fans pestered comment sections asking when they could return in person.

When Long Beach State athletics made the long-awaited announcement that people would be allowed in limited attendance to the remainder of home games, the community virtually rejoiced.

Alumni and students alike took to social media and voiced their hopes to attend one of the few remaining games left on the spring schedule.

With the city only allowing 33% capacity, fans were preparing for the race for tickets. The families of student athletes received first priority at all venues, meaning that athletes would be surrounded by those closest to them for their last few games of the year. This also meant that Bohl Diamond at Blair Field was the only stadium that could accommodate selling tickets to fans. And with only three home series remaining, the race became even tighter.

Once athletics released the ticket-selling schedule, the race for tickets became less of a race and more of a maze — for students at least.

The schedule for tickets prioritizes Beach Athletic Fund members who are season ticket-holders and have donated money to the athletics department in the past year. These members get all of Thursday to purchase tickets, and the more money you’ve donated, the earlier access you have.

If you’re not a Beach Athletic Fund member, that means you fall under the general public category, and you get Fridays (the day series begin) to purchase tickets, but the system in place still prioritizes those with an abundance of money. The only way to attend games is to purchase a four-person pod for the entire weekend series, which totals to $240 for the pack, roughly $20 a seat per game.

I personally don’t know any students who would be able to afford this option, and some alumni don’t seem fond of the package either.

Fans scramble for game tickets The current schedule for ticket sales leaves little room for students to attend the few remaining games.

SPORTS 11 “The raising of ticket prices, closing off the grass pavilion, along with no concessions, is the reason we watch Beach Vision at the bars,” said Long Beach State alumnus Dave Cohen, class of 1992. “[The weekend package] is not a smart move. We will not buy a full weekend. We’ll join our friends outside left field.”

Even for those with the means to afford a full weekend of Dirtbags baseball, they have a small window to buy their tickets.

Megan Kerr and her husband have been season ticket-holders at Long Beach State for several years, and were among the crowd of loyal supporters eager to return to Blair Field. Since they already purchased their season tickets, they were waiting for their chance in the tiered schedule for the series against UCSB. “[Athletics] sent out a notification via email of a few-hour window that we could call in to get tickets. It was a workday afternoon so my husband missed the window and they were sold out.” Kerr said. “They didn’t mention future games, so we are assuming we’ll be notified when the tickets for the next home stand become available.

We’ll be on the lookout for it now.”

Considering there’s only two more home series this year, Kerr and her husband have limited time to come up with a game plan. If money isn’t an obstacle, then time and work seem to be getting in the way.

It seems nearly impossible for students to participate in this scramble for tickets — so where does that leave us?

Thanks to the athletic department, we still have a chance to cheer on the ‘Bags through our face masks, 16 chances for each game day to be exact.

For current CSULB students, there are eight two-person pods available for each game in the fourgame series. For the Long Beach v.

UCSB series, students were notified Tuesday that tickets were available via LBSU’s Twitter and Instagram and were able to log onto a student ticket portal. Through the site, they were permitted to reserve a ticket for themselves and a guest for a $5 refundable charge, which was refunded once the tickets were used.

My advice is to put @LBSUAthletics posts on notifications if you’re hoping to score some tickets. There are 16 student tickets available for each game in a fourgame series and, with two remaining home series, that leaves a total of 128 student tickets, barring any game cancelations. The roughly 40,000 enrolled students can figure that out.

Sadly, it feels as though students were included in the plan for attendance only as an afterthought. While I understand the sentiment of rewarding the loyal program donators, the schedule for ticket sales seems to prioritize people with more money and down time.

Selling single game tickets instead of weekend packages could leave more room and tickets for students and alumni who simply can’t afford to spend the $240.

Those who are willing to spend all three days at Blair Field will most likely be attending games next season as well, while graduating students may be facing their last year in the city, and their last chance to see the Dirtbags as students.

Attending a game at Blair Field is a right of passage for Long Beach State students, one that seems out of reach for most of us, at least until next year.

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