Daily 49er, March 21, 2019

D 49

LONG BEACH STATE UNIVERSITY | VOL. LXX, ISSUE 39 | MARCH 21, 2019

er

94-year-old student Harold Katz continues fulfilling his drive to learn with classes at Long Beach State.

Page 3

‘I live to learn’

2 NEWS

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INSIDE

ON THE COVER

THE

NINER Q&A: A conversation with President Conoley page 4

The sheer difference of age is no obstacle for 94-year old student Harold Katz.

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Lt. Governor speaks to ASI page 5 Opinion: A Muslim-American’s perspective on the New Zealand mass shooting page 10

By Sol Mendez Staff Writer

Long Beach State’s Heating Hot Water Infrastructure Project was once again put on hold due to the constant downpour of rain.

It was scheduled to be finished March 21, but is now set to be completed March 25.

According to the campus Design and Construction page, the project is, “replacing the aging hot water piping system on campus, eliminating breaks and providing more reliable and efficient heating and hot water to our buildings for the future.”

The ongoing construction, mostly scheduled for west upper campus, has seven different locations. The project led to a temporary closure of the bus and shuttle stops near Liberal Arts 1, which was extended to March 30 due to the

construction delay.

The bus and campus shuttle stops, which have now been closed off for three weeks, have been met with some concern and frustration from some students.

Amber Gutierrez, a first year biology major, usually takes the west loop campus shuttle.

“It’s not picking us up on this side right now, I’ve been late to class a couple times because of [it],” she said.

According to a Design and Construction Services statement, “There will be additional piping tie-in work for [a] couple of days in this area after the reopening on [March 25], but that work will not stop or impede bus/shuttle operations.”

If the weather allows, most construction on west upper campus as part of the Heating Hot Water Infrastructure project should be finished and cleared by April.

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Students express concerns over its delay.

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Rain further delays campus construction

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Editorials: All opinions expressed in the columns, letters and cartoons in this issue are those of the writers or artists.

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By Saad Kazi Staff Writer

I

n 1952, sheep were still roaming the fields of Long Beach State College, a small school that took hours of driving to find. A couple hundred students took classes on the newly formed campus each semester in barracks and converted apartment complexes.

It was around this time that Harold Katz graduated with a master’s degree from the University of Chicago. The 27-year-old World War II veteran needed an escape from the cold weather and to begin his search for a teaching job. His older brother, Arthur, suggested California.

Teaching positions were scarce, a possibility Katz wasn’t prepared for when he set off for Long Beach. Further delaying his search, the state felt he wasn’t qualified to teach, despite having minored in education, and instead required that he enroll in an audio-visual education course.

“California did not make it easy for people from out-of-state to be credentialed,” Katz said.

Forty-five years after his brief encounter with the little-known school, Katz decided to return to Long Beach State. This time, he was newly retired. He was a senior citizen. And when he walked into his first class, he could have been mistaken for the professor — until he took a seat with the other students.

“I live to learn, and I learn to live,” he said. “My life sort of goes on through the process of learning.”

Since the late ‘90s, Katz has regularly taken courses as part of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, a program that allows senior citizens to take any class on campus with the consent of the instructor. In the past, he has taken courses in art with his late wife Barbara and courses in the physical sciences. “[Each year,] I look into the catalog and I say, ‘what’s interesting now?’” he said.

This semester, Katz is enrolled in Chris Burnett’s Political Science 423 American Presidency lecture. For someone who can recall Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats, the class might not be as much of a learning experience as it is a chance to relive history.

“I’m just blessed to have him,” Burnett said. “Older students bring a lot of real-world knowledge, and above all, they’re really interested in learning.”

Every day, Katz takes his usual position in the front and center. Off to the side of the room, a transcriber types nearly every word that is said during the discussion.

RYAN GUITARE | Daily 49er

Harold Katz continues his education journey at Long Beach State in Chris Burnett’s American Presidency lecture.

PROFILE

Never too old to learn Harold Katz has been moved by education his entire life.

At 94, he remains in the classroom.

Because for Katz, who is hard of hearing, the input from the other students is just as important as what Burnett is saying. “[Burnett] is very good because he elicits student participation,” Katz said. “A lot of teachers just want to lecture.”

His love for the classroom isn’t limited to the student desk. Though he never fulfilled his dream of becoming a full-time teacher, education has always been his passion.

After his time at LBSC, Katz taught at a private school, a one-year stint he didn’t enjoy. Since schools were looking for people with degrees that he didn’t have, he had no luck applying to other teaching jobs either.

“I got to know the unemployment office pretty well,” Katz said.

Nevertheless, his educational background and analytic skills helped him in various positions throughout his career.

In the mid-1950s, Katz handled inventory for a Texaco warehouse in Signal Hill.

But after the state built a freeway through the location, he left to work for Revell, a toy company that quickly fell due to competition.

Later, during the early stages of the aerospace industry, Katz joined North American Aviation, where he did cost estimating and advanced planning for 13 years. Before being laid off, he helped the company during the Apollo project.

Katz got the chance to work for University of California, Los Angeles in the ‘70s after getting a master’s degree in Public Administration. Though he wasn’t teaching, he was given a more authoritative role, working in the Office of the Chancellor analyzing campus improvements.

Katz officially retired in 1991. But while his career ended, his drive to learn did not.

“It’s sort of a self-generating approach,” he said of his ability to keep moving.

Katz, who turned 94 last month, plans to keep on participating in OLLI, “so long as I’m able to get to campus and have the ability to absorb the education.”

He added that he feels lucky to have his two daughters, seven grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren for support.

“Motion is life,” Katz said. “Without motion, well, where are you? The alternative, [which] is not very good.”

Katz still lives in the same Lakewood house he bought with money he received from the GI Bill almost 65 years ago.

Around that time, Arthur and his wife gave Katz an oak tree as a housewarming gift, which he planted in his front lawn.

Three weeks ago, that tree fell.

While Katz was home, he didn’t hear the impact. He was too busy moving.

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Q&A

Around the table with Conoley The Daily 49er sat down with the President and discussed state funding, mascot options and her custom Nikes.

By Austin Brumblay and Kat Schuster Staff Writers

E

ach semester, The Daily 49er tries to fit into President Jane Close Conoley’s busy schedule to catch up with her. Reporters sat with Conoley March 13 at a large round table in her office, which was lined with cluttered bookshelves and campus memorabilia. Conoley spoke candidly about mascots, Beach 2030 and her Nike sneakers.

How is the hunt for a new mascot going?

We got a bunch of submissions … [we’re] doing outreach to alumni and they got a bunch of Prospector Pete’s. I was told they also got snowflakes.

There’s an ideological position that’s going to keep some of this controversy going because they don’t like any apparent concession to some minority position. I don’t even know if they’re alumni, they’re just die hard 49ers and they hate to let that go. We’ll keep that unofficial tagline because many students and alums grew up with [the 49ers] here in Long Beach … I would love to have a symbol that really showed who we are: very forward looking, highly diverse, committed to action.

Have you received any backlash from alumni about changing the mascot?

When it was first announced we were probably getting a letter a day. I just got one from an emeritus professor this week again, about changing [Pete]. It comes with that, ‘What’s wrong with today’s students? Why

are they so sensitive?’ That’s what’s behind it. So it makes me wonder, did you really like the mascot? Or did you buy this narrative that students today are so politically correct and they’re trying to fix something that isn’t broken? The students that picked the 49ers didn’t have the history to understand the multiple perspectives on the gold rush prospectors.

Those who know more should do different.

What does LBSU plan to do with Gov. Newsom’s increased funding?

CSULB

The current package would allow us to increase our enrollment by 2 percent. There is a big one-time grant for $257 million for deferred maintenance. I’m not sure what our share would be of that. There’s a huge backlog of deferred maintenance. Ideally we would get about 8 percent. If we got that 8 percent, we would start working on whatever our highest priority upgrade would be. The current highest priority in terms of maintenance in [Peterson Hall-1]. We got PH-2 done, PH-1 is the same kind of disaster building. Even if we got our 8 percent amount, it probably wouldn’t be enough to redo that. There’s a whole list. We’re trying to do some air conditioning in some of the [Fine Arts] buildings. It turns out that it’s super expensive — probably more expensive than the building is actually worth, but we got to make them livable.

President Jane Close Conoley sat down with the 49er on March 13 for a spring semester roundup.

Are you planning on adding night and weekend classes?

The shoes were actually a gift from an alum. I forgot the year he graduated, but he started working for Nike when it was a tiny company. The story is I found a pair of gold and black sneakers online. I was up in Portland, Oregon for an alumni event, and I ran

You can see that part of our parking problem is that we cram everyone into four days instead of five or six days. So, I think the fact

that students are calling for it should be an inspiration. I think there are a lot of faculty that have families that can find some flexibility to get all their classes done on a Saturday and then be home in time when their kids are home from school. We’ve been slowly increasing the Friday classes. There’s classes that are three-hour classes. I think it’ll be accelerated due to Beach 2030 — something that has come out of that is we have to really start thinking about other audiences, and so if you’re talking about working adults they’ll want to come in on weekends and spend a Saturday.

Tell us about your Nikes.

into him and I realize I’m wearing sneakers that aren’t Nike. I said, ‘Oh sorry, these aren’t Nikes but they’re gold and black so I had to have them.’ The next thing I know the sneakers arrived in the mail. I tell everyone to put being a university professor in your career path because stuff like this happens.

People send you shoes. I like them, it takes [away] any hassle about what I’m going to wear to the game.

Do you have a favorite sport to watch on campus?

It varies. It’s great to watch men’s volleyball right now because you can kind of sit back, relax and know they’ll win. I get to sit courtside, so I have to pay attention to the balls that are coming fast and furious.

For a break, I like baseball because you can sit back and just chill out almost to a fault sometimes.

NEWS 5

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SENATE

Lieutenant Governor Kounalakis visits LBSU The newly elected politician speaks to ASI about tuition costs and campus infrastructure.

PERRY CONTINENTE | Daily 49er

Newly elected Lieutenant Governor of California Eleni Kounalakis addresses the ASI Senate.

By Perry Continente Assistant News Editor perrycontinente

California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis visited Long Beach State Wednesday to speak to students and hear their input on critical campus issues.

Kounalakis’ arrival coincided with the weekly Associated Students Inc. Senate meeting where she addressed the student government and emphasized her role in education.

“I went to all 58 counties listening, and what I heard loud and clear is that this dramatic escalation in the cost of tuition has dramatically affected students,” she said.

She explained that one of her main responsibilities and passions in government is working with education. Kounalakis has an appointed position on the California State University Board of Trustees and University of California Board of Regents.

“What I really want to talk about is the

piece of my portfolio around public higher education,” she said. “This is something that is very personal to me. I am the first in my family to matriculate to a four year college and graduate.”

Kounalakis’ father attended, but did not graduate, from Sacramento State University.

She attributed the educational experience as a major reason for his business success.

“The opportunities that my family has had is because of the benefit of the CSU system pretty directly to my family,” she said.

It was all thanks to the comparatively inexpensive tuition costs that her father was able to attend college at all, she added.

Kounalakis compared her expenses as a student at University California Berkeley to the current costs.

“Tuition was about $1,000 dollars a semester $2,000 dollars a year.” she said.

“Now the same program, you may know, is $62,000 dollars a year.And I’m not that old.”

Another financial strain she mentioned was the cost of student housing.

“I’ve found that the rates that dormitories

GOT OPINIONS?

are being offered to students are tied to market rate,” she said. “They are not necessarily tied to the cost of delivery.”

Kounalakis said this pricing method, given that most colleges are in desirable real estate locations, making affordable housing untenable for many students. Following her introduction, Kounalakis fielded questions, including one from Sen. Alejandra Aguilar.

“As a future educator myself … I wanted to address an issue we have in our college, representation.” Aguilar said.

Kounalakis responded first explaining that the attention the issue is receiving is a step forward, but acknowledged that there is still a disparity in these arenas.

She also suggested encouraging roles in education to more diverse groups could help make faculty more inclusive.

Outside the meeting, Kounalakis expressed worry about the infrastructure in the UC and CSU systems.

“I’ve had the opportunity to see some of the dilapidated buildings,” she said. “It’s very disturbing to see students work and

study in buildings that flood when it rains.”

Kounalakis mentioned paint chipping and asbestos as another two concerns about college infrastructure.

“Until you see it for yourself, it’s kind of hard to believe that the conditions could seem so poor,” she said.

Concerns about the campus’ construction were echoed by ASI Vice President Leen Almahdi after the meeting.

“I’ve heard a lot of concern about the [Social Sciences/Public Administration] buildings as well as the Fine Arts buildings,” she said. “Last year there were mold issues because of leaking.”

Almahdi mentioned art made by students in protest of infrastructure deterioration.

“There was artwork where people took the tiles that had fallen and made a guillotine out of them,” she said. ASI President Genesis Jara nodded her head in agreement.

The next ASI Senate meeting will take place March 27 at 3:30 p.m. in USU 234.

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WILDLIFE

Who let the coyotes out?

Despite being seen as a pest by some, the animal serves important ecological and cultural role.

By Hannah Getahun Assistant News Editor hannahgetahun

The first time former American Studies student Robin Nixon saw a coyote on upper campus was five years ago, during her second semester of college at Long Beach State.

“It was that whole open area where the Beach Hut and the [University] Library is,” Nixon said. “It was around 6 or 7 [p.m.] and I thought it was a large dog … I’ve heard people talk about about it during SOAR orientations and I was like, ‘I’ll never see it’ but then I saw it. It’s very eye opening that wildlife is all around us.”

Nixon is one of many students who have witnessed the animals on campus, one that elicits controversy in its native Southern California region.

In December, Long Beach and other Southern California residents pressured the California Fish and Game commission to reconsider coyote extermination practices, which it uses as a last resort. In 2008, feral cats on campus that attracted coyotes brought a huge wave of controversy, as many students did not want to have coyotes in the area.

Neighbors in the area gathered on NextDoor, a neighborhood forum, to discuss the latest sightings and the threat of coyotes to their animals. Long Beach Councilwoman Stacy Mungo replied to a NextDoor user: “These animals can pose a threat to people, property and pets.”

But there’s a benefit to having these creatures around, too.

According to Ted Stankowich, an associate professor of biological sciences who runs the Stankowich lab, the a fear of coyotes may stem from the fact that humans are not acculturated to living with them anymore.

“We as a society have lost our connection to the land and nature around us,” Stankowich said.

Stankowich said that at one point, the coyotes probably inhabited the tall grass near East Campus Drive that was recently removed by the Heating and Hot Water Infrastructure Project.

Coyotes’ diet consists of other wildlife that traverse the school, including rabbits, racoons and skunks. The coyote plays an important role in keeping these “pest populations” low.

The wild canines are also presumed to drink out of the campus fountains or anywhere they can find water. If someone sees a coyote, Stankowich suggests keeping distance.

“If one does begin to show interest and walk towards you, the best … form of action is to yell at it, throw things at it, make yourself aggressive, harass the animal,” Stankowich said.

Coyotes frequent Puvungna, the Tongva sacred site near the Parkside College dorms.

“There’s so many coyote stories, and when you’re around more traditional people in California, they sit there and they tell these stories, and people just laugh and laugh,” said American Indian Studies Cindi Alvitre, who wrote “Coyote Tours,” an article that speaks on the importance of coyote space in the Los Angeles area.

HANNAH GETAHUN | Daily 49er

A coyote roams in front of Minnie Gant Elementary March 10. The animal is known to appear on the Long Beach Sate campus as well as in the surrounding areas during night.

In Tongva culture, the coyote is a deity that represents neither good or bad and can serve as a reflection of human behavior. According to Alvitre, in “the old way,” before settlers, humans and coyotes had a more respectful relationship. Now, the relationship is more strained.

“I think they don’t know coyote,” Alvitre said. “He’s just a stranger down the street that shows up every once in a while.

They’re just not quite sure who he is.”

According to Capt. Richard Goodwin of the University Police Department, there haven’t been many recent coyote reports.

“I’ve got to be honest with you, it’s been a long time since someone has called me about a coyote,” Goodwin said.

Ever since the 2008 coyote controver-

sy, it seems to him that while “[there is a] stigma that the coyote is going to eat you,” many people may either not be aware or do not care about the population on campus.

According to Nixon, people should leave them alone, because coyotes had a presence in the area far before settlers did. To Alvitre and other Southern California Native people, the coyote is as prevalent to Puvungna as the people.

Alvitre said she sees coyotes near Puvungna all the time, and hopes that Coyote does not forget where he came from. “[Coyote] probably feels more welcome [at Puvungna],” Alvitre said. “Maybe coyote is looking for his broken heart because he knows that the people are there.”

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JEREMY PORR | Daily 49er

“We can paint this White House brown,” said author and activist, Jose Angel Gutierrez, as he spoke to students in the Anatol center.

DISCUSSION

Jose Angel Gutierrez aims to inspire The activist encourages students to “paint this White House brown.”

By Jeremy Porr Staff Writer

A

s the room filled with students and faculty, tensions began to build before activist Jose Angel Gutierrez even took the podium.

Founding member of the Raza Unida party and Chicano activist Gutierrez spoke to a full room of students and staff at the Anatol Center on Wednesday.

Gutierrez spoke at length about the FBI’s counterintelligence program of the 1960s, a topic he explores further in his recently published book “The Eagle Has Eyes.” In his book and in his lecture, Gutierrez provided insight into how the federal government was actively trying to dismantle civil rights groups at the time through surveillance programs like “CointelPro.” “We were paranoid because we knew they were watching us,” Gutierrez said. “So we would always turn it around by saying and doing what we wanted them to hear, knowing that they were watching and listening to us.”

According to Gutierrez, a group of anti-war activ-

ists broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania in order to obtain surveillance documents of prominent leaders within the Chicano movement, including César Chávez.

“Every file they opened up was about people engaged in the exercise of their first amendment freedoms, not crime,” Gutierrez said, emphatically. “They even did a table, a spreadsheet if you will, and it turned out that about 8 percent of what the FBI was doing out of the Pennsylvania office, was crime, the [other] 92 percent was war on citizens. Anybody who was dissenting was a target.”

Film Professor Rafael Nieto knew of Gutierrez due to their shared past of organizing and activism.

“Between Raza Unida and the Black Panthers, they were the first ones that had the guts to say, ‘This is our cause, you’re either with us, [or] if you have a different agenda, go pursue that.’”

Nieto also elaborated on his past experiences with government surveillance.

“I found out about what they were doing with me because one of my cousins was an FBI archivist. She found evidence of my surveillance,” Nieto said. “I wasn’t a threat. I was a smart guy, a smart brown guy,

and that was a threat.”

Ana Estrada, a freshman majoring in Chicano Studies, left Gutierrez’ lecture feeling inspired.

“It was amazing, it was really eye-opening, just because you don’t get these types of lectures in other classrooms or anywhere else,” Estrada said. “Meeting someone who was there in the ‘60s struggling and fighting to bring awareness to the Chicano community is everything. I thought it was beautiful.”

Estrada heard about the event and thought it would be worth skipping class over.

“Actually my professor came out here and brought the class anyway so I’m off the hook,” Estrada said, laughing.

Gutierrez offered plenty of advice for any potential student organizers in the audience. He warned of “armchair activism” and spoke on the importance of a myriad of issues plaguing the millennial generation.

“You’ve got a lot of good issues right in front of you, that, like any other generation, we faced them too and you gotta deal with it, but some of these are terminal,” Gutierrez said. “I think the word is ‘anthropocene’ and it means an era where the whole world has gotta change.”

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CONCERT

Lunch and a show Madeleine Mayi plays an intimate show in the USU food court.

By Rachel Barnes

Arts and Life Editor rachelsalien

The sounds of soft crooning and guitar strumming spilled through the doors and open windows of the University Student Union Wednesday afternoon.

Madeleine Mayi played through the slidopen windows of the second floor food court with the audience surrounding her on every side. While students ate, they were able to listen to covers of artists including Fleetwood Mac, Mac DeMarco and Drake, as well as some of her original songs.

“I came in to meet with a friend,” said freshman film major Alexis Mendez. “I just sat down seven minutes ago and now I’m going to stay until the end of the performance.”

Mayi’s performance was the second of the

three noontime events that Associated Students Inc. had scheduled for the month of March. Along with the musical performance, Beach Pride Events offered board games as well as free tacos for people who voted in the ASI elections.

The location of the performance was changed from the Southwest Terrace to the Center Courtyard of the second floor of the USU, due to forecasted rain. However, foot traffic didn’t seem to suffer for the decision.

“It turned out for the better because there are a lot of people sitting around and enjoying the music,” said Beach Pride program assistant Jocelyn Pimentel.

Pimentel said that she’s gotten mostly positive feedback from students about the location change. She and her team will take the comments into consideration for the next noontime event and other performances.

Mayi seemed to thrive while strumming

CAROLINA MASSON | ASI

Artist Madeleine Mayi plays to an intimate audience in the USU food court Wednesday afternoon. her mint-colored guitar and performing for people eating their lunch. She said she always loves performing live, no matter where it is.

Though she is a student at University of Southern California, Mayi decided to play at Long Beach State because one of her friends played on campus before and recommended for her to try it out.

During her sophomore year at USC, she released her first EP “Just the Six of Us,” and recently released another EP in November of 2018 called “shy.” She said before she decided to record her music it was just a hobby for her, and she’s grown as an artist since then.

“After I put an EP together I thought, ‘Oh wow this could be more than just for fun,’” Mayi said.

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RACHEL HANNA | Daily 49er

Media Women Of Color encourage students, especially women in journalism and public relations to work hard in order to make it far in this career.

PANEL

Overcoming obstacles one woman at a time Four women of color share their experiences in journalism and public relations to educate and encourage students.

By Rachel Hanna Staff Writer

Four inspiring women gathered in the LA-5 building Wednesday to discuss their experiences being women of color in journalism and public relations careers.

Media Women of Color shined a light on the challenges and obstacles of working in the media.

“Okay I’m the skunk at the picnic,” Beverly White of NBC4 said. “I could talk for hours about racist and misogynistic episodes in my life. I’ve gone home and cried in the shower because I’m human and it hurts when the viewer calls and says, ‘I love that piece of jewelry you’re wearing and somebody stole one just like it from my house so tell me where you got yours and we can have that conversation.’”

The women talked about being Black, Hispanic and other minorities and how there are hurdles that have to be jumped over. They had to go the extra mile in order to prove how skilled and capable they are in the industry.

Women of color have come a long way in journalism and

PR, though. According to Angela Burrell of OCPRSA, Public Relations Society of America, more women have gone into public relations throughout her time in the career.

Burrell said working in journalism comes with the confidence and knowledge that you can do the job. She believes that is what it takes to keeps you going.

“For me personally I’ve experienced being a mom,” said CBS8 reporter and Long Beach State professor, Elizabeth Sanchez. “[I was] traveling 200 days a year working for CBS News as a national correspondent and once I became a mom it was harder to do, so I went back into local news.

I think it’s more difficult for a woman with a family than a single male.”

Even though there are obstacles for women of color in journalism and PR, the four women at the panel still encourage and push for students who want to be in the field.

“It really makes me feel grateful and blessed to talk to students because I learn about their enthusiasm for the profession and it’s refreshing,” Melissa Etehad of the LA Times said. “I think it’s more about binding the relationship with students who stay in touch and seeing their journey and

seeing them persist along the way.”

While Etehad enjoys seeing the achievements of students in the profession, she too has faced hardships that have made her who she is today.

“I’m Iranian, Jewish and Muslim, so I think I can get hit on both sides of the spectrum,” Etehad said.

Even though gender does play a big role in the workforce, it’s not the only thing that matters, according to White.

“Things have improved,” White said. “I’ve had lots of female bosses. Black female, White female and Asian female.

It’s refreshing. The gender doesn’t make it work, but it’s nice to see.”

The four women ended the conference with words of encouragement for people looking to join the field. They urged students to take multiple internships, get involved with student run PR on campus, take advantage of the on-campus groups, build a portfolio and keep in touch with professors.

According to White, college students at this stage in life know how to find their fun and she urges students not to forget that once you get the job you’ve always wanted. She stresses that fun is vital.

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FIONA GOODALL | TNS

Survivor Ahmed Al-Mahmoud, center, waits at the police cordon on Deans Rd near the Al Noor mosque on March 15, 2019 in Christchurch, New Zealand.

MOSQUE SHOOTING

A personal perspective on the New Zealand attacks Though it is overlooked, Muslim-Americans face an onslaught of white aggression and terrorism.

By Batool Jaffer Staff Writer

G

rowing up a Muslim-American, my family has always emphasized the importance of “Salaat Jummah,” which translates into Friday prayer. This is a ritualistic congregational prayer that Muslims hold every Friday at mosques.

When I think of Friday prayer, I envision all those who gather from different backgrounds and participate in the ritual. I think of mothers who bring their children to teach them the importance of prayer and faith, I think of teenagers who gather with friends, and older parents and grandparents who seek fulfillment through the remembrance of God. At Friday prayer, I feel protected, I feel calmed by the silence of prayer, but above all I feel at peace. However, when I attended Friday prayer last week, the tranquility I typically experience during prayer was replaced by grief, anger and fear.

Feb. 15 I awoke to a horrendous shock; news outlets from all over the world broadcasting the headline “49 Dead in New Zealand Mosque Attack.” As soon as I found

out, I called my father who is the leader of our weekly Friday prayer at the mosque we attend.

“Did you hear the news?” I asked.

“Yeah, it’s terrible. May God have mercy on their souls. I’m on my way to the mosque right now.” he said.

After talking to my father, I felt the urge to drive to my local mosque; there was no doubt in my mind that the terrible incident was going to be discussed. When I sat down during prayer that Friday, I looked around the room and tears filled my eyes.

I couldn’t fathom what the victims must have felt while deep in prayer as they suddenly heard gunshots fire.

In the days after the massacre, I thought about how it could have been me, how it could have been my family or friends.

“Hello brother, welcome,” were the words the first victim said to the white terrorist, moments before being gunned down. These words were captured on camera during the terrorist’s livestream of the shoot. I can’t seem to forget about these words — words of kinship and welcoming.

I kept checking social media and marveling in the beauty of seeing non-Muslims condemning the attack and providing the support for the Muslim community.

However, while thoughts and prayers are important, they don’t suffice. This attack was caused by a growing ideology of white nationalism that is fed by politicians, media personalities and various others sources.

Yet, people often perceive Muslims as a threat because powerful figures such as President Donald Trump frequently label us as such. An article from The Washington Post presents comments that have been made by Trump about the Islam faith and Muslims.

These comments constantly demonize Muslims. Trump even signed an Executive Order in 2017, a travel ban that targeted majority Muslim countries, claiming that “Islam hates us [America].” At a rally in New Hampshire, he pledged to kick all Syrian refugees, most of whom are Muslim, out of the country, as they might be “a secret army or ISIS.” According to the New York Times, the attacker “was inspired by a thriving online ideological structure that recruits and radicalizes mostly men to save Western civilization from a foreign invasion.” The terrorist behind the New Zealand mosque attacks praised Trump in his 74-page-long manifesto calling Trump “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.”

Terror attacks performed by white supremacists are rarely seen as a global phenomenon. Instead, media outlets tend to portray white nationalists that perform acts of terrorism as people with mental health.

There have been countless attacks by white supremacists.

The New Zealand attacks proves the community needs to act against white supremacist ideology that influences people on the internet. The global ideology of white nationalism is what threatens us today and what threatens all immigrants around the world.

People fail to recognize the terrorists threats posed to Muslims, and in order to create a safe society, change must happen. We must call out those spreading and preaching hate. We must continue to call out the people who foster the ideology of white nationalism and the politicians and media outlets that give it a platform.

With that it mind, we need to unite as one and support each other’s communities.

LBSU’s Muslim Student Association will be holding An Evening of Remembrance to honor the victims of the shootings, which will be held Thursday at Brotman Hall from 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. It is time for the campus to come together in solidarity.

SPORTS 11

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COLUMN

Long Beach gets a reality check The 49ers should use their difficult matchups as a wake-up call to improve.

By Bryan Aparicio

Assistant Sports Editor BryanAparicio_

I

AUSTIN BRUMBLAY | Daily 49er

Senior setter Josh Tuaniga celebrates with senior outside hitter Louie Richard after earning a point against Northridge March 1.

t’s time to take a step back and acknowledge that the road to another championship won’t be as easy as fans thought it would be.

After cruising through the season and crushing opponents in the Walter Pyramid, No. 1 Long Beach State men’s volleyball (19-0, 4-0 Big West) was finally put to the test. In a five set battle against No. 3 Santa Barbara (15-5, 2-2 Big West), Long Beach struggled and seemed rattled by the level of intensity the Gauchos displayed Mar. 14.

With tables turned on the verge of losing the match, Long Beach regrouped, refocused and put on a championship performance to come back and defeat Santa Barbara in five sets, showing the resilience of the team.

The 49ers bent but did not break, and the team grew from facing adversity. It showed following Friday’s rematch, where it saw Long Beach defeat Santa Barbara in four sets.

“You certainly know that you have to get into these moments where the guys are tested and are dealing with adversity,” head coach Alan Knipe said. “We build trust in those moments. Whether we win the point or win the set, being in those tight moments you learn to just stay together, say what you’re going to do and then go out there and actually do it.”

Thursday and Friday’s matchups displayed how tough the Big West Conference is and it won’t get any easier. These games are setting up for Long Beach’s battle against No. 2 Hawai’i (17-0, 4-0 Big West) Apr. 12 and 13, a meeting that will feature two Goliaths and no David.

These powerhouses are the only two undefeated teams in men’s volleyball, but Hawai’i might be on another level right now.

For the the first time since the national championship game last season, Long Beach struggled and was humbled by Santa Barbara. Its matchup against the Gauchos served as a learning lesson. Although they won both matches, Santa Barbara gave Long Beach plenty of film to look at so it can better itself.

This team, as talented as they are, has a lot they can improve on. Bettering its blocking and attacking and making everything difficult for opponents are tools the 49ers will get better at.

Long Beach will travel to Los Angeles for a matchup against USC Saturday 7 p.m. in the North Gym.

TRACK AND FIELD

49ers shift speeds this weekend on the road

By Max Perez Staff Writer

C

oming off its performance in the split meets last weekend, the Long Beach State track and field team will be changing pace, as the decathletes and heptathletes will take center stage at the UC Riverside Decathlon and Heptathlon Thursday and Friday.

This event is the only decathlon and heptathlon on the schedule until the Big West Championships in May. The decathlon consists of ten total events, four on the track and six on the field while the heptathlon has three track events and four on the field.

The 49ers have had tremendous success in

previous years at this event, finishing first or second in the decathlon the past three seasons.

Senior decathlete and jumper Herman Day won the event in 2016, breaking the meet record at the time with a score of 7279.

The year after junior decathlete Cole Hicks took first place, and last season, senior decathlete and jumper John Broadhead took second.

Day and Broadhead will be competing in the event along with redshirt junior decathlete and jumper Devon Alvarado and junior decathlete Derreck Affor.

Participating in the heptathlon will be sophomore Lexi Nardoni, junior Sydney Barnes and junior Kaylee Shoemaker.

For Nardoni and Barnes, this will be their first time competing in a heptathlon.

Head coach Andy Sythe said the event isn’t

so much about breaking records or putting together tremendous showings, as it is about working toward becoming better decathletes and heptathletes.

“It’s not about only executing technique, it’s not about only performing well,” Sythe said. “It’s about managing yourself. You’re running a marathon so you can’t sprint at the beginning and finish strong, you have to manage your timing.”

The athletes must pace themselves as they must compete in the 100m dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400m dash, 110m hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and the 1500m event.

Heptathletes will compete in three track events and four field events, the 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m dash, long jump, javelin throw and 800m event.

“They can never spend enough time to get

great at any one thing because they still have to spend time developing those other areas,” Sythe said. “They are the busiest people on the track out of all event groups, they spend more time there than anybody.”

Because the decathletes and heptathletes will be the only part of the team traveling to Riverside, they will be relying on each other and their experiences to help guide them to a successful event.

“They sweat and toil together everyday in a way that bonds them and makes them unique and different,” Sythe said, “They know it takes a lot mentally to get through it so they support themselves.”

Despite the emphasis on using this event as an opportunity to improve and measure the readiness of the athletes, the team expects the previous success at this meet to help their performance.

12 SPORTS

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AUSTIN BRUMBLAY | Daily 49er

Senior center Mason Riggins looks at redshirt senior guard Bryan Alberts after finishing a layup through contact. Long Beach’s second round exit came after losing to UC Irvine 75-67.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Injuries and chemistry caused Long Beach to peak too late After losing in the Big West semifinals this year, the 49ers have their work cut out to get back to the top next season.

By Alex Manfredi

Deputy Sports Editor alexmanfr3di

The Long Beach State men’s basketball team finished its third consecutive season with a losing record and 15 total wins.

While it appears mediocrity has sunk in as the norm for Long Beach, this season saw the most promise out of the last three years.

The 49ers showed enough fight at the end of the year to make us believe they were more than just a middle of the pack Big West bunch.

Looking back on the season, a six-game losing streak in the middle of conference play made the difference between Long Beach being a fifth place team versus competing right at the top for a second or third place finish. The 49ers ended the season

riding a five-game winning streak into the conference tournament, but fell to eventual champion UC Irvine in the semifinal after beating Hawai’i in a spectacular comeback win in the quarterfinal.

Although Long Beach couldn’t find a way to take UC Irvine out (30-5, 15-1 Big West) for its automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, it easily posed the biggest challenge to Irvine. No other team in the conference defeated the Anteaters, and the 49ers were the only ones to avoid losing by double digits to them.

Like many teams, the 49ers dealt with a few injuries throughout the season. Most notably was redshirt senior forward Temidayo Yussuf who was out due to a knee injury from Dec. 29 to Jan. 31, forcing the team to adjust without its most dominant interior presence.Yussuf returned and was not the same player he was in the presea-

son, moving slower and having a harder time getting up and down the court.

Looking ahead to the 2019-2020 season, Long Beach is looking at an overhaul of its roster. The 49ers will lose their top four leading scorers in seniors Deishuan Booker (18.8 ppg), Bryan Alberts (10.5 ppg), Temidayo Yussuf (10.4 ppg) and KJ Byers (7.6 ppg). Besides the scoring, losing their top three frontcourt players in Yussuf, Byers and senior Mason Riggins will put a big question mark on the forward and center spot for next season.

Key returners for the 49ers include sophomores Jordan Roberts, Drew Cobb and Edon Maxhuni. Long Beach will also return point guard Colin Slater, who sat out this season due to NCAA rules after transferring from Tulane. Slater will immediately take over the starting point guard position.

So far, five new players have signed to

play for Long Beach next season.

The recruiting class includes two centers, two guards and one forward: Trever Irish, Joshua Morgan, Max De Geest, Rodney Rhoden and Romelle Mansel. Irish is the only player in the class coming from a junior college, with the rest signing out of high school.

If Long Beach can get enough from its key returners, someone to step up at the center position and meaningful minutes from its younger players like Mansel or Morgan, the 49ers should be able to contend right at the top of the Big West, next season.

While UC Irvine will presumably remain the top team, the conference appears to be wide open. Fullerton, UC Davis and Hawai’i will also be in a rebuild after losing some of its best players. Re-establishing itself as a top team in the Big West is not far off for Long Beach.