CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH
VOL. LXVIX, ISSUE 48 | FEBRUARY 14, 2018
LONG BEACH
Advocates begin crusade for rent control Activists hope to bypass elected officials and have residents help enable protections for renters. By Carlos Villicana Special Projects Editor
Huddling together under the shade of trees at MacArthur Park, about 80 Long Beach residents
gathered Sunday to launch a campaign to bring rent control to the city. The #RentControlNow Coalition, which consists of groups such as Housing Long Beach and the Long Beach Gray Panthers, hosted the event and submitted an intent to circulate a petition to get rent control on the election ballots in November 2018. The ordinance would enact a limit on rent increases for units in Long Beach, except “those exempt under the Costa-Hawkins
Rental Housing Act and certain small second dwelling units,” according to the initiative. It would also include the formation of a mayor-appointed board the city council would have to approve, which would preside over rent adjustments and enforce “just cause for eviction” requirements. Josh Butler, executive director of Housing Long Beach, said the petition needs to be signed by 10 percent of registered voters in Long Beach in order to end up on the ballot. That would be about
27,000 voters, though Butler said they’re looking to get 28,000 signatures to definitively surpass the requirement. The coalition has 180 days to meet that goal. “[The city council] has made comments that don’t seem like they support the idea of rent control,” Butler said. “That’s a big reason why we’re going to the voters directly.” Those gathered at the park consisted of people volunteering to collect signatures for the petition, as well people signing
the petition and others opposing the ordinance. One of the 80 people who arrived was resident and renter Victor Pearson, who signed the petition in the hope of getting rent control implemented in Long Beach. “Last year my rent was $900 a month,” Pearson said. “Then I get a letter saying it’s going up to $1,200. I have 30 days to come up with the extra $300 per month. see RENT, page 3
FUNDING
$60,000 “Go Beach” installation came from construction bond
D49er
The $26 million from the state was allocated to repair and renovate campus’ framework. By James Chow
Senior News Assistant
we want to educate them with, ‘Okay, this is how you correctly use a condom.’” Girling says the booth will be offering free condoms and safer sex materials, such as oral sex barriers, and will be doing a game centered around the male and female condom models in which the contestants can win prizes, including candy to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Although safe sex might be considered a sensitive subject for some, students around campus
Contrary to popular belief, no student fees were spent to build the 6-foot, concrete gold-cast “Go Beach” letters near Brotman Hall. The new “Go Beach” letters were erected the first week of school and stand 6 feet tall by the west turnaround as a byproduct of a $26 million campuswide utility infrastructure project, which was fully compensated by a state bond. According to Mark Zakhour, director of design and construction services, the campus was required to replace rusted, leaky water pipes that were once underneath the west turnaround. Zakhour said the old water pipes were inefficient in providing heating and cooling in a timely fashion. Instead of replacing the wall that once stood in that area, the university and facilities representatives opted to put up the seven letters as a designated “selfie-central” for passersby as well as provide a site that offers shady seating areas and WiFi. The implementation of the letters came to be as part of a way to save money and “enhance the student experience,” Zakhour said. The funds for the infrastructure projects on campus come primarily from state bonds. Tony Malagrino, interim associate vice president for
see CONDOMS, page 3
see CAMPUS, page 2
Photo illustration by Sabrina Flores | Daily 49er
HEALTH
THAT’S A WRAP Students can come and learn about safe sex during National Condom Day. By Grant Hermanns Staff Writer
Valentine’s Day is a day which lovers have classically celebrated by showering each other with red roses, heart-shaped chocolate boxes and heartfelt cards. Student Health Services urges students to add safe sex
to that tradition. National Condom Day is an annual demonstration put on by SHS to help students prepare for a healthy and consensual holiday. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Maxson Plaza outside of Brotman Hall, and will include a booth with activities and panels to encourage the use of condoms. Some of these booths will hand out free condoms, both male and female, to those in attendance, as well as feature anatomical models to illustrate proper use both types of con-
doms. Heidi Girling, health educator and coordinator for the Health Resource Center, has been in charge of the National Condom Day event on campus for six years. Girling is carrying two goals going into this event for students to take away from. “The [first] goal is to educate about safer sex practices, and the second goal would be to teach students how to correctly use condoms,” Girling said. “Obviously many students want to be safer and they want to use the condoms, but sometimes they don’t have the education, so