Daily Forty-Niner; May 3, 2021

weekly digital print edition

DAILY FORTY-NINER EST p 1949

Vol. LXXII, Issue 30

www.daily49er.com

Monday, May 3, 2021

2 NEWS

MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | EIC@DAILY49ER.COM ON THE COVER Illustration by VIC FITZSIMONS

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Madalyn Amato

Lauren Berny

Multimedia Managing Editor multimedia@daily49er.com

Editor in Chief eic@daily49er.com

News Editor Julia Terbeche news@daily49er.com Arts & Life Editor Paris Barraza arts@daily49er.com Opinions Editor Kelsey Brown opinions@daily49er.com Sports Editor Samantha Diaz sports@daily49er.com

Ashley Ramos is a third-year journalism major at CSULB.

Photo courtesy of Ashley Ramos

Daily Forty-Niner welcomes new editor in chief Ashley Ramos will start her time as editor in fall 2021.

By Madalyn Amato Editor in chief

W

hen the third-year journalism major first came to Long Beach State after graduating from Hemet High School, she had her sights set on a completely different career.

Ashley Ramos pledged to CSULB in hopes of becoming a Division 1 athlete in cross country.

Her goal was to one day make it to the Olympics.

But things didn’t go according to plan.

Ramos moved into the dorms as a freshman but, within two semesters, was removed because she was unable to afford all the costs associated with living on campus. She was also placed on academic probation.

She then attended Long Beach City College for a semester. Ramos had been editor in chief of her high school yearbook but didn’t pursue a degree in journalism, instead deciding to become a psychologist.

While at LBCC, she took a photojournalism class, and it was at that time she took a moment to think “What do I really want to do?”

Her love for photography began to steer her in the direction of photojournalism, and, from that moment on, Ramos dove head-first into the world of news media.

Journalism, instead of any other form of photography, drew her in because of the responsibility that comes along with the role: representing the community.

“The point of going into journalism is to service the people, and if you’re not doing that, then you’re failing the people,” Ramos said.

In spring 2019, Ramos returned to CSULB and again struggled to get back on track.

Ramos, now a newsroom veteran, will serve as the Daily Forty Niner’s editor in chief starting this fall.

Heading into a fully online semester in fall 2020, Ramos joined the social media team as the Instagram account manager and helped to expand and capitalize on the page’s ability to

connect with the campus community.

Ramos, among others in the newsroom, has always been vocal about wanting to see the ‘Niner do better and believes that it can become the paper it should be. That’s why she took on the role of community engagement editor at the beginning of this semester.

“There was a lot to fix, but I had to put on a different lens on how to fix it,” Ramos said. “The world is changing so fast, but we just have to listen to the audience to see what they want and need.”

Carly Cylinder, owner of Flour LA, Inc. and Ramos’ internship coordinator, said that the new editor in chief will no doubt be a successful one.

“Ashley’s ability to juggle tasks with astute confidence, clarity and competence should be a welcomed start in her new position as EIC,” Cylinder said. “It’s very exciting and no doubt a glimpse into what her future holds.”

An early inspiration for Ramos, John Hill, her high school yearbook adviser, feels that she will make a “fantastic” editor.

“Ashley has demonstrated the maturity and ability to be an independent thinker, problem solver and has shown a natural ability to work well with, and for, others,” Hill said. “She took on challenging assignments, worked very hard to complete them, all with a positive and embracing attitude.”

Hill added that Ramos “has been an outstanding individual and will continue to be an outstanding young woman.”

Looking ahead to taking on the role of editor, Ramos plans on addressing deep-rooted issues in the paper, how it’s run and even its name. She hopes to make the newsroom a more diverse and welcoming space.

“I’m looking forward to working closer with the community, which would help in creating more diverse coverage,” Ramos said. “As well as work internally on how things are run and how we serve the community.”

Making these monumental changes to things that have been in place for over 70 years will not be easy, but if anyone can do it—and do it with grace and purpose—it’s Ashley Ramos.

Design Editor Alejandro Vazquez design@daily49er.com Advertising Manager Carter Magee advertising@daily49er.com Business Manager Sai Zin Phyo Lwin business@daily49er.com Special Projects Editor Peter Villafañe Photo Editor Andrea Ramos Video Editor Abel Reyes Social Media Editor Celeste Huecias Podcast Editor Cameron Johnston Podcast Assistant Luke Pajari Design Assistant Anna Karkalik Gisele Robinett News Assistants Iman Palm 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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Letters Policy: All letters and emails must bear the phone number of the writer and must be no more than 300 words. The Daily Forty-Niner reserves the right to edit letters for publication in regard to space.

Editorials: All opinions expressed in the columns, letters and cartoons in the issue are those of the writers or artists. The opinons of the Daily FortyNiner are expressed only in unsigned editorials and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the journalism department or the views of all staff members. All such editorials are written by the editorial board of the Daily Forty-Niner.

NEWS 3

MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | NEWS@DAILY49ER.COM

Professor of molecular and cell biology Michelle Giffin checks for vaccine appointments Feb. 10, 2020.

ANDREA RAMOS | Daily Forty-Niner

CSULB approaches 10,000 total vaccines administered

By Daniel Pineda Staff Writer

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s of April 19, Long Beach State has vaccinated thousands students and administered a total of nearly 9,500 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, according to Jeff Cook, associate vice president for strategic communications.

Cook maintained that while “exact data about student participants in the on-campus clinic might take some time,” the university estimates that approximately 2,500 students have received at least one dose from the vaccine site at the Walter Pyramid parking structure.

“We have been encouraging members of the campus community to explore all options for a vaccination, whether at the CSULB clinic or elsewhere,” Cook said.

Third-year geology major Spencer Cooper said he feels CSULB is doing well in its mission to vaccinate staff and students and that the process “was pretty smooth,” especially since he only needed to wait one day after scheduling an appointment.

He hopes that other students will get vaccinated to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“Now that most of the elderly are vaccinated, the spread will come from younger people,” Cooper said.

Cooper said he understands “students’ reluctance” to receive the vaccine, something he feels comes from a lack of proper education and understanding. CSULB should have “better messaging from instructors educated in virology and medicine” to improve its distribution process, he said.

“There is a major trust issue with this vaccine, and we need well-articulated information about it to be spread,” Cooper said. “Seeing students with an uneducated, politicsdriven understanding of the vaccine is, in some way, a failure of the university.”

Aside from going to campus, CSULB students have also been going to local vaccination sites and facilities for their shots.

“I received my first shot of the vaccine from a nursing home about two weeks ago,” said Isabella Mena, a first-year student with an undecided major. “It didn’t take long for me to get a vaccine either. I only had to wait for about a few

days.”

Mena said she is all for getting the vaccine but felt nervous before and during her vaccination appointment.

“I was quite nervous about getting the shot because they had me sit there for 15 minutes,” Mena said, recounting her time at the vaccination site. “And they did that because they wanted to wait and see if something happened to you. And I got nervous because I was thinking, ‘have things happened in the past that made this required to do so?’”

After getting her vaccine, Mena stated that she feels more at ease. Though she didn’t receive hers from CSULB, she said she is glad that the university is offering doses to those who are interested.

“I think it’s really helpful that Cal State Long Beach is providing the vaccine to everyone, especially students,” Mena said. “I know some people who go to other colleges and haven’t received the vaccine because of multiple reasons, so I think it’s really nice of the college to be providing its students with the vaccine without having to go through so many obstacles.”

Vaccination appointments are currently available to members of the Beach community through the campus Single Sign-On page.

Both the California State University and University of California systems have announced their plan to require vaccines for students, faculty and staff returning to inperson learning for the fall 2021 semester. The requirement is dependent on full approval of the vaccines by the Food and Drug Administration as they only have emergency use authorization at this time.

Mena feels that it’s important for all students to receive the vaccine if they are able to so that they can help slow the spread of the virus.

“I know people who are unsure about the vaccine, as well as people who are all for it,” Mena said. “I think it’s very important to receive the vaccine. And not just for you, but for the people around you. I’d also suggest the people who are unsure, like I was about getting the vaccine, to do their own research and just, you know, avoid information about the vaccine from un-credible sources.”

More information about CSULB’s vaccine rollout is available on the university’s website.

4 NEWS

By Julia Terbeche and Ashley Ramos Staff Writers

A

s two grocery stores in Long Beach have closed, the community continues to feel the impact of the city’s implementation of Hero Pay, a raise for those working on the frontlines during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rolled out by Mayor Robert Garcia on Jan. 20, the emergency ordinance provides supermarket employees an extra $4 per hour in addition to their regular wages, citing that local grocery chains had hundreds of positive COVID-19 cases among their workers. It also claims that “top retail companies had a 39% increase in profit averaging an extra $16.9 billion in 2020.”

The Long Beach Post reported in February that Kroger Co., which owns Food 4 Less and Ralphs, is closing two grocery stores in the city due to “misguided action by the Long Beach City Council” that “oversteps the traditional bargaining process and applies to some, but not all, grocery workers in the city.”

Both locations, a Ralphs at 3380 N. Los Coyotes Diagonal and Food 4 Less at 2185 E. South St., were shut down on April 17.

However, a report by the Brookings Institution found that in 2020, Kroger’s profits doubled, and the company spent nearly $1 billion to “buy back its own stock shares.”

How it started Councilwoman Mary Zendejas, who sponsored the ordinance, explained that Hero Pay is “a legally binding mandate for all companies that fit the description of the policy and operate within Long Beach” and is enforced through civil legal action.

“I understand that this raises barriers in cases where workers are being denied benefits but may not have access to legal remedies, but, in my position as a councilmember, I can encourage people to reach out to some of our amazing non-profit organizations like the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and others to help force their employers to comply,” Zendejas said in an email.

It is considered retaliation for an employer to cut hours, work opportunities or benefits in response to the ordinance, which she said “isn’t legally permitted.”

Despite this, Zendejas said that Kroger won’t be facing legal consequences from the city.

“The Kroger Corporation is allowed to make any legal business decisions they feel they must, but it’s on them to suffer the ramifications of those actions without blaming the city in ways that are disingenuous and untrue,” Zendejas said.

Community reacts Local activist groups have voiced their disapproval of Kroger’s decision, some even hosting a “Boycott Kroger Action Week” with rallies to protest the company.

Long Beach resident Anthony Bryson helped organize the event in solidarity with Kroger employees.

“You are heroes, and you deserve Hero Pay,” Bryson said at a protest in February.

MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | NEWS@DAILY49ER.COM

Hero Pay continues to affect Long Beach community Since the policy’s implementation in January, the city has seen multiple supermarket shutdowns and backlash from local activists.

ASHLEY RAMOS | Daily Forty-Niner

The Food 4 Less on 2185 E. South St. post the April 17 closure.

JULIA TERBECHE | Daily Forty-Niner

Anthony Bryson, left, and Rachel Osuna, right, call on Kroger Co. to give its employees hazard pay at a protest in February.

The inside of the closed Food 4 Less on 2185 E. South St.

ASHLEY RAMOS | Daily Forty-Niner

Rachel Osuna, a senior at Lakewood High School with Voices of Long Beach, participated in the February protest to fight for essential workers who are predominantly people of color that “can be fired for standing up for themselves.”

“The closing of these stores is very, it’s terrible,” Osuna said.

“Being the working class, we live paycheck to paycheck, like we get that paycheck, we have to pay our bills, we have people who have kids, they got to help their kids and feed their kids, and the closing of these stores it makes us angry and it’s injustice.”

How do the workers feel?

A cashier at Lazy Acres Natural Market, Johnathan Alvarado, said he feels “fortunate and very thankful” to receive hazard pay, especially since he didn’t expect any economic relief from his company.

“I never thought that something like that would be allowed to be given to us, to the store,” Alvarado said.

Lazy Acres is a five-store subsidiary of the California supermarket chain Bristol Farms Inc., which operates 19 total stores in the state.

Alvarado, who graduated from Long Beach State in 2016, said he feels deserving of this pay after having contracted COVID-19 earlier this year, possibly from his store. He has to remind customers to wear their masks in his store, which he thinks is “strange” as regulations have been in place since last year.

“We’re giving you the right to come into this grocery store and buy your groceries, but every time you’re in here you have to comply by the rules that we follow here,” he said. “Their face mask is like below their nose and we just have to remind them ‘Can you please pull up your face mask.’”

Though hourly workers receive the extra $4, Alvarado confirmed that higher-level Lazy Acres employees do not, causing some to earn more total pay than those in leadership roles. He said that his manager, Steve Hart, is among those not receiving Hero Pay. Hart told the Daily Forty-Niner that he is “not able to address this per corporate policy.”

“It’s just kind of unfair because they’re looking out for their employees as well, and they’re there with us,” Alvarado said.

“But for them not to receive any sort of like compensation…I find that very strange.”

Teri Mondor, a Ralphs employee for 39 years, said she “wishes Kroger was honest about the reason” for the store closures, which she said is because of competition from a newly built Amazon Fresh, “not because of the four dollars.”

“I have put my life on the line during this pandemic,” said Mondor, who works at the Marina Pacifica Mall Ralphs. “I don’t see those executives from the main office coming out here the way they used to all the time. They’re at home.”

Another Ralphs employee, who asked to remain anonymous in fear of being fired, said they feel deserving of Hero Pay after taking on additional responsibilities during the pandemic.

Aside from having to “clean up after literally everyone,” they said they’ve experienced “so much racism and had to deal with discrimination.”

Continued on Page 5

NEWS 5

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RICHARD GRANT | Daily Forty-Niner

Vials of the COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna along with patient information cards at the Long Beach Convention Center vaccination Super Site.

CSULB students express mixed reactions to proposed fall vaccine mandate

By Bella Arnold Assistant Opinions Editor

A

fter President Jane Close Conoley confirmed in a campuswide email that Long Beach State intends to require campusgoers to be immunized with the COVID-19 vaccine this fall, students have expressed mixed feelings for this policy.

Conoley’s email came after the California State University and University of California systems announced their plans to enforce vaccinations for campus activities once the Food and Drug Administration formally approves the COVID-19 vaccines, as the Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines are currently under emergency use authorization. CSULB is part of a 33-university coalition pushing for this mandate.

The student response has been varied, with many expressing enthusiasm for a safer campus but skepticism toward the policy’s implementation.

Omar Guillen, a third-year business major, found out about the requirement through a Discord chat before receiving the official email from Conoley and was “flustered.”

“They just made the announcement out of nowhere,” Guillen said.

Previously, the university had claimed that, due to legal bounds, it would strongly encourage vaccination but not require it. However, Housing and Residential Life later established that residents would need to submit their proof of vaccination by June 15 in order to live on campus in the fall. Housing officials maintained that this mandate was permitted as living on campus is a choice for students.

Continued from Page 4 “I had to deal with issues with my managers, and it’s hard for us to even use the restroom because we are on company time,” they said. “So it’s pretty difficult, but I’m just trying to live by it because it’s a job.”

Some stores aren’t getting Hero Pay Although places like Target and Walmart also sell groceries, they aren’t included in the Hero Pay ordinance.

Aziza Gomez, a fourth-year

Despite being vaccinated, Guillen found the news “weird at first” and still feels conflicted.

“It’s probably a good thing to implement for people that want to go on campus,” Guillen said. “If they try to have everyone [get the vaccine], even though they are relatively safe, it’s a bit of a gray area, I feel.”

Guillen finds the lack of communication between the university administration and the student body, regarding

“Something that may speed up getting back to normal is really warranted, in my opinion.”

- Jasmine Vasquez Third-year psychology major

pandemic related policies, “ironic.”

For Jasmine Vasquez, a third-year psychology major, the news of a vaccine mandate to return to campus this fall

saxophone performance major at CSULB, started working at Target in April 2020. Prior to the pandemic, she worked at a movie theater but “jumped ship so fast” due to coronavirus-related closures.

Gomez said that despite testing negative for COVID-19, her employers at Target cleared her to return to work.

“I worked the whole pandemic, like, I’m exposed to [COVID-19],” Gomez said. “There was a point where every day there was a confirmed case within the company.”

According to Zendejas, Hero Pay was implemented to accommodate grocery workers struggling while their stores saw record sales. While she feels that these residents in particular deserved the raise, she hopes that the city can help others in the future.

“The reason I brought this policy in Long Beach is, in part, that I saw grocery stores and workers as a very specific opportunity in which we had just absolutely historic profits on one side and a very high-risk work environment with a lot of low-wage employees on the other,” Zendejas said. “This

was great news amid “a whole year of doom and gloom.”

“Something that may speed up getting back to normal is really warranted, in my opinion,” Vasquez said. “When I saw that, there wasn’t really a thought of outcry for me. It was only hope [and excitement] that things were returning to the way they once were.”

Vasquez is fully vaccinated and eager to return to campus, though she understands that some may not want to get vaccinated as well as the consequences that come with that choice.

“If you don’t want to take it, you don’t have to,” Vasquez said. “You can just stay at home, but with that you have to accept that you have to be a responsible person, [and] taking the vaccine is a step towards responsibility.”

For the fall 2021 semester, 47% of classes are projected to have an in-person option, according to a campus update.

This way, most students can choose to continue their education remotely and are given the ability to coordinate with their academic advisors to accommodate for their needs.

Karyme Calderon, a second-year kinesiology fitness major, is already vaccinated but feels that the students should “have a right” to choose if they want to be vaccinated.

“Whatever their reasoning may be, I just feel like that’s solely based on the students and their views and outtake on the vaccine,” Calderon said. “I felt like it shouldn’t be pressured upon the students.”

Calderon doesn’t want the new requirement to “add stress” to students not yet vaccinated who hope to return to campus for in-person learning.

As of April 21, all Americans over the age of 16 are eligible for vaccination, and at CSULB, all students are eligible to get vaccinated on-campus.

Calderon also emphasized the need to “still take precautions” when returning to in-person learning, regardless of whether all students are vaccinated.

According to Conoley, the mandate is not yet official as the CSU and UC systems await FDA approval.

is absolutely not to suggest that so many others in our city aren’t deserving of these same benefits for the risks they assumed to keep some critical businesses open throughout this pandemic, but, working with our city attorney, this is what we identified as our best opportunity to make a difference.”

Although this was a citymandated ordinance, stores were required to fund Hero Pay from their own profits. This has led to questions of whether the city will replenish the stores’ losses, something Zendejas is “not interested in seeing.”

She maintained that the stores could afford this pay due to the “record-breaking profits being made during the pandemic.”

“Each of these companies — Kroger included — voluntarily offered hazard pay to their employees at the start of the pandemic with no adverse financial consequences,” Zendejas said. “Stores are more than able to afford this small, temporary measure.”

Kroger also plans to close more locations in May following the passage of a $5-per-hour hazard pay ordinance in Los Angeles.

6 ARTS & LIFE

MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | ARTS@DAILY49ER.COM

‘Impossible things are possible’ Actress Kelly Marie Tran, known for ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Raya and the Last Dragon,’ shares how she celebrates her identity in ‘An Evening With.’

A

ctress Kelly Marie Tran spoke to Long Beach Students as part of the latest installment of “An Evening With” on April 27, sharing her experience navigating the entertainment industry as an Asian American.

Tran recently made history for voice-acting Raya, Disney’s first Southeast Asian princess in “Raya and the Last Dragon.” Tran also starred as Rose Tico in “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker” of the “Star Wars” saga as the first woman of color in a leading role.

For Tran, getting to play characters like Rose Tico in “Star Wars,” or being the first Southeast Asian Disney princess, means so much to her, she said, because growing up, she never saw anyone that looked like her doing what she is doing.

Tran discussed how when she first started working in the industry, she had unconscious biases toward herself built around the fact that she had only seen people that look like her in certain ways. Tran said it affected what she believed she could accomplish.

“I would love to help leave behind a world where people just believe that they can do things that they haven’t seen before because I feel like I’m very much an example of that,” Tran said.

Tran pursued acting even as her parents didn’t think she should be an actor, a sentiment she said she better understands as an adult after realizing her parents’ lack of access to education made them so insistent on hers.

Tran, a first-generation Vietnamese American, shared that her parents came to the U.S. with “the shirt on their backs” and recalled growing up and seeing her dad wake up at 4 a.m. to work at Burger King, his first job in America.

She said her parents worked hard to have food on the table and a roof over their heads, and it taught her a lot about her own work ethic, perseverance and privilege, especially when it got hard for her juggling four jobs and trying to make time to attend auditions and go over her lines.

During all of this, Tran said, she always thought of her parents.

“They worked just as hard and not even for, you know, a dream that they had,” Tran said. “They worked just as hard to make sure that I could have a dream. So I think that I carry that with me.”

Tran said she would tell her younger self to really believe in herself, work hard

“

Image courtesy of Associated Students, Inc.

Actress Kelly Marie Tran joined CSULB students on April 27 and talked about navigating the entertainment industry as a first-generation Vietnamese woman and her success in roles like Raya in “Raya and the Last Dragon.” and surround herself with people who inspire her.

When Tran joined the cast of “Star Wars,” she experienced online bullying and pushback, people making sexist and racist comments on social media, highlighting toxicity in a fandom that is meant to welcome all.

Though Tran said she was aware of the microaggressions and racism she had experienced as a child, being subjected to this on a constant level made her have to rec-

oncile with these facets of a “broken world” and made her have to learn how to interact with the world again.

In an op-ed piece for the New York Times, Tran shared how she wants to work toward a world everyone is seen for what they are: human beings.

During the event, Tran said that writing the piece was “one of the most healing experiences of my life.”

In the article, Tran also shared her birth name, Loan, and was asked about it during

the event.

Tran talked about how she has thought about reclaiming things about herself that the world “taught her to be ashamed of” and called this reclamation of her culture an “act of rebellion.”

Though Tran said she is in a position to get help for herself, she said that everyone should be able to go to therapy if needed, and said that one day, people who have lived through hard experiences will be able to look back and see how that “informed the things that you want to do now” and called that “powerful.”

But outward perceptions and labels thrown at her by others are not Tran’s only challenges.

Tran explained we have all been raised in a society that has only made space for one type of person, and therefore we have internalized ideas that have not been questioned.

“If I feel like I can’t do something, I’m like, ‘Where is that idea coming from?’ and really digging down deep to figure out is that really something I don’t believe I can do or is that something that people told me I couldn’t do from a really young age, and do I need to help unravel that so that I can really believe that I can do it,” Tran said, calling it hard work.

Tran said that when she is choosing a role, she wants to make sure she is not perpetuating a negative stereotype about a group of people. Now, Tran is moving into executive producing, working on two projects that, being in her position, allows her to lift voices that have been historically underrepresented.

“I really feel like the person that I wanted to be three years ago when I wrote that op-ed, sometimes I go back and I read about the world that I wanted to live in and the person that I wanted to be, and I really feel like I am doing those things and I’m trying as much as possible to contribute to a better world,” Tran said.

When Tran was a “struggling actor,” she explained that she believed once she started working, her life would be easy, often romanticizing a future that then looked so far away to her.

She shared with students that those working in the industry still have fears and insecurities, but they’ve learned how to work with it and encouraged students that if they are afraid, it still doesn’t mean they can’t do things they want to do.

Tran also reminded students to not pay attention to academic institutions with big names or feel that they need to know what they are doing once they graduate, saying that “you are enough.”

“You don’t have to follow the sort of path that people think is the right path,” Tran said. “There is no right path. And I think that if I had followed the quote, ‘right path’ that society had given me, I wouldn’t be sitting here today talking to you about it.”

I really do believe that if you love something, that is such a rare thing, having a passion for something is so rare and so unique and I think that if you want to pursue something that feels impossible, just do it step by step, little by little, and I think you’ll be really surprised by the ways that doors start to open.

“

By Paris Barraza Arts & Life Editor

MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | ARTS@DAILY49ER.COM

ARTS & LIFE 7

Pursuing art at all costs Long Beach creatives share how they are growing their work, including pursuing relief grants, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

By RJ Singh Staff Writer

T

here’s a building in Long Beach with the words “Play Nice” painted on the window, a space built for the city, but especially it’s Black community and communities of color.

Play Nice is home to art exhibitions, screenings, the designing and sale of clothing and books on everything from politics to fashion available to the public.

But for artists like Ryan Hoyle, financial resources and ideas are critical in sustaining spaces like Play Nice that continuously support the community wellbeing.

“This is an opportunity to create opportunities for people that look like us, opportunities for our families, potentially creating generational wealth,” Hoyle said.

Play Nice is an Arts Council for Long Beach COVID-19 relief applicant, and the relief funds available are meant to financially assist the city’s artists amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Arts Council marketing and grants manager Judy Estrada, their micro-grant applicant count took a dive during the coronavirus pandemic, citing that artists needed the time to become resourceful.

“I don’t want to say we [artists] were struggling, but I do feel that there’s a new renaissance within the arts in Long Beach,” Estrada said. “Before there were a lot of organizations doing their thing and a lot of artists doing their thing, but now we are coming together as one for the betterment of Long Beach.”

In what started as a vintage sporting apparel shop, Play Nice has evolved into a space for creative minds and progressive community activism in Long Beach, similar to certain hubs of Los Angeles. As Play Nice plans to explore 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in the future, Hoyle and the team are navigating the shop’s current state in a post-lockdown world.

Hoyle quoted rapper, entrepreneur and philanthropist Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter: “I can’t help the poor if I’m one of them.”

Elizabeth Munzon, oil painter, curator and director of the Flatline gallery, found herself among the artists transitioning to a virtual atmosphere to remain in the fight for creative expression. The latter has enabled Munzon to host virtual tours of the gallery.

“That took a bit to figure out because there was a learning curve when I had to translate everything onto my website, so just figuring that out and on top of that, I had to put money into it to make sure that I made money,” Munzon said. “It was also a risk I had to take because I had to pay for that online shop and all of the other fees they charge you once you set that up.”

Munzon makes a living as an artist by selling her artwork and taking commissions. This helps her keep the lights on at Flatline.

Munzon makes up for coronavirus pandemic-induced losses by taking on more commissions than usual and learning to capture the essence of saturation and warm and cool colors in her work for digital platforms.

In addition to working with watercolors and acrylics, artist Charlotte Medina recently returned to scenic painting for film and theater. While she looks towards relief funds for quality paints and canvases, Medina took the opportunity to grow as an artist from indoors by enrolling in online lessons.

Medina also sought opportunities that led to painting murals and windows for clients and commercial work despite the limitations that the year brought to artists.

“A friend told me recently that, ‘It is an artist’s responsibility to represent our times,’” Medina added. “We are also representatives for our culture, gender and any other demographic we relate to and more than anything, through art we are giving form to those experiences that sometimes are hard to explain.”

As a fourth-generation Long Beach native and one of many women of color, Estrada said that the Arts Council had to adapt in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and sociopolitical environment of the city in 2020.

“I want us to be not just the Arts Council, I want us to be a community council,” Estrada said.

But like Estrada’s mission, many artists in Long Beach have worked to center the community too.

RYAN HOYLE

“If you can be a good person, you can be a good businessperson,” Ryan Hoyle said. “It goes back to the basics: organization and integrity.”

CHARLOTTE MEDINA

Commissioned by a private client in Palm Desert, Charlotte Medina’s objective was to disguise utility boxes of the home with a mural.

The murder of George Floyd last summer changed the trajectory of the Play Nice movement, Hoyle recalled. The shop then became a resource ally to the social cause.

In Cambodia Town, the work of Long Beach artist Angela Willcocks is spread across a 21-by88-foot wall. The mural, commissioned by the Arts Council, entails broad and meandering strokes of different colors that blend seamlessly.

“I get money to create a project with communities and working with the community, I create projects that enhance or have some sort of sustainable cultural

benefit,” Willcocks said.

Willcocks believes that art is pretentious, throwing out the idea of the gallery setting altogether.

But she knows one thing: If she’s given a 20-by-90-foot wall, she’ll spend days transforming its brick and mortar.

For over 30 years, Willcocks has been creating through various mediums, and quitting doesn’t cross her mind. She can be found in her studio nearly everyday of the week coming up with her next piece or applying for grants to support her.

Whether it means applying for National Endowment for the Arts grants, teaching at university or

engaging in community artwork, Willcocks will always find a way to create without starving.

“I realized early on that I was not going to live as a starving artist, I was going to make a career through the arts and continue doing my artwork,” Willcocks said.

Estrada is a believer of unity, and said that may help usher in a renaissance. Along with the perseverance of Long Beach’s creatives, the Art Council’s relief grant is an opportunity to keep the city’s artists from remaining stagnant.

“I’m in here trying to get it,” Hoyle said. “We’re making clothes, throwing events and experiences. I’m in my artist bag.”

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OPINIONS 9

MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | OPINIONS@DAILY49ER.COM

Balancing responsibilities through the pandemic As things appear to be getting back to normal, CSULB student Berenize Montoya takes a moment to look back at the past year.

By Berenize Montoya Staff Writer

B

eing a college student receiving their education through Zoom for more than a year has been difficult, to say the least.

At first, it seemed like not having to drive to campus for classes meant that I’d have a lot of free time on my hands. I just had to log in for class twice a day, four times a week, and afterwards I had time to spend on anything I’d like.

That mentality brought me to take on many new responsibilities. It gave me a sense of having time to do more. At the beginning of the pandemic, I was working a part-time job as an assistant manager and going to school full-time.

As the fall semester progressed, I decided to join Long Beach State’s National Association of Hispanic Journalists as the vice president and have held that position since.

My time as vice president has allowed me to grow as a journalist while making amazing connections with other student journalists and industry professionals. Gaining leadership skills have helped me in my day to day life.

During that same semester I enrolled in two writing classes, reporting for the Daily Forty-Niner and DÍG en Español, where we gained real-life reporting experience.

At times I would have to step out of work in order to interview someone for a story I was working on. I also took on a copy editor role at DÍG en Español where I was able to edit my peers’ articles written in Spanish.

GLENN CARSTENS-PETERS | Unsplash

Then I was offered a job at a restaurant and since I have to pay tuition, I decided to take it.

To recap, I had eight different titles at one point. How I balanced it, I have no idea.

It got overwhelming and at times I felt like I was not capable of doing all these things. I’d get home from one job and rush home to do homework just before getting ready for my next shift. I felt like I was doing too much.

At times, it is difficult to miss out on things and even more so when my friends and family express how unfortunate it is that I’m never there. Thankfully, though, most of the time they understand that I am busy for a purpose.

Honestly, I cannot confidently say that I have it all under control, but I do believe that everything in life is a

sacrifice and I see this as my journey to reach my end goal.

What has helped me stay on top of everything is planning out each day on my planner and making sure I dedicate time for everything. I also use my days off from work to focus solely on completing any school-related tasks.

There is still a lot I have to work on in terms of managing my time. As of right now, I want to focus on letting myself breathe once in a while.

I am lucky to have my parents support me in this journey as they provide me with ease when I get overwhelmed.

Balancing many different responsibilities is not easy whatsoever, but it is rewarding to see the end result. It is not impossible, and I cannot wait to reflect back on these days when I make it.

Artists adapting to COVID-19 Students within the arts have adapted to working virtually, but as in-person opportunities begin to return, it is integral that the arts aren’t left behind.

By Paris Barraza Arts & Life Editor

I

f the arts is the first on the budget-cut chopping block in public education, it’s concerning to think where the arts lie in the transition back to in-person learning.

The coronavirus pandemic has asked students from every field to adapt to a new way of learning, and has taken opportunities away from those same students. But as we return to more in-person learning and access to campus facilities, it is integral that students who are part of the arts are not left behind.

In the past year, the Long Beach State and Long Beach community have seen how artists have continued to work despite the restrictions in place.

The Fine Arts Roundtable at CSULB hosted its first virtual gallery for master’s students after over a decade of in-person galleries. The Museum of Latin American Art created an interactive, virtual gallery for audiences to feel like they are walking

through a gallery. A professor in the Department of Dance had dancers from her studio perform via Zoom.

And that ability to adapt, at least according to some students, has been a positive experience, one that has opened up opportunities that might not otherwise have happened.

Dancers in the Department of Dance have learned how to film and edit videos of themselves dancing at home for showcases. Students in the Department of Theatre Arts have found more time to hone in on their technical skills while being at home.

But let’s not misunderstand.

Artists adapting to work under virtual settings is not the same as artists seeking to work virtually organically. Though it has been exciting for many to see how their work can be done at home, it’s not a decision everyone would make long term.

So while celebrating the impressive work that has been done under these circumstances is worthwhile, it would be unfair to keep dancers from their stage, musicians from their ensembles, artists from their studios under the guise that “they can adapt.”

In an open letter to school leadership everywhere in 2020, the National Art Education Association asked that schools continue to invest in visual arts and design education amid any adjustments to learning due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s because engaging in art—and art comes in an endless amount of forms that, far too often, are dismissed in favor of another medium—is critical in our ability to express ourselves and communicate messages to strangers. Art can educate others in ways a textbook cannot, and often touches us in more visceral ways.

But so often, experiencing its full impact requires people to see it in person, whether it’s a performance in a venue or on the street, a framed photograph hanging on a wall, a mural we can stop and stare at or the countless other ways we encounter art live.

I don’t consider myself an artist.

But no one should have to in order to understand the value creative and artistic expression brings, and what we lose when we don’t make space for it.

10 SPORTS

MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | SPORTS@DAILY49ER.COM

Alyssa Gonzalez rounds home Senior first baseman led Long Beach State softball through the pandemic. Now she’s looking to lead the team to a Big West Conference championship before she graduates.

By Dominic Padilla Staff Writer

A

fter the kind of year it’s been, Alyssa Gonzalez just wants to go out with a bang.

“This is my final year. I’ve been playing since I was 5 years old, so 18 years of softball is coming to an end,” Gonzalez said. “I’m going to take that opportunity and run with it.”

Long Beach State softball has been running its entire 2021 season just the way the senior first baseman wants.

The team sits in second place in the Big West Conference with a 24-6 overall record and a 18-2 conference record. Before dropping a single game last weekend against Cal Poly, the Beach was on an 11-game winning streak.

The team also has multiple players leading the conference in batting average, RBIs and ERA with top three players in conference wins, strikeouts and home runs.

Gonzalez is leading the charge, hitting the conference-leading .494 average with four home runs and 27 RBIs. She has also permanently taken over the starting first base job after being an important utility player in the infield and outfield in her previous seasons.

Despite the success, Gonzalez said playing during a pandemic has changed the way she and her

Image courtesy of John Fajardo

Alyssa Gonzalez was named the conference field player of the week after a four-game sweep of UCSB. teammates approach each game and series.

“Since we jumped into everything, it’s just go out there and play softball like we have since we were kids,” Gonzalez said.

Long Beach’s season didn’t start with as much promise. The first two weeks of the season

saw COVID-19 protocol issues cancel five games, including its home-opener matchup against the former No. 1 nationally ranked UCLA Bruins.

A quick turnaround forced the team back into games quickly, playing three doubleheaders in the span of a single week. Af-

Long Beach’s big bats overwhelm Hawai’i An all around offensive effort from the Beach’s softball team made for impressive back-to-back wins Friday night.

Photo courtesy of LBSU Athletics

Senior Alyssa Gonzalez hit three home runs to help the Beach sweep the Rainbow Warriors Friday night in Honolulu.

ter dropping its first two games against San Diego, the team has won eight of nine series, sweeping six of them and solidifying its Big West competing record.

Gonzalez’s best weekend of the season came in a four-game sweep against UC Santa Barbara in which she hit .533 with two

By Jeremy Taylor Staff Writer

T

he Long Beach State softball team swept the first of back-toback doubleheaders against Hawai’i, beating the Rainbow Warriors 10-2 and 8-1 Friday night in Honolulu.

The Big West Conference match up pitted the No. 2 vs. the No. 3 team in the league.

The first game was all offense as the the Beach scored seven times on three home runs in the second inning, led by senior outfielder Breezy Wise who started off the inning with a solo home run opposite field.

Junior outfielder Naomi Hernandez widened the lead in a big way, hitting a grand slam which was her first home run of the season.

Senior Alyssa Gonzalez capped the inning, going yard with a tworun shot to give Long Beach a 7-0 lead.

Hawai’i’s Britnee Rossi hit a sacrificial fly in the bottom of the third inning to put the Rainbow Warriors on the board 1-0.

The Beach took game one of the doubleheaders after the 8-run mercy rule took effect at the end of the fifth inning, giving senior pitcher

home runs and 10 RBIs. Her efforts led to her second Big West Conference player of the week honors of the year.

With only two weeks left in the regular season, the team is looking at its toughest stretch. The Beach’s weekend Big West matchup against third-place Hawaii is currently underway, with the Beach taking the first two games on Friday night. Then comes the challenge of a makeup doubleheader against now No. 1 nationally ranked UCLA and a final four-game set against its rivals, first-place Cal State Fullerton.

These final three series of the season aren’t going to change Gonzalez’s approach to the game or to life.

She has been in the difficult position of a student athlete during the pandemic for over a year now, adapting to her solo training and practices over the recent offseason and going to the gym multiple times a week once it began to reopen. She has played games without any fans or her family in the stands, and she has withstood being thrown into a softball season.

Now, she’s looking forward to the challenge of the next couple weeks and for preparing her younger teammates for their future seasons.

“Yesterday’s over, today is happening and tomorrow isn’t here yet, so it’s time to move on and focus on the next series,” Gonzalez said to her teammates as her time at the Beach reaches its final inning.

Kellie White her 14th win of the season.

Hernandez picked up where she left off in game one, with an RBI in the top of the second, to give Long Beach an early lead.

Wise hit her second home run of the day with a solo shot in the top of the fourth.

Not to be outdone, Gonzalez, the second leading hitter in the conference, hit two more solo home runs in the fifth and seventh innings to give her seven for the season.

Junior Justine Briones put an emphatic stamp on the evening, hitting the second grand slam of the night to give Long Beach an 8-0 lead.

Sophomore pitcher Samantha Fowler turned in a dominating performance pitching a complete game, giving up one run, striking out 12 batters, while only giving up five hits.

The Rainbow Warriors’ only run came with two outs in the bottom of the seventh off a short fly ball that dropped into the outfield past the outstretched glove of shortstop Cam Cecil.

With the victories, Long Beach remains in second place in the Big West Conference behind the Titans of Cal State Fullerton.

Long Beach also won Saturday’s doubleheader against Hawai’i 17-9 and 15-3.

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Do your part today by helping a loved one find their place in line.

For the latest on vaccinations, visit longbeach.gov/vaxlb.

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