DAILY 49ER California State University, Long Beach
Vol. LIX, Issue 863
www.daily49er.com
Monday, May 4, 2015
Slamming LOTS TO it out with DRIVE spoken FOR word Diversions
Art enthusiasts of the Long Beach community reunite once again for the annual display of poetic talent. By Manny Frausto
A parking lot renovation will require fee surges for staff and students.
Contributing Writer
A stew of lyrical life experiences and perspectives drop onto an audience, retorting reverberated cries and roars of agreement. Performing from his wheel chair, first-time participant at Saturday’s Long Beach Poetry Slam Mario DeMatteo spoke about his injury. “In 2004 I broke my neck diving into a shallow swimming pool,” DeMatteo voiced in baritones, shaking the speakers and giving the 70-plus watchers into an unforeseen reality check. “I still remember the bottom all brittle and bone piled.” Onstage slam performances are unique from other mediums of expression, the Master of Arts in literature and writing alumnus from California State University, San Marcos said. “It is a very powerful thing to hear someone spill their guts on stage,” DeMatteo, an editor and art director for an online poetry and performance community called Spit Journal, said. “I love film more than anything else but acting is scripted and practiced while spoken word … is very much in the moment and effecting people immediately.” In its fourth year, the Long Beach Poetry Slam flooded Made, a boutique store off of Pine Street in downtown. The event was in part a say-anything open mic support session, and part a poet-opposing-poet rivalry tournament in which volunteer judges rated individuals on a level from one to 10. “A slam is a poetry competition where people come up and pour their hearts out on stage and tell their stories from the deepest darkest trenches of their souls,” this year’s master of ceremonies Mayda Del Valle, a former HBO “Def Poetry” participant, joked, “and then you put a score on it and we send them home crying.” A DJ played hip hop in between acts for the 70-plus crowd, setting the atmosphere for a room full Long Beach’s word-of-mouth artists to perform on a level unavailable to them five years prior, Appaling said. The slam poetry scene had a presence, but there was nowhere to physically meet. Long Beach Slam’s founder Antonio Appling refreshed this year’s get-together by holding it at this new venue
See SLAM, page 4
News 2
Michael A res | Daily 49er
California State University, Long Beach will have 100 parking spots added to employee lot 7 after numerous complaints for lack of parking on upper campus.
By Manny Frausto Contributing Writer
In order to accommodate the lack of desired faculty spaces, 100 parking spots will be added to employee lot 7 off of Seventh Street in. “We’ve heard from many people for a while that there’s more parking needed,” said California State University, Long Beach Vice President of Administration and Finance Mary Stephens. “We hear from faculty particularly looking for parking spaces when they
get to work.” Headed by Stephens, the project would compensate for the increase in classes on upper campus since the renovation of the Liberal Arts buildings. Chair of the Academic Senate Praveen Soni said that the topic for convenient parking was continuously brought up with no strong intentions until the discussion reopened on the floor of the senate April 23 during the Academic Senate meeting. “For a number of years faculty members and Academic Senators have been complaining about the serious
lack of parking for faculty on upper campus,” Soni said via email. “I guess I should say that finally faculty complaints have had an impact and at least plans have been made.” The project, intended to begin summer 2016, would require the removal of the greenery leading to the south turnaround behind the Univ¬ersity Library. Stephens said that the conversion and construction of the lot would require a parking fee increase, which would first need to be negotiated with CSULB affiliated employee and faculty
unions. Present contracts, such as the Unit 4 Ratified 2014 Agreement of the Academic Professionals of California, already state restrictions on fee increases until 2017. Employee parking fees cannot be raised more than $1 a month per fiscal year, according to the document. The average semester employee-parking permit costs about $60, depending on special employee cat-
See PARKING, page 3
Baseball
‘Bows know The Dirtbags’ chances of making the postseason became slimmer after dropping the weekend series against Hawaii. By Eddie Rivera Staff Writer
The Long Beach State baseball team dropped a three game series for its first sweep loss of the season when Hawai’i visited Blair Field over the weekend. “It’s as much of a gut check and a mentality thing [you can get],” LBSU head coach Troy Buckley said. “I asked the players if this is the same team that swept Wichita and Northridge.” The Dirtbags (23-20, 8-10 Big West) never led in Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the Rainbow Warriors (18-26,
Diversions 4
9-9 Big West). Junior righty Tanner Brown gave up four hits and allowed five men on base in the first inning, only to fall behind 3-0. Lefty senior Ryan Strufing entered the game in the sixth inning and promptly gave up a lead off double to sophomore lefty Marcus Doi. Doi would make his way home to make 5-0 in the Rainbow Warriors favor. “You almost want to have this excitement [in that situation],” Buckley said. “But I think there is this negative anticipation because of the lack of [offensive] production.” The Dirtbags finally got on the board in the seventh inning when freshman outfielder Tristan Mercadel led off with a base hit and junior catcher Eric Hutting brought him in to make it 5-1. The Dirtbags tried to make a run in the bottom of the ninth inning with a score by Mercadel but ultimately fell. The Dirtbags are now 0-17 on the season when trailing after eight innings. “It’s disappointing, but we can’t let that get to us,” junior right-fielder Zack Rivera said.
Bobby Yagake | Daily 49er
Long Beach State infielder Zack Domingues attempts to throw out a runner at first base on Sunday against Hawaii at Blair Field. Freshman righty Chris Mathewson struck out eight and lowered his Big West leading ERA to 1.39 in the Dirtbags 1-0 loss on Saturday. Mathewson gave up the lone run in the fourth inning to junior designated hitter Alex Sawelson. The Dirtbags let their early lead slip away late in Friday’s 7-4 loss to the Rainbow Warriors. Hampson got the offense going for the Dirtbags in
Opinions 6
the first inning by drawing a walk and stealing second base. The next two batters grounded out, which allowed Hampson to cash in for the 1-0 Dirtbag lead. The Rainbow Warriors tied it up 1-1 in the third inning when senior righty Kyle Friedrichs gave up a dou-
See RAINBOWS, page 8
Sports 8