Daily Forty-Niner, October 19, 2020

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Vol. LXXII, Issue 9

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Monday, October 19, 2020

THUMB

WARS Inside the

Niner

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ARTS & LIFE

SPORTS

Lack of limelight

Lakers legends yet again

page 5

page 12

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Divisive devices This election year has seen a rise in hostility among individuals with opposing views due to an increase in social media use.

Sports Editor Jacob Powers sports@daily49er.com Design Editor Alejandro Vazquez design@daily49er.com Advertising Manager Carter Magee advertising@daily49er.com Business Manager Rani Hanna business@daily49er.com Special Projects Editor Peter Villafane Photo Editor Andrea Ramos Video Editor Pablo Unzueta Social Media Editor Jocelyn Torralba Podcast Editor Cameron Johnston Multimedia Assistant Luke Pajari Design Assistant Anna Karkalik

By Andrea Ramos Photo Editor

S

ocial media platforms can be useful tools for sharing information or reaching a wide audience, however, the way their algorithms are calibrated can lead to a one-sided, polarized view on the world.

This is especially prevalent with politics.

Election years have always been divisive times, and as the country seemingly splits apart, people are becoming further entrenched in their party affiliation.

However, this election year stands out as being particularly divisive one with the increased hostility in political discourse and a deep polarization of political ideologies, not just in communities, but in the White House as well.

In the first presidential debate, each nominee, instead of highlighting their platforms or beliefs, attempted to discredit the other and accuse them of destroying democracy itself. Even though democracy may be heading toward a change, this portrayal of combative politics is rubbing off on individuals at home and online.

Mary Caputi, a political science professor at Long Beach State, puts into perspective how the public may interpret political debates during this highly volatile time.

“The vicious tenor of discourse at the highest level of government sets an example for the rest of the country, which is unfortunate,” Caputi said. “We’ve grown used to ridicule, offensive jokes and slurs, and political speech that is short on substance and long on invective.”

Caputi said she feels that politics during this time have the “feeling of a brawl rather than a process.”

“Thankfully, there are a few adults in the room who come and break up the fight, but we are at an historic low in terms of how we conduct ourselves politically,” she said.

As Americans shelter at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, social media usage has skyrocketed.

According to eMarketer, between 46% and 51% of adults in the U.S. have reported spending more time on social media since the stay-at-home orders were issued in March.

This usage, combined with algorithms in place on social media, leads to a trend of selective exposure.

Most social media platforms use similar algorithms

that provide content based upon what users interact with and like, and allows for users to exclude content they would rather not see, such as opposing political views.

This divisiveness creates an one-sided environment for most, allowing for dissemination of false information, a development of cognitive dissonance and increased hostility between opposing sides.

“Unfortunately, Americans are not always as community-minded as we should be,” Caputi said.

“We’re a highly individualized country. The erosion in public discourse contributes to an exalted sense of individual entitlement and even narcissism.”

Caputi feels this narcissistic and hostile behavior is prevalent everywhere, an example being that her sister’s political yard sign has been vandalized twice.

One glaring example of this polarization is the politicization of the public health-mandated mask requirement at most public establishments.

Although masks have been proven by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, they are seen as a political statement by some and have been the justification of implicit racism.

According to Mathew Mendez Garcia, a political science professor at CSULB, the power of the fragmented media market giving consumers the option to set preferences on their information intake can increase societal division.

“It’s so apparent now because we’ve seen a maturing of ideological platforms that allow people to disregard the traditional media,” Garcia said. “It makes it impossible to talk to someone who’s very ideological. They will disregard everything you say because they are not getting the same message as you are.”

Elizabeth Orozco, a fourth-year political science major focusing on legal studies at CSULB, said she has felt such hostility on her social media platforms.

“The majority of people I know are liberals and believe in the same things I do,” Orozco said. “But, even when a large spectrum of my followers are like-minded individuals like myself, there’s so much political, decisive and misinformation circulating.”

Orozco said she feels backlash from her peers and even friends when posting anything politically charged on social media.

“I can post about Hailey Bieber supporting Biden, and I get a few of my friends start talking ‘shit’ about who I support,” she said. “Honestly it’s gotten to the point where I need to disassociate myself and take social media breaks.”

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NEWS 3

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | NEWS@DAILY49ER.COM

Illustration by MADALYN AMATO

Spring sees spike in A grades Professors across all departments handed out an average of 13% more As in the spring 2020 semester compared to spring of 2019.

By Briana Mutlu Staff Writer

T

he coronavirus pandemic transitioned graduation ceremonies to computer screens and emptied out Long Beach State’s campus. But there was one silver lining in the unorthodox spring of 2020—more As. Lots more.

CSULB saw record-high grades for the spring 2020 semester with 60% of all grades distributed being As, the highest distribution since fall 2015. This is an increase of roughly 13% across all departments compared to spring of 2019.

“We were told by the upper administration and the provost to err on the side of leniency,” said Mark Washburn, chair of the Department of Marketing. “Basically, if we were to make mistakes in grading, [we were told] to make them in favor of the student.”

According to Institutional Research and Analytics at CSULB, students earned double the percentage of C grades, and professors distributed more failing grades in spring of 2019. The university saw little-tono grade variation from 2016 until 2020, when all departments but the College of Education distributed at least 9% more As. Henry Yeh, chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering, said that the grade inflation was heavily influenced by the university’s decision to provide a later deadline for students to select credit or no credit for any class.

Yeh also said he recognizes the impact the abrupt transition to online instruction had on the inflation.

“A number of faculty gave all As to students,” he said. “Some professors felt that they wanted to do a good job, but couldn’t do the job they wanted because so many were unprepared to go online.”

Many students and faculty believe that

Data showing the A to F grade distribution from spring 2020 was provided by Institutional Research and Analytics.

professors’ leniency towards grading during the spring 2020 semester was necessary, especially for lab classes and other courses in which students were unable to access in-person materials to finish their projects.

“I could only go so far on a certain project because I didn’t have access to the school’s resources,” said Maricela Cedillo, a second-year industrial design major. “I still got

an A, but I didn’t fully complete the class.”

Cedillo, whose grades improved last semester, believes that the unprecedented circumstances stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic prompted professors to be more tolerant during the spring.

“They moved well with how things were changing,” she said. “They weren’t easy on people, but they were more understanding.”

Another potential contributing factor to grade inflation could have been a possible rise in cheating during virtual assessments.

“There is no way to moderate the exams, no way to know about cheating,” Yeh said.

“Professors have never done this virtual mode, so it’s a challenge, therefore the students are discouraged from studying.”

According to the Hechinger Report, ProctorU, a company that performs online exam proctoring, there was a 7% increase in cheating nationwide from April to June.

An increase in cheating after transitioning from in person to online examinations may seem like an obvious result. However, Long Beach State has yet to enforce a regulated system to proctor online exams across departments.

“There is no university mandate on exams except that one point of evaluation cannot be worth more than 33% of a student’s final grade,” said Jody Cormack, vice provost for academic programs and dean of graduate studies. “It is faculty choice of when or how they use Respondus Monitor or Respondus lockdown.”

Alison Wrynn, California State University associate vice chancellor of academic programs, innovations and faculty development, issued a memorandum to administrators in the 23-campus system on Aug. 4, urging faculty to consider students’ lack of resources and financial instability when giving online exams.

Wrynn encouraged all CSU campuses to offer alternative assessments, such as those allowing open books and open notes, or presentations and portfolios in lieu of traditional exams for the fall 2020 semester.

Many professors and students said they felt that the grade inflation was an isolated incident necessary to compensate for straying from syllabi, a contract that should not otherwise vary, in the middle of the semester.

“Everyone was trying to be lenient because we were changing mid-semester,” Washburn said. “Now, fall has a structured environment that should bring grading back into a normal and consistent range.”

4 NEWS

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | NEWS@DAILY49ER.COM

PHOTOS BY PABLO UNZUETA | Daily Forty-Niner

Joseph Petitt, a criminology and criminal justice graduate of Long Beach State, helps register voters who are experiencing homelessness at the Multi-Service Center in Long Beach.

Homeless voices of Long Beach to be heard in upcoming election A mobile ballot center is providing access for the unhoused community to have an opportunity to cast their ballots eight days before Election Day.

By Pablo Unzueta Video Editor

P

eople who are experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity in Long Beach are being allowed to register to vote for the first time through the Multi-Service Center.

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, the Homeless Services Advisory Committee made a nocost agreement with Los Angeles County to provide a mobile ballot center. This will give the homeless population of Long Beach an opportunity to participate in this year’s election.

The Multi-Service Center, led by the Long Beach Health Department, provides services such as showers, meals and a recreational park that is tucked near the 710 freeway. The mobile ballot center will be set up for people experiencing homelessness to be able to vote on Oct. 25, outside of the Multi-Service Center in Long Beach.

“It is great news because we never had this here,” said Max Estrada, operations supervisor of the Department of Health and Human Services. “The mobile ballot center all started with an idea and look how big it is now.”

The MSC also hopes that the mobile ballot center will help bring in people who are already registered to vote to cast their ballots. The organization is also allowing newly registered voters who are homeless

The Multi-Service Center is offering services for individuals who are experiencing homelessness to participate in the upcoming election.

to use the center’s address as their place of residence.

Joseph Petitt, a criminology and criminal justice graduate of Long Beach State, has been doing outreach inside prisons and

service centers like the MSC to encourage people to register to vote for the upcoming election.

Petitt is a policy and program coordinator for the Los Angeles Regional Reentry

Partnership, an organization that serves formerly incarcerated and convicted Angelinos.

“We want newly registered voters to vote educated. That’s why we refer them to LA Free The Vote, so they can get the educational voting materials,” Petitt said.

Petitt also provided the California Voter’s Guide at the center, which highlights propositions that will directly affect the homeless and convicted population like Measure J. If passed, Measure J will allocate $500 million to services like job training, rent assistance and mental health support.

L.P. Simmons, a resident of Long Beach since 1992, has experienced homelessness for two years and is now a registered voter.

The mobile ballot center highlights a victory in the city’s effort in providing resources for its residents. Simmons, who registered as a Democrat, believes this upcoming election is “very important” and plans to use the mobile ballot center on Oct. 25.

According to Data USA, 18.1% of Long Beach residents live below the poverty line, with an average of 13.1% nationwide. Although officials from the organization are not expecting thousands of voters from the homeless community to cast their ballots, there is lingering optimism that a large number of people will utilize the mobile ballot box come Oct. 25.

“Regardless of political opinion, we are waiting for a president to unify the country,” Simmons said. “It’s important to get your voice heard.”

ARTS & LIFE 5

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | ARTS@DAILY49ER.COM

Awaiting theater for all

By Catherine Lima and Paris Barraza Staff Writers

L

atinx students within the Department of Theatre Arts at Long Beach State discuss experiences with racism and lack of opportunities in the department and in the industry amid recent nationwide conversations about social justice.

Henry Alexander Meza, a fifth-year general theater arts major, attended a high school in South Central Los Angeles that was focused on STEM and had no arts programs.

It wasn’t until Meza enrolled in a general education class, Theatre 113, in the second semester of his first year at CSULB that he realized he had a passion for theater.

But Meza said that as a Latino and as a student who came from a STEM-focused high school, he had been told all of his life that a job in arts won’t make any money or go anywhere in life.

“It really was a conflict inside of me because I wanted to make my family proud,” Meza said. “I wanted to make my community proud because I didn’t want to be this statistic of dropping out of high school or dropping out of university and not finding a good job or not finding something stable, and I wanted to prove that I was better than what the statistics say.”

It was a difficult decision for Meza to make, but it was more difficult on his mental health to not be involved in theater. In his fourth year, Meza switched to the theater arts department.

And while Meza said that the department has helped him find himself and that he personally has not had any negative experiences, he saw how students had problems with casting choices and the selection of plays.

“I try to find any acting jobs outside of the theater department, and a lot of them are white male, white male, white male,” Meza said. “The western story arc, or the western film or the western theater, it’s all a white male protagonist.”

Meza said that he is tired of the lack of stories on minorities, so when he writes, he creates protagonists of color or those who are women.

Joanna Padilla, a fourth-year theater major with a focus in lighting design, said that one of the biggest challenges that Latinx theater arts students face is the lack of representation in the plays that they read and are put on by the department.

“They’re very geared towards one group of people, and it’s definitely not towards us,” Padilla said.

Padilla is familiar with not letting fear get in the way of achieving her goals within the world of technical theater, which can be intimidating because it’s heavily dominated by men.

“The best things that have happened to me come from taking a chance,” Padilla said.

Andrea Felix-Cervantes, a fourth-year technical theater major with a focus in stage management and a film minor, has noticed that it is harder for Latinx students to join the department if there aren’t professors who truly understand what it means to be Latinx.

Anthony Byrnes, chair of the Department of Theatre Arts, said that the department’s all-white tenure and tenure-track faculty was not okay nor a sustainable way for the university or theater arts at CSULB to move forward as a field.

And while introducing new faculty is subject to a budget, Byrnes said that on a department level, curriculums, work that is

Latinx theater arts students share how casting decisions, choice of plays and the lack of representation in the industry are just some of the challenges they experience in their careers.

Illustration by PARIS BARRAZA

performed on stage and department policies can all be changed.

Byrnes said that students have been discussing department and industry failures during the summer on different platforms, including Facebook.

“You’ll see a group of students who don’t feel as if their work or their stories or their communities have been represented fully on our stages,” Byrnes said. “They haven’t been represented in our curriculum, and that’s a problem.”

With the support of the College of the Arts, Byrnes said that the theater department will bring in the California Conference for Equality and Justice, a Long Beach-based human relations organization “dedicated to eliminating bias, bigotry and racism through education, conflict resolution and advocacy,” according to their website.

Byrnes said that the CCEJ will start working with the department this semester

and possibly into the spring 2021 semester to help address the department’s lack of representation on a deeper level and understand the harms that have been done to the community.

This measure, Byrnes said, will help the department go beyond examining the work that has been performed on stage and the texts assigned in the curriculum.

As a stage manager, it has been difficult for Felix-Cervantes to find Latinx voices to cast into plays. She said that it makes a difference to have Latinx actors in productions created by other Latinx folks because there is a sense of cultural understanding.

“There are a lot of students who are Latinx and are still trying to find their voices,” Felix-Cervantes said. “I know that it can be really hard to find that voice, especially in an area where theater has had predominantly westernized context.”

Latinx students face being typecast into plays or not being casted at all by some di-

rectors because of euro-centric values that they are looking for in an actor to play a part.

Eric Morales, a third-year general theater major, said that some plays in the department do feature non-white stories which provides opportunities for a diverse cast, but that it sometimes feels like it’s the only opportunity students of a certain community can get.

While these stories need to be told, Morales said, students may want to get involved in other plays.

“I wouldn’t want to do a story about, you know, women in the Mexican cartel, not because it’s not what I believe in or I’m not for the story,” Morales said. “I’ve always been more of a comedic actor myself.”

Morales explained how even localized opportunities have thinned out for Latinx actors who are not white-passing.

Morales used the Netflix show “Stranger Things” as an example and said that because of its predominantly white cast, which he clarified that it was reasonable given the show’s setting in a fictional town in Indiana in the 1980s, he would not be casted to play one of the characters in a haunted maze, like Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights that did a “Stranger Things” themed maze twice.

“When it comes to things outside of that show like these haunted mazes, the people who look like Steve, the Nancy, you know, they’re gonna be white people because those roles are white,” Morales said. “We can’t really make it non-white, and just the fact that because of this one popular show, it makes more opportunities for people who are white.”

Morales said that a problem within the department is that students have to make these opportunities for themselves.

It’s what Miguel A. Lopez did by creating the three-day virtual workshop “Amplifying Latinx Theatre” in September.

Lopez, a fourth-year double majoring in Chicano/Latino studies and theater arts, hosted the Zoom series to create a safe space for theater arts students of Latinx backgrounds.

“Within the theater department at Long Beach, they primarily focus on plays written by white men,” Lopez said. “Sure, some of them might be a part of the LGBTQ community, but we have to be critical about the fact that they are still white men.”

More than 80 participants attended the final Zoom meeting of the series, including CSULB alumni and guest speakers Evelina Fernandez, a playwright and actress, and Jose Luis Valenzuela, a theater film director and a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Theater, Film and Television.

“Although, yes, we can say we have progressed as a theater community from being just Shakespeare and Greek tragedies, but there are still other people’s narratives that we are leaving out,” Lopez said. “Such as disabled folks, Asian folks and indigenous folks, especially.”

Lopez first began to organize this type of workshop during the spring 2020 semester, with the first one hosted back in February at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“I just hope [attendees] take inspiration to create their own work, however that may be,” Lopez said. “Whether it be at school, within their own communities or even share the information to other folks.”

Morales and Meza created their own improvisation club last year. Meza also wrote the play “The Stranger,” which is a six-episode miniseries that started airing last month.

And Felix-Cervantes had her own advice.

“If you can’t find your own community, create one,” Felix-Cervantes said. “Find other like-minded people who are interested in telling the same stories you want to.”

6 ARTS & LIFE

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 | DAILY49ER.CO

Taking education t

Recipients of the Sally Cassanova Pre-doctoral S to pursue graduate programs and the resea

T

By Jireh Deng Assistant Opinio

he Sally Cassanova Pre-doctoral Scholars Program seeks to provide funding for students in the California State University system interested in graduate school and pursuing a doctorate. Scholars will

TARYN WILLIAMS, A FOURTH-YEAR GRADUATE STUDENT DOUBLE MAJORING IN MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY MANAGEMENT

T

aryn Williams is determined to not let her disadvantages define her trajectory or outlook as someone who has been through the foster care system, experienced homelessness, once used drugs and formerly incarcerated.

Instead, Williams, a fourth-year management and operations and supply chain management major, wants to use her grit and tenacity to push for change, which is how she has come to find her purpose and drive to pursue a business degree at Long Beach State.

As someone who was formerly incarcerated, Williams has seen firsthand how an entire population of people in the prison system have been shunted from the job market. The formerly incarcerated population has a 27% unemployment rate, which has been proven to contribute to the recidivism rate of around 37% nationally.

Williams has taken it upon herself to pursue research and make a case to businesses that providing opportunities for the formerly incarcerated is more than just a feel-good act, but is also something that will help their bottom line.

Williams said that the formerly incarcerated population’s success and hard work is oftentimes overlooked.

Currently, there is little-to-no data on how to change hiring practices or adjust higher education to accommodate students like Williams who want to reenter the workforce. She is planning to pursue a doctorate in management, where she hopes to advise companies and high-

er education institutions on how to fill those gaps.

But it hasn’t been an easy journey returning to school after a nine-year break.

As a mother of twins, balancing school and raising children has been difficult for Williams.

“It’s for sure exhausting,” Williams said. “I want people to not assume that I’m some superhuman.”

Most days are spent taking care of her two children, McKayla and Isaiah, before putting them to bed at 8 p.m. Then, she studies until 2 a.m. and goes to sleep only to wake up at 6 a.m.

She said the Jewish community on campus has played an integral role in her ability to juggle everything she’s involved in. “[They] pull [me] closer into culture and my sense of community, especially with having the kids,” Williams said. “I think especially having a Jewish community on campus has made college feel like a home.”

Everything Williams does is for her kids. She said that she has made many sacrifices, between raising them and pursuing her education, but she hopes that when they are older, they will recognize her desire to provide them with a better future.

Eventually, Williams hopes to return to higher education as a professor so that future college students will get to encounter diverse faculty. Williams hopes that after hearing her story, company leaders will reconsider rejecting an applicant solely based on their record.

CRISTIEN ARZATE, A SECOND-YEAR GRADUATE STUDENT MAJORING IN PHYSICS

C

ristien Arzate loves working with computers. To him, coding is like another language.

That’s why when he decided to major in physics and do research, he wanted to focus on computational research rather than experimental.

Arzate’s interest in astronomy began during his third year at Western Michigan University, when he began plotting data points for Manuel Bautista, a professor who was studying white dwarfs, a type of star.

This led him into his current graduate research at Long Beach State in astrophysics.

Now, Arzate works with Thomas Kläehn, an assistant professor studying the ultra dense matter of neutron stars and tries to measure the speed of sound through pressure modeling. The end goal is to learn more about the center of neutron stars and use physics to prove that neutron stars may have quark-gluon plasma.

Arzate also works with youth through

the TRiO program at Western Michigan University.

Last summer, Arzate taught a coding course in Python to high school students from rural backgrounds and working farms, many of whom are the first in their family to attend college. .

Arzate’s parents were seasonal workers, and he knows that he’s pursuing a doctorate not only for himself, but also to demonstrate that individuals from underrepresented backgrounds can achieve their goals in academia.

“I want to honor my parents right by just working hard and chasing my goals as hard as I can,” Arzate said.

He especially wants to give back to the farm worker community that his parents are from.

Arzate is back home in Michigan taking CSULB courses online. Despite complications due to the coronavirus pandemic, he’s continued to make the most of opportunities like the Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Program.

ARTS & LIFE 7

OM | @DAILY49ER | ARTS@DAILY49ER.COM

to a higher degree

Scholars Program share why they were inspired arch they plan to conduct in years to come.

ons Editor

also be provided with individual guidance from CSU faculty members as well as opportunities for career and professional development.

The 2020-21 scholars include 12 students from Long Beach State. Here is part 3 of the recipients.

LIZBETH JARDON, A FIFTH-YEAR GRADUATE STUDENT DOUBLE MAJORING IN BIOLOGY AND COMPARATIVE WORLD LITERATURE

LANA TRAN, A SECOND-YEAR GRADUATE STUDENT MAJORING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

L

ana Tran once worked as a preschool teacher at a nonprofit organization as a Long Beach State undergraduate, providing services to students in foster care services or experiencing homelessness.

This experience sparked Tran’s drive to continue her graduate coursework to focus on the research and pedagogy of the best practices to offer support to teachers and policymakers setting up educational systems.

Tran has worked on several research projects at CSULB, University of California, Irvine and Boston University.

At CSULB’s Center for Evaluation and Educational Effectiveness, Tran worked alongside project director Erika Kato, evaluating the effectiveness of the Sí Puedo grant for Hispanic-serving institutions to target STEM performance for Latinx and low-income communities.

At UCI, Tran is part of the Individualizing Student Instruction Lab within the College of Education, where her research is focused on literacy development for students between kindergarten and third grade.

UCI’s research in early childhood education has helped Tran realize that she wants to prioritize applying for doctoral programs that value early childhood education. At the

ISI lab, Tran worked under Carol Connor, a chancellor’s professor who died in May. Tran said she hopes to carry on the legacy of Connor’s work in children’s language and literacy development.

Tran studies inequities in the classroom at Boston University, learning how white students are given preferential treatment and how other students are disciplined.

Tran said she hopes to become a professor after receiving her degree. “[Acceptance is] the value I’m going to ingrain into my teaching pedagogy,” Tran said. “And the field of early education has a lot to do with social-emotional intelligence.”

At times, Tran has self-doubt when she thinks about how funding for STEM often is prioritized over early childhood education.

However, individuals like Jyotsna Pattnaik in the College of Education have encouraged Tran to apply for research opportunities, which helped her find her way into programs like the Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Program.

Tran said she hopes that as research expands for early childhood education, interventions backed by empirical evidence can help students reach their full potential early on.

S

ome might it find it surprising that Lizbeth Jardon has chosen to major in two fields that seem diametrically opposed, STEM and liberal arts. But that’s because it’s where she’s found her niche within the field of biology and conservation efforts in ecology.

When Jardon applied for the Research Initiative for Scientific Advancement, she had only taken one semester of science classes. Jardon had both her teaching assistant from her intro to biology course and a comparative world literature professor write her letters of recommendation.

Now in the program, Jardon, a fifthyear biology and comparative world literature double major, said that having opposite majors actually helped her application stand out. To the program director, she was a science, technology, engineering and mathematics major with the skills to communicate in reading and writing.

With RISE, Jardon works under Ted Stankowich’s Mammal research lab where she studies the musculature differences between coyotes that live in urban and rural areas. Jardon said that the research plays a practical role in helping humans interact safely with wildlife they may encounter.

However, Jardon didn’t always envision this future in higher education for herself. She felt isolated at times in her hometown of Garden Grove, sometimes being the only Mexican American student in her advanced placement classes in high school surrounded by Vietnamese American students.

“I just kind of took a look around the classroom,” Jardon said. “I was like, ‘There’s no one here who looks like me,’ and I feel like that really played a role in where I never realized how segregated some of the classes were.”

For Jardon, making her way in research is motivated by more than just her love for animals. She wants to break down the expectations and standards that society sets for women in her community.

“It’s just that there has been historically a lack of diversity,” Jardon said.

Jardon wants to show other students who are first generation students like herself that it’s possible to make it in this field.

“I feel like race was always sort of a predetermination of where you would end up in life,” Jardon said.

Jardon wants to come back to an institution like CSULB as a professor to mentor students and interact with the public on matters related to wildlife.

8 OPINIONS I dissent against Amy Coney Barrett

By Bella Arnold Contributor

O

n Sept. 18, 2020, I stood in an aisle of Target, holding two cans of Enlightenmint Yerba Mate and cried. Not because they were out of Bluephoria, but because I just learned of the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was a legend amongst feminists, and an advocate for reproductive rights and the fight for gender and sexual equality.

As a young woman, I mourned for the loss of a woman who spent her entire career advocating for issues that directly affected me until her last breath.

The sorrow was short lived, as I was overcome with the urge to scream in the middle of Target after learning that President Donald J. Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell already announced their plans to replace her seat on the Supreme Court.

According to RBG’s granddaughter, Clara Spera, her final wish was for her Supreme Court seat to not be filled until after the election. After the passing of Justice Antoni Scalia nine months before the 2016 election, Mitch McConnell asserted that a seat should not be filled during an election year.

However, this new opening in the Supreme Court, less than two months before the 2020 election, has caused McConnell to have a change in heart. He is now openly advocating for Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation and hearings began Oct. 12, less than a month before the election. After Barrett’s confirmation hearing, the Senate will vote to confirm the nominee.

Given that the Senate majority currently belongs to the Republican party, it’s extremely likely that Barrett will be confirmed.

This timeline is even more troubling given the nature of this election. Many voters are electing to vote by mail and have already voted. McConell had previously opposed Supreme Court confirmations during an election cycle.

We are in the middle of an election, and this COVID-19-ridden process is being rushed as a last-ditch effort by the Trump administration to leave his skid mark on his time in office.

The only logical thing to do in that moment was go on a Twitter rant, buy ice cream and Google available apartments in Canada. Then I cried a bit more. Finally, I began researching Trump’s pick for RBG’s replacement: Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

The 48-year-old professor at Notre Dame Law School was nominated to fill RBG’s seat on Sept. 26.

My contempt for this pick differs from my beer-flavored contempt for Trump’s nomination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Barrett is a graduate of Rhodes University, where she was a magna cum laude scholar. Following her undergraduate education, she pursued higher education in the form of a Juris Doctor summa cum laude from Notre Dame, where she graduated at the top of her class and would later serve as a professor of law.

As much as I disapprove of the ACB nomination and fear my rights, as a woman, I think the attacks on her intellect are unjust. Her academic accolades prove that she is intellectually superior to any of Trump’s alternate picks, and she has the appropriate temperament and experience to occupy a seat on the Supreme Court.

On top of that, she loves Kate Chopin, Pinterest and chocolate. On paper, she seems qualified. However, her ideals and judicial philosophy lead me to yearn for puddles of quicksand.

Barrett was a clerk for the late Justice Antoni Scalia and has consistently cited him as a mentor and inspiration. Scalia was adamant about his judicial philosophies, specifically his belief in the idea of textualism. Textualists believe that relying on the original text of the Constitution is the most honest and accurate interpretation of the law, however, it is extremely problematic in practice.

The framers did not account for women, minorities or the technological and social changes that would occur in the hundreds of years since the Constitution was written.

Barrett’s presence on the Supreme Court will shift the Court’s dynamics dramatically to the right. If she fills RBG’s seat, this will put the Court at a total of six conservative justices and three liberal justices.

With her background as a textualist, devout Catholic and an advocate opponent of abortion and the Affordable Care Act, Barrett’s appointment leaves little to the imagination.

If she is confirmed, Barrett will be the youngest person on the Court, and because Supreme Court seats are lifetime appointments, her rulings will change the course of our democracy for decades to come.

Academia and qualifications aside, Judge Barrett is the wrong choice to fill RBG’s seat and a threat to our fundamental rights and democracy. Barrett’s opposition to abortion, the Affordable Care Act and LGBTQ rights solidifies my belief that she is not fit to serve on the Supreme Court.

Unlike the ulcer I am likely to form at the ripe age of 26, I can’t blame the politicization of the Supreme Court on Trump. The original intent of the framers of the constitution was to create an apolitical body of government that would protect the rectitude of the Constitution.

They grossly underestimated America’s ability to politicize a piece of cloth that goes over your mouth and nose, let alone an entire branch of government. I also think that relying on the intent of the framers of the constitution is a dead end, as they quite literally owned slaves and had no intention of giving rights to people of color.

The fact that our fundamental rights to healthcare and abortion relied on RBG, an 87-year-old, is a testament to the system being broken. It’s blatantly obvious that I have major critiques of the system and crave democratic reform, but the only way we can honor RBG’s wishes and maintain democracy is to vote.

The best way to send a big middle finger to the establishment is to vote and make our needs heard. Standing by and letting this confirmation proceed is absolutely antithetical to Ginsburg’s beliefs, and we owe her this fight.

As cliche as it sounds, this is not what she would have wanted. Ginsburg built her career on dissent and advocacy. She became known for her stellar academic record, founding the American Civil Liberties Union’s Women’s Rights Project, her work as the first Jewish woman ever appointed to a Supreme Court seat and constant protection of Roe v. Wade.

The reality that a president who was unwanted by the majority of 2016 voters has the opportunity to fill two crucial seats on the Supreme Court is nauseating.

The holy trinity of defense in response to this nomination is voting, calling your senators and acting as vocal opponents.

Now is not the time to stand on a precipice of third-party nominees and complacency. The electoral college is a broken system, but we are in a fight for our democracy and we have to play the game and elect officials who will advocate for the will of the people—not narcissistic, convoluted ideas of patriotism.

ACB

Here is a look into Trump’s SCOTUS nominee and why she doesn’t belong on the Supreme Court.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | OPINIONS@DAILY49ER.COM

OPINIONS 9

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | OPINIONS@DAILY49ER.COM

Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Reframing, reclaiming and rectifying 1492 The truth is, Columbus didn’t “discover” America.

By Bonnie Gasior Professor of Spanish and Interim Director of the University Honors Program

G

rowing up as a child, I learned “In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” My friend, a seventh-grade history teacher, tells me her students still recite the poem.

In addition to being wildly inaccurate—Columbus never even set foot on North American soil—this rhyme is Eurocentric, a whitewashed version of “historical” events and it erases indigenous subjectivity: “he had three ships,” “he left from Spain,” “he used the stars to find his way.”

Columbus was not the only active agent, nor were the indigenous peoples passive and acquiescing as the poem would make you believe: “[they] gave the sailors food and spice.” While we’ve thankfully abandoned the word “discovery” in favor of the more two-sided “encounter” over the last thirty years, the shift still does not reflect or atone for the violence, pillaging and destruction of language, history and culture that characterized Columbus’s four voyages between 1492 and 1502.

Is reconciliation even possible in 2020? I believe so.

However, there are people who claim that replacing “Columbus Day” with “Indigenous People’s Day” is to minimize the feat of Columbus traveling across the Atlantic Ocean.

Even if Columbus’s voyage was fraught with, and a product of, ironic distance miscalculations, crossing

the ocean in the late 15th century with only an astrolabe and rudimentary maps is astounding and unfathomable in today’s GPS-dependent world.

Nevertheless, history has chosen not to focus on that detail but rather on cultivating a sympathetic image of a man who “saved” the indigenous populations from their own perceived savagery, which was nothing more than a Christian, imperialist fantasy.

What about the brutality? Bartolomé de las Casas reproached Spain’s colonization practices as harmful and detestable enterprises.

What about tyranny? By the turn of the century, Columbus’s, or “Colón” as he was known in Spanish, reputation as an inept, ruthless governor reached the Crown, resulting in his temporary incarceration. The rhyme has unfortunately misinformed generations of children, who now as adults are learning—thankfully and rightfully so— the whole truth about the Columbian legacy.

Nearly two decades ago, I made a prediction—I regularly teach Colón’s “Diario de abordo” in my literature classes—that someday, Columbus Day would be replaced with a term that would acknowledge, if not prioritize, the experience of the autochthonous peoples of the Americas.

Do we still need to talk about Columbus? Of course, but contextually and honestly.

While only a handful of states recognize Indigenous People’s Day, I am confident that, as we commit to thinking more critically about historical turning points, that this more apposite name is the first step in understanding why historical revisionism matters.

10 OPINIONS

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | OPINIONS@DAILY49ER.COM

Spill the Tea is a weekly section for students to share their opinions and make their voices heard. Long Beach State students answer a question that can rnage from the silly the political. We at the Daily Forty-Niner valve deverse opinions of the CSULB student body and look forward to you sharing them with us.

What did you think of the presidential debates?

Bella Arnold, second year journalism major

Alexis Vela fourth-year business management major

“I thought it was a shitstorm, as many journalists had expressed. But, I thought Biden did a pretty good job especially considering what he had to deal with. I hope that they genuinely entertain muting the mics for the person not speaking.”

“It was embarrassing and difficult to watch for both parties. The issues weren’t addressed appropriately, and it just seemed like they were attacking one another personally and not the issues.

Trump used his same bully technique and, unfortunately, Biden sunk to his level when he could have shown the American public he was the more logical and rational candidate, a missed opportunity on his part.”

Marina Balza fourth-year chemistry major

“I was pretty upset after. I think we were robbed of a really important experience that comes with an election year. I felt like there was a lot of petulant arguing that gave light to anything except for policy.”

IN-HOUSE ADVERTISEMENT

Jose Ahumada, fourth-year journalism major

“I felt like both candidates were blabbering on like children, and instead of a civil debate, it seemed like one candidate was speaking over and attacking the other one.”

SPORTS 11

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | SPORTS@DAILY49ER.COM

How the Miami Heat lit up the league The Heat’s success has been years in the making, and Jimmy Butler was the final piece to their puzzle.

By Jordan Hom Staff Writer

H

ow about the Los Angeles Lakers this season?

LeBron James and Anthony Davis teamed up this season, bringing the Lakers to the NBA Finals after a decade-long playoff drought. Their chances of winning were doubted and they were even seen as the second-best team in Los Angeles.

Now, they stand on top of the professional basketball world and are tied for the most championships in NBA history.

James is one step closer to reaching Jordan status. Dwight Howard and Davis finally got their first rings, and Jeanie Buss became the first female owner to win a championship.

Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gigi, would be proud.

But this article isn’t about the Lakers. Or LeBron or Davis or even their supporting cast. This is about the team that surprised the basketball world and faced off against the Lakers in the Finals.

This is about the Miami Heat.

The Heat has had something special brewing under the league’s nose for years.

The seeds to their current success were first planted after the “Big Three” era of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, when James decided to return to his first team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In 2015, the Heat acquired the first piece in a trade, point guard Goran Dragić, who would become veteran leadership to the young Heat team. The front office pulled an even better move by drafting Bam Adebayo in 2017. Adebayo flew under the radar as a rookie, being outshone at the time by fellow rookies like Lonzo Ball, Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell.

It took a few years for Adebayo to get to all-star level, but it was worth the wait. He played a massive role this past season, averaging nearly 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Miami. He was considered the definition of a true “point center,” a big man who could battle in the paint and pass like a ball handler.

Adebayo became something special, thanks to the Heat culture molding him into a super star at such a young age.

The Heat have a real knack for finding diamonds in the rough. Just one season after drafting Adebayo, they found another young talent just waiting to blossom: Duncan Robinson.

Robinson started his college basketball career at Williams College, a Division III school, then transferred to the University of Michigan and made a name for himself as a three-point specialist.

After going undrafted in 2018, Robinson signed an NBA summer league contract with Miami that year, eventually earning him a two-way contract with the Heat and their G League affiliate. In 2019, Robinson secured his full-time spot on the Heat’s roster.

But the Heat weren’t done finding young talent.

At the start of the 2019 season, the Heat picked two more pieces: Tyler Herro, a rookie from Kentucky with the swagger to back up his scoring ability, and Kendrick Nunn, an undrafted prospect that made big waves in the G League.

The two young guards would take on big roles during the season, with Herro becoming a reliable scoring option in tense moments, and Nunn starting as point guard during the regular season.

Miami’s young core is already starting to make a noticeable impact in the league.

A championship-level team needs strong veteran leadership. That’s where Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala come in.

When Jimmy Butler became the headline for a three-team sign-and-trade deal between the Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies and the Heat, many wondered why he chose to sign with a franchise that was stuck in limbo, between not being able to advance past the first round of the postseason and not bad enough to tank.

From his previous seasons with Minnesota and Philadelpia, Butler gained a reputation of being difficult to work with. In

reality, though, those team environments were just not built for a player like him.

The young stars in Minnesota couldn’t match his intensity and work ethic, and Philadelphia was just as soft. Even with his abilities, he was never considered to be the guy who could carry a team into the playoffs like LeBron James could.

So what made Miami different for him?

He finally found the perfect fit. He found a team with a culture that welcomed his mentality that had discouraged his past few teams. Butler coming to the Heat was like a puzzle finding its missing piece.

Miami has been all about hard work and playing like you have a chip on your shoulder. Butler has had something to prove ever since he entered the league, and Miami was the perfect place for him to do it. He had finally found a home, and he made it known that he was there to win.

The Heat swept the Pacers in the first round, upset the Bucks in the second round and out-played the Celtics in the Conference Finals on their way to facing off against the Lakers. Unfortunately, injuries took a toll on the team from the start of the Finals.

Adebayo strained his shoulder in Game 1 and didn’t play again until Game 5. Dragić tore a ligament in his foot in Game 1 and was out for the series. Butler gave it his all by fighting through an ankle roll in Game 1 and played 47 of the 48 minutes in Game 5.

They fought with grit down to the wire but came up short in the end, landing two wins in the series.

Now that the Heat have made it to the Finals in their post-Big Three era, they are only going to get better from here. With Butler as the alpha setting an example for his young teammates, the team will be hungry for more and ready to run it back next season.

Butler even posted a picture of himself back in the gym on Instagram a day after the Heat’s Finals loss. And, if Jimmy is back in the gym, his teammates will be there as well. The Eastern Conference now has to worry about other teams than the Bucks, the Sixers or the Raptors.

Whether the NBA is back in arenas or still in the Orlando bubble next season, the Heat will have one goal in mind: to win it all.

12 SPORTS

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 | DAILY49ER.COM | @DAILY49ER | SPORTS@DAILY49ER.COM

The Los Angeles Lakers reclaim their throne A look at the 10-year struggle the Lakers endured to get back into championship form and win it all.

By Daniel Hanna Staff Writer

A

fter 10 long years, the Los Angeles Lakers are finally back on top and have brought the Larry O’Brien trophy back home.

The last time the Lakers won a championship in the National Basketball Association was in June of 2010 when they defeated their rivals, the Boston Celtics. After this victory, the Lakers went on to struggle for the next decade.

The season following the title win, the Lakers lost the Western Conference semifinals to the Dallas Mavericks, which showed the first warning signs of the destruction of the Lakers.

After losing to the Mavericks, the Lakers decided to make a few roster changes.

In the offseason, the Lakers engaged in a three-team trade that would have sent point guard Chris Paul to the Lakers from the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets would have received Lamar Odom from the Lakers and Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and Goran Dragic from the Houston Rockets. The Rockets in return would have received Pau Gasol from Los Angeles.

Opposing owners in the NBA contacted former commissioner David Stern and complained that the Lakers would be too strong, resulting in him vetoing the trade.

This caused the Lakers to lose a few allstars.

Soon after, Phil Jackson decided to retire which forced the Lakers hiring of former coach Mike Brown. In his first season as head coach, Brown led the Lakers to a 4125 record in the 2011-12 season, but were

then swept in the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks.

That next season, Brown was fired after five games when the Lakers started the season 1-4. Interim head coach Bernie Bickerstaff stepped in and coached the next five games and he went 4-1 as head coach.

During that time the Lakers were looking for a new coach and hired Mike D’Antoni.

Coach D’Antoni came in the rest of the 2012-13 season and coached the team to a 40-32 record, but the Lakers were swept in the first round yet again by the San Antonio Spurs.

Over the next few seasons, the downward spiral continued. In the 2013-14 season, the Lakers fell to a 27-55 record. They did not qualify for the playoffs, ultimately leading to the firing of coach D’Antoni following that season.

In need of a quick replacement, the Lakers hired head coach Byron Scott. The roster included Nick Young, Robert Sacre, Ryan Kelly and of course, the late Kobe Bryant. But the Mamba could not do it alone and in the 2014-15 season, the Lakers fell to a 21-61 record.

The 2015-16 season was no better. Although the Lakers drafted D’Angelo Russell, they still finished with a record of 1765. During that time period, the Lakers held the worst record in the NBA. They also set a franchise record of a 10-game losing streak in January that season.

That season also happened to be the last season Kobe Bryant stepped foot on the court. Bryant in his farewell tour had opposing arenas chanting his name. A memorable game that season was when the Lakers faced off against the Celtics in Boston. Chants of “Kobe” and “MVP” filled the arena, although the Lakers and Celtics are storied rivals. During his final game, the

Mamba scored an iconic 60 points and led the Lakers to a victory over the Utah Jazz.

Following the tough year, coach Scott was fired preceding the end of the season.

The Lakers brought back one of their former players, Luke Walton, from the Golden State Warriors to take the helm and guide the Lakers.

The Lakers drafted Brandon Ingram that offseason hoping that the young star would bring some light to Los Angeles. Unfortunately, Ingram and D’Angelo Russell could not help the Lakers emerge out the dark, as they finished the 2016-17 season with a 2656 record.

In the 2017-18 season, the Lakers added a few all-star names to their list. They signed Brook Lopez, Isaiah Thomas and Kentavious Caldwell Pope. They also drafted Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Alex Caruso. With the roster changes, Walton was able to coach his team to a 35-47 record that did not qualify for the playoffs.

The Lakers’ luck changed in 2018-19. The Lakers were able to sign the superstar that they needed in LeBron James to a four-year contract. With this addition to the team, they were able to secure the fourth-seed up until the Lakers’ Christmas Day game.

James suffered a groin injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season, causing the Lakers to lose place of the fourth-seed and miss the playoffs once more.

That offseason, the Lakers made a huge roster change. They traded Ball, Ingram, Josh Hart, three first round picks, and the fourth-overall pick in the 2019 draft for Anthony Davis. With roster spots opening up, the Lakers signed veterans like Rajon Rondo, Danny Green, Dwight Howard, Javale McGee, Jared Dudley and Avery Bradley.

The Lakers also signed Frank Vogel to be their next head coach to lead the team full

of superstar talent. They started the season with their goal of winning an NBA championship and jumped to the first seed. For the first time in over six years, the Lakers were looking like the favorites to win it all.

On January 26, tragedy struck the Lakers with the passing of Kobe and Gianna Bryant.

Devastating not only the team but also fans and the community, the loss served as motivation for the Lakers to win the championship. They wanted to win it all for Kobe and they worked even harder to do so.

In March, more troublesome news came as the NBA season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Fans and players wanted the season to continue, but there was no safe way of doing so. Early July, NBA commissioner Adam Silver started working on the idea of having a bubble in Florida.

Top seeding teams in the NBA were invited to the bubble and played eight regular season games before beginning the playoffs.

The Lakers maintained their position as the number one seed, beating the Portland Trailblazers in five games in the first round.

The following round, they beat the Rockets in five games as well as beating the Denver Nuggets in five in the Western Conference Finals.

Following their success, the Lakers were back to the NBA Finals for the first time in a decade. However, the Heat did not go down without a fight. They fought hard but ultimately, the Lakers were able to defeat them in six games, once again hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Now with the season over, Laker fans are anxious to see who stays with the team as they compete for a record 18th title next season.