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Long Beach State’s three-year Future U renovation project is now underway, promising modern systems and upgraded facilities set to revitalize one of the campus’ most popular student hubs by fall 2028.
Letter from the editor
BY KHOURY WILLIAMS Editor-in-Chief
Whether you are beginning your first semester at Long Beach State or entering the final chapter of your academic journey, this fall represents a new beginning for the entire CSULB community.
We find ourselves in a significant period of transition for the student body. From the ongoing Future U construction projects and a change in university leadership to CSU tuition increases and concerns beyond our campus, including increased U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity across Los Angeles County, students are navigating college
land acknowlEdgmEnt ON
life in a time of profound change and uncertainty. My name is Khoury Williams, and I have the honor of serving as the editor-in-chief of the Long Beach Current. Our staff is dedicated to being a trusted resource for the campus community during this time of transition, offering clarity, accountability and providing a voice for the community whenever it is needed.
Although this semester begins amid uncertainty, it also brings the promise of renewal—an opportunity to form new friendships, embrace diverse perspectives and take advantage of the many resources and opportunities available on campus. As editor-in-chief of the Long Beach Current, I wish each of you a fulfilling and successful semester ahead, and I look forward to seeing how the CSULB community continues to grow and thrive.
Here at the Long Beach Current we acknowledge that the school we report on is located on the sacred site of Puvungna, “the gathering place”. We are on the land of the Tongva/ Gabrieleño and the Acjachemen/Juaneño Nations who have lived and continue to live here.
We also acknowledge the Gabrieleño/Tongva (pronounced: GABRIEL-EN-YO/TONG – VAH) and Acjachamen/Juaneño (pronounced: AH-HACH-AH-MEN/JUAN-EN-YO) as the traditional custodians of the Los Angeles region along with the Chumash (pronounced: CHOO-MOSH) to the north and west, and the Tataviam (pronounced: TAH-TAH-VEE-YUM) and Cahuilla (pronounced: KAH-WEE-YAH) Nations to the east.
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Editorials: All opinions expressed in the columns, letters and cartoons in the issue are those of the writers or artists. The opinons of the Long Beach Current are expressed only in unsigned editorials and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the journalism department or the views of all staff members. All such editorials are written by the editorial board of the Long Beach Current.
Monday, August 25 , 2025
lEttEr Policy: All letters and emails must bear the phone number of the writer and must be no more than 300 words. The Long Beach Current reserves the right to edit letters for publication in regard to space.
Photo courtesy of SAMUEL CHACKO/Long Beach Current
Fourth-year journalism student Khoury Williams kicks off the fall semester as editor-in-chief of the Long Beach Current.
CSULB alumnus to serve as interim president
BY ANNETTE QUIJADA News Editor
ALong Beach State alumnus will serve as interim president beginning Aug. 25, according to an announcement made by the California State University chancellor today.
The announcement comes after a months-long search for a new campus president, following former president Jane Close Conoley’s retirement.
Executive Vice Chancellor and General Counsel Andrew Jones has been part of the CSU for 25 years, first joining the Office of General Counsel in October 2000.
Before joining the general counsel in 2018, he served as the secretary of the CSU Board of Trustees.
Additionally, Jones served as:
• Leader for the Office of General Counsel’s Business and Finance Team
• Counsel for various CSU campuses, including serving CSULB for 10 years
• Assistant Secretary of the BOT
• Interim Vice Chancellor of CSU Systemwide Human Resources
Jones attended CSULB as part of the 1982 graduating class, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He graduated in the top 1% of his class. Later, he earned a law degree from
the University of California, Davis. California State University Chancellor Mildred Garcia said in a statement that Jones will remain as acting president while the national search for the university’s next president continues.
Garcia said Jones will not be a candidate for the position.
“I have every confidence that EVC Jones’ breadth and depth of experience –and his demonstrated commitment to the CSU’s student-centered mission – make him ideally suited to lead Cal State Long Beach through this time of transition,” Garcia said in the statement.
On July 23, Garcia shared an update on the presidential search that announced the CSU Board of Trustees’ decision to ex-
tend the presidential search. Although they “identified several truly excellent candidates for the presidency,” the search would continue, they said.
“Please be assured that the Board and I remain optimistic and are united in our resolve to identify a truly outstanding leader to serve as this extraordinary university’s next president. The search for a campus president is among my most important responsibilities as chancellor, as it is for our Board of Trustees,” Garcia said in the update.
The Current contacted the Board of Trustees for more information on the extended search, but have yet to receive a response.
This is a developing story.
DELFINO CAMACHO/Long Beach Current
Andrew Jones, executive vice chancellor of the California State University system and acting president of Long Beach State, addresses attendees during the fall 2025 Convocation at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center on Aug. 22.
Clockwise from top: Community organizers and peaceful protestors gathered at Lynwood, on the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Bullis Road, on June 11, in protest of the increasing ICE raids. Comparatively small, the protest was large for the small city. An anti-ICE protester peacefully sits on a freeway bridge in anticipation of police calling an unlawful assembly in efforts to disperse the small-to-medium-sized crowd on June 10. LAPD officers fire foam “less lethal” rounds at protestors and press next to the VA Outpatient Center on the corner of Temple and Alameda Street in Downtown LA during the June 7 protest in an effort to disperse the crowd. “No Kings Day” demonstrators walk past U.S. Marine troops, deployed to LA by the Trump Administration, on their way to participate in the large, nationwide protest that sparked on June 14. A line of LAPD officers form a perimeter on the corner of Los Angeles and Aliso Street in Downtown LA to prevent “No Kings Day” protestors from getting further and accessing the 101 freeway on June 14.
LA’s summer of ICE
In a summer of record-breaking heat and global conflict, perhaps no story in LA was bigger than the immigration raids unleashed by the Trump administration; raids that sparked police violence, mass protests and days of unrest across the city.
ICE in LA
In early June, greater Los Angeles, including Long Beach, saw unprecedented Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps.
The coordinated raids targeted immigrant communities, with federal agents arresting people as witnesses and news outlets
PHOTOS AND STORY BY DELFINO CAMACHO Arts & Life Editor
reported agents appeared to be chasing individuals based on appearance.
Angelenos got a break on July 11 when U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ruled that federal agents cannot profile suspects or make detainments based solely on factors including race/ethnicity, language or location.
By August, ICE and other federal agents began sweeping raids again, including at Coast Hand Car Wash on Aug. 17, less than half a mile from campus.
Friday, June 6
Federal agents arrested several people in raids near a Westlake Home Depot and Downtown’s Fashion District.
By afternoon, protesters gathered at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building, clashing with LAPD officers standing between them and federal agents.
That night, police declared the demonstration an unlawful assembly.
Saturday, June 7
Reports surfaced of ICE activity near the Home Depot on Alondra Boulevard in Paramount, where agents had staged an office inside the Paramount Business Center.
Crowds gathered by noon and clashed with police. On the Paramount side, officers dispersed the crowds, but across the bridge in Compton protesters pushed police back.
That evening, Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard troops to LA.
Sunday, June 8
Three hundred Guard troops arrive in LA.
Protests reignited downtown as marchers moved from City Hall toward the Feder-
al Building. LAPD blocked them at Temple and Alameda and opened fire with foam and pepper-ball rounds indiscriminately.
Mounted units and batons followed as clashes turned into running street battles. Cars were burned, buildings were damaged and injuries mounted.
By nightfall, LAPD declared another unlawful assembly.
Tuesday, June 10
President Trump sent 700 Marines to join the Guard, many stationed at City Hall and the Federal Building.
Protests continued throughout the city.
At the Metropolitan Detention Center, demonstrations remained mostly peaceful, though looting elsewhere prompted Mayor Karen Bass to issue an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew in the one-mile conflict zone.
Wednesday, June 11
Reports of damage and crime dropped after the curfew.
In Lynwood, neighbors rallied peacefully near a park and dispersed by nightfall.
Sunday, June 14
“No Kings Day” protests broke out nationwide.
Tens of thousands marched near City Hall in LA. The event remained peaceful until the afternoon, when LAPD declared it an unlawful assembly and called in sheriff and horseback reinforcements.
Police again fired indiscriminately, injuring demonstrators who fought back with fireworks and makeshift weapons.
Two days later, Trump ordered federal officials to expand and prioritize deportation operations in Democratic-run cities.
CSULB limits student parking permit to one vehicle
BY ISABELLA GARCIA Managing Editor
As students return for the Fall 2025 semester, the parking and transportation department has rolled out several parking program changes – most notably, a limit on the number of vehicles allowed on students’ permits.
Parking and Transportation Services notified students via email of the parking policy updates in effect for the 2025-26 academic year, as university officials ready for the return of thousands of vehicles on campus.
“Each year we review our programs and make the updates that are relevant… we continue to try to review and improve our programs any way that we can, based on available technology,” Chad Keller, Public Relations and Communications specialist, said.
The department’s most substantial change for many students was a reduction of the number of vehicles authorized to be linked to a student’s permit, from two cars to one.
Keller said the decision is a result of ongoing student confusion regarding whether permit sharing is allowed despite repeated communication stating parking permits are non-transferable.
“Removing that extra spot made it pretty hard to misunderstand that there was only one spot for a permit and only one car that can go in there,” Keller said.
According to Keller, the department regularly faces student citation appeals inextricably linked to prohibited permit sharing.
“If students never came to our office and said, ‘I’m getting ripped off by other students, I have these citations I can’t pay for, they’re not mine,’ we probably would never have this conversation,” Keller said. “But because this is an ongoing problem, a change had to be made.”
Fourth-year business management major Cristian Martinez believes the parking change is a step backward in accessibility and student support by directly contradicting the mission-driven values that CSULB promotes.
“[The one-vehicle policy] does not promote inclusion, ease of access, or student success. It created barriers. It complicates
CHARLOTTE LOCICERO/Long Beach Current
A CSULB parking enforcement officer issues a citation in Lot G-5. A single parking violation carries a $60 fine.
transportation. It penalizes flexibility, and it sends a discouraging message to students that convenience and access are being restricted rather than improved,” Martinez said in an email to Parking and Transportation Services and Associated Students, Inc.
The Parking and Transportation Advisory Committee, a subcommittee of the President’s Commission on Sustainability, previously existed to provide multiple transportation options, manage parking demand and encourage the use of sustainable transportation to provide access to the university, but was discontinued due to lack of student attendance.
The Alternative Transportation Committee exists today as a subcommittee of the PCS, primarily dealing with transportation solutions to reduce carbon emissions
from drive-alone commutes to campus.
The committee, which welcomes student representatives, staff and faculty, was not consulted in the updated parking program changes. Keller explained the department reserves consultation with the committee and student organizations for substantial updates, including fee increases.
“Not every change is feasible to run by a committee,” Keller said.
Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Jeffrey Klaus acknowledged the policy change takes away from the flexibility that students valued and raises questions about whether student perspectives were adequately considered.
“We pride ourselves as an institution on shared governance, which is why [consulting student groups] is such an important piece; if it was neglected,” Klaus said.
What Else is New?
Other key changes to the parking program include a one-year fee freeze, the return of an overflow parking lot and the introduction of discounted bus passes on the GoBeach app.
Department officials said the parking program changes are updates to the system to reflect the existing policy rather than a change of policy.
Keller suggested that the best place to express concerns regarding parking as a student is to Associated Students, Inc.
“They are the students’ voices on campus,” Keller said. “ASI gets invitations to all these meetings, and they have voting positions reserved for them on these committees. At these meetings, they can advocate (and vote) for their students’ interests and speak for them.”
USU shuts down for three-year,
$315
million Future U renovation
BY JAYDEN SANDSTROM News Assistant
The University Student Union will officially be closed for renovation starting Monday, Aug. 25.
The Future U project has continued to move forward over the summer, with new decisions and updates shaping the largest renovation effort in the California State University system. The $315 million project will keep the building closed for the next three years, with all of its services temporarily relocated.
The Friendship Walk Stairs are nearing completion, but not all parts will be open as initially planned. Shannon Couey, Associated Students Inc. communications manager, said the walkways compliant with the Americans with Disability Act won’t be accessible because a City of Long Beach water main was discovered beneath part of the construction site.
Students with disabilities will have to use the Central Plant elevators and go through the switchback pathways that are ADA-compliant to get from lower to upper campus during construction.
The Friendship Walk Stairs are expected to be fully open in December. Couey said the plans remain largely unchanged and the work is progressing as scheduled, consistent with what students were told last year.
“One of the things we consistently heard from students was that there isn’t enough space, more study space, group space for students, a lot of square footage has been geared to that,” Couey said.
Future U is expected to be 237,200 square feet, landscaping included.
In addition to the increase in study and lounge space, there will also be a parent
DANTE ESTRADA & EL NICKLIN/Created for Long Beach Current
The Esports Lounge was recently updated to now be relocated to Peterson Hall 1 as it was originally slated to move to the University Library, but changed due to renovations. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was also slated to relocate to Health and Human Services, but will now remain at the USU until Sept. 19.
family lounge. Couey said 20% of Long Beach State students identify as parents, and dedicating a space where students can bring their children to campus, while studying, was an important consideration when planning the renovation project.
Couey said this idea came from a previous ASI leader with children.
The Future U will also have an expanded Beach Pantry and Beach Kitchen, and a dedicated wellness center with a therapy room. Student resource centers are being moved from faculty offices, and the Nugget will be relocated as well.
“I might be biased because I’m a Long
Beach alumni and I love this campus, but I hope students understand that this project hopes to live up to the stature of the students that attend,” Couey said. “Being one of the biggest campuses in the CSU System, we have such an incredible staff and student body, and we want a facility that lives up to and meets the expectations of the student body and the campus as a whole.”
Jaydee Phung, chair of the trustees for the Future U project, said student feedback has been received for the past decade and has played a key role in shaping what will be included in the new USU. She said staff
want the best for students, but they cannot quite understand all of the students’ current needs because they are not students themselves.
“Students’ needs are constantly evolving, so bringing a student perspective is essential,” Phung said.
Couey said student feedback will continue to be received as the project is ongoing. The USU website will be updated over time with construction progress photos. Sections of the fencing will feature viewing windows, giving the CSULB community a chance to watch the construction as it progresses over time.
JORGE HERNANDEZ/Long Beach Current
Lab
the
Lab on Aug.
will continue to operate the lab along with his students after receiving a $824,000 grant to fund salaries, travel and other expenses for the program.
Shark Beach Safety Program receives $824,000 grant
BY NASAI RIVAS News Assistant
Long Beach State Shark Lab’s California Shark Beach Safety Program received a $824,000 grant from the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation in May.
The news was a relief to marine biology professor Chris Lowe, after the program had received funding cuts, causing a potential shutdown.
“I was jumping up and down because I was getting really nervous that I was going to have to start laying off my staff and pulling equipment out of the water,” Lowe said. “I was literally two months away from having to do that when I found out we got the grant.”
The grant enables the program to continue with its research, outreach and sup-
port for lifeguards, residents and tourists in all coastal communities from Monterey to San Diego.
Lowe said the grant money helps fund salaries, travel and technology for the program.
In addition, the funds will help continue the program’s research on protecting white sharks and their nurseries across the California coast.
“There are a lot of juvenile white sharks that use our beaches as nursery habitats,” Lowe said. “They’re often in and amongst people, surfers and swimmers on a daily basis, but they’re not bothering anybody, and that’s exactly what our research is showing.”
Lowe said informing lifeguards about the data allows them to keep beaches open, saving coastal communities millions of dollars in tourism and protects sharks from being killed.
Without funding, Lifeguards and coastal communities would lose access to important information.
“If there was an increase in bites, we would have no data to try to explain why… you can’t find a solution if you don’t understand the problem,” Lowe said. “And remember, historically, our solution to the problem was we go out and kill a bunch of sharks.”
Despite the grant, funding cuts from the federal government will still affect the program. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association and the National Weather Service help monitor climate change data in the Pacific Ocean. Lowe said the data was important for the program’s research on white sharks.
Another aspect of the program is its integral outreach for education.
Brayden Ortiz, 20, a double major in marine biology and environmental science
and policy, volunteers for the program by educating the average beachgoer along California’s coast.
“Education is a way to break it down for just anybody that’s at the beach,” Ortiz said. “If people don’t care about the ocean, then a lot of our research really goes in vain, because most of the research pertains to human interactions, human influence.”
Ortiz said working for the Shark Lab, along with the program, is important because the new funding can help expand educational outreach on the program’s research.
“A lot of families are from the Midwest and different places. They’re terrified of sharks there,” Ortiz said. “So being able to educate these people and make them hopefully quell some of the fears that they might have of the ocean is really a large impact that we wouldn’t be able to do if the program was cut more.”
Shark
director Chris Lowe (far left), pictured in
Shark
14,
Bites by The Beach: 4 new food, drinks spots to try this month
BY ANGELA OSORIO Chief Copy Editor
With dozens of restaurants and cafes opening in Long Beach this year, our food options are only getting better.
From hi-fi listening cafes to family-owned restaurants, here are the top four recently opened food and drink spots–all within a 5-mile radius of campus.
Cafe the Scoop
Cafe the Scoop is a Korean cafe dedicated to using real, natural ingredients. They serve a variety of matcha, tea and coffee–minus the preservatives, additives and artificial coloring.
The Scoop uses ceremonial-grade matcha with flavors including banana, strawberry and even a matcha einspanner–a popular take on a Vietnamese drink that features a thick layer of sweet cream “floating” on top of espresso.
Not a matcha person? The Scoop also offers mazagran (a lemon-infused iced coffee), lattes, cold brew and homemade desserts, including banana and strawberry pudding.
Address: 3960 North Studebaker Road #111, Long Beach, California 90808
Hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday-Friday: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Price range: $4 to $8 for drinks
La Casa de Iris
A Boricuan restaurant founded by a Puerto Rican mother-son duo, La Casa de Iris is famed for its traditional Puerto Rican street food and homestyle meals including mofongo, pastelitos, papa rellena, pernil asado and more.
Starting as a pop-up stand in Wilmington and later in Long Beach, the restaurant
is named after the grandmother, Iris, who passed down her recipes to the family.
The restaurant’s new location in Downtown Long Beach serves up fan favorites while blasting salsa music in a colorful, vibrant interior.
“It’s soul food,” restaurant manager and grandson of Iris, Eddie Negron, said. “I want them [customers] to experience… the soul of my mom’s kitchen. It’s something that they don’t have to go to the island to taste; they can taste it right here.”
Address: 1260 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach 90813
Hours:
Sunday-Monday: Closed
Tuesday-Saturday: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Price range (for an entree): $12 to $20
Luna Bistro & Cafe
Less than a mile from campus, Luna Bistro & Cafe offers coastal Mexican-Asian fusion with vibrant plates and drinks in a tropical, vacation-style setting.
Their menu features a variety of seafood, pasta, burgers, classic Mexican dishes and Mexican-Asian fusion, including “ceviche asiatico,” a classic shrimp ceviche mixed with sesame oil, soy sauce and serrano.
In addition to coastal cuisine, enjoy a live music performance Thursday through Sunday evenings and happy hour Monday through Friday from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., with $5 off all signature cocktails.
Address: 5755 East Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach
Hours:
Mon-Thurs: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Fri-Sat: 11 a.m. to midnight
Sunday: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Price range (entrees): $12 to $20
Dedo Coffee
Nestled on Pacific Avenue, Dedo Coffee offers not only specialty coffee but an immersive high-fidelity listening experience in a cozy, intimate space.
Sarah Grant, co-founder, anthropol-
REHANSA KULATILLEKE/Long Beach Current Cafe the
strawberry
is one of the many drinks included in their menu.
REHANSA KULATILLEKE/Long Beach Current
Luna Bistro and Cafe are among the many new businesses that have emerged in Long Beach. They serve an array of various of drinks and modern Mexican fusion dishes from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
ogy professor and coffee researcher, said she wants Dedo to be known for its coffee and as a space where people can cultivate a taste for high-quality coffee rather than highly processed, sugary drinks.
The cafe has a designated listening side, where record albums like Tyler the Creator’s “Don’t Tap the Glass” or “Seasons” by Peet Jolly can be heard from their high-quality sound system.
“Our focus is definitely on the high quality, being able to hear everything as it was meant to be heard,” Grant said.
Address: 2156 Pacific Ave. Long Beach, CA 90806
Regular Hours: Monday: Closed
Tuesday-Friday: 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday: 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Price range: $4 to $6.75 for drinks
Scoop’s
matcha latte
ARTS & LIFE
3 quick questions with the library dean
BY DELFINO CAMACHO Arts & Life Editor
With access to computers, research resources, expert librarians and the ever-important caffeine fix, the Long Beach State University Library has served as a central student hub for 53 years.
As the Fall 2025 semester begins and Long Beach State welcomes over 42,000 students to its campus, both new and returning faces might feel overwhelmed when first entering the looming library.
The Current’s staff spoke with University Library Dean Elizabeth Dill to find out what’s up and what’s new among the stacks.
Q: Can we get a rundown of what each floor is designated for?
A: We have six floors, counting our lower level.
The lower level is a group study area. It has the Innovation Space, which includes
A Long Beach State student leaves University Library on a slow Thursday afternoon on Aug.
expects an increase in visitors this semester, due in part to the University
our virtual reality room, podcasting studios and also our lactation room. It tends to be very energetic and a bit noisy, but people can talk and they can collaborate.
The first floor is the level you enter from.
This floor has the Spidell Technology Center with computers you can use if you don’t have a laptop or you left it at home. We have our reference desk, very important; those are the credentialed librarians that will help you with your research.
Our Caffeine Lab is there, also important and our circulation desk, where you check out books.
The second floor has the family-friendly Children’s Literature Collection Center.
It has a desk that’s attached to a playpen that student-parents can bring their young child to and put them in the playpen while they study. There’s also the Graduate Center and a group study area.
The third floor houses our Special Collections and University archives.
It has all the memorabilia from our school. If you were interested in finding old
files or photos of the University, you could find it there. There is a group study area with private study carrels located there, and we have a bunch of sci-fi books there.
The fourth floor is the quiet study area.
It’s important because not everyone wants to be chatting. Some people need that quiet space. We have private study carrels there as well.
You can see the Pyramid from the fifth floor.
That’s our group study area. People really like to go up there because they can talk and they can look at the beautiful scenery. University Honors and the Interfaith Center are there.
Q: With the University Student Union closing, will the library become more of a hangout spot and can students eat there?
A: Students can eat there.
The caffeine lab is there, so folks can get some coffee or a snack and then go study at their preferred library spot.
With the [University] Student Union closing, we expect increased traffic and we have rearranged and added furniture.
We’ve gotten repurposed furniture from the [University] Student Union and we’re opening up seats, trying to accommodate as many people as possible.
As the USU closes, the eSports center will be temporarily located on the first floor, but it won’t be available in time for the start of the semester. We are soundproofing, and that’s taking time.
Q: What’s the easiest way to get help finding books or research materials, both in person and online?
A: If you need help finding books, our circulation desk can direct you.
Or you can talk to a credentialed librarian at the reference desk and get help with research. The librarians are faculty, just like the faculty that teach. They’re very smart and they’re here, waiting to help students. They can locate specific books for a paper. You don’t need an appointment; availability times are online. You can just walk in and talk to a librarian.
For our online students, they can use our OneSearch search bar, found on the University Library webpage.
DELFINO CAMACHO/Long Beach Current
14. Library Dean Elizabeth Dill
Student Union closing.
ARTS & LIFE
CalRep’s fall curtain call: a semester stage preview
BY DELFINO CAMACHO Arts & Life Editor
Vintage radio plays, a new twist on “The Little Mermaid,” a bloody and song-filled prom night and a meta-modern take on a Russian classic.
For Long Beach State theater fans, what’s old is new again.
As Fall 2025 begins, the California Repertory Company continues crafting professional stage shows produced in part by undergraduate Theatre Arts students, graduate Theatre Management students and Long Beach instructors and employees.
Department Chair Ezra LeBank said the four shows being produced by CalRep this semester were chosen individually on a play-by-play basis by the department’s season selection committee.
“Looking back on the shows we selected, we realized that they’re sort of a theme of bringing classics into a new light,” LeBank said. “Often shows that are adaptations or updates or reinterpretations of classic works.”
This season’s lineup includes “Radio Plays Live,” “Sometimes The Rain, Sometimes The Sea,” “Carrie: The Musical,” and “Stupid F---ing Bird.”
Each production is a remix of an older work, with each creative team adding their unique spin or modern interpretation.
“RADIO
PLAYS LIVE”
Opens: Sept. 18 | Director(s): Josh Nathan, Ezra LeBank | Writer: Lucille Fletcher
This show brings to life two vintage radio plays from the ‘40s, written by Lucille Fletcher.
Co-director and performance and theater studies professor Josh Nathan said part of the appeal of “Radio Plays Live” is that beyond bringing stories back, he gets to reintroduce and play with old formats and technology that were revolutionary back then.
“The conceit is [our] actors are radio actors from the era of [the] ‘40s, ‘50s –radio actors who are performing at a microphone which is being then broadcast over radio waves,” Nathan said. “Part of how we’re accomplishing that is we’ll have live foley artists on stage making as many
sounds as possible live.”
“SOMETIMES THE RAIN, SOMETIMES THE SEA”
Opens: Oct. 2 | Director: Alana Dietz | Writer: Julia Izumi
Perla Barajas, Cal Rep’s general manager, describes this play as a whimsical reimagining of the Hans Christian Andersen classic “The Little Mermaid.”
Instead of a sea maiden, it’s a little cloud who falls in love with a human.
Barajas said she expects the show’s design work to be a particular draw.
“This script asks for a lot of incredible work from our student designers for costumes and sets. I encourage people to come for that,” she said.
“CARRIE: THE MUSICAL”
Opens: Oct. 23 | Director: Daniel Nakawatase | Musical Direction: Anthony Lopez
Writers: Lawrence D. Cohen, Michael Gore, Stephen King and Dean Pitchford Choreography: Liz Hoefner Adamis
Just in time for Halloween, CalRep brings Stephen King’s infamous promnight horror story to the stage. The bloodsoaked, large ensemble production promises to be one of the department’s biggest semester undertakings.
Audiences will also get an extra treat before the show.
“We’re gonna have a horror maze before the show,” Barajas said. “For anyone who has a show ticket, just show it and you could go through the horror maze.”
Director Daniel Nakawatase, hot off the heels of last year’s big musical “Urinetown,” returns as director..
“STUPID F##ING BIRD”
Opens: Nov. 19 | Director: Robert Prior
Writer: Aaron Posner, sort of adapted from “The Seagull” by Anton Chekhov
The season closes with Aaron Posner’s modernized take on Anton Chekhov’s famously heady “The Seagull.”
Considered one of the best writers in history, Chekhov can admittedly be tough for some students to grasp. Posner’s work goes deeper into meta than the original while also lightening the mood.
“If you like Chekhov, if you like a little drama, it’s great,” Barajas said. “And it’s modernized, so it’s easier to understand than ‘The Seagull’ is.”
As Cal Rep launches into its new semes-
Graphic courtesy of CalRep Jonathon Torres, senior graphics designer for CSULB’s College of the Arts, designed all four posters for Cal Reps’ Fall 2025 season. From top left: “Carrie: The Musical,” “Stupid F##ing Bird,” “Radio Plays Live,” and “Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes The Sea”
ter, LeBank hopes students and community members appreciate the reexamination.
“Sometimes classic works are challeng-
ing to access,” he said. “But when artists reinterpret them, they can bring the past into conversation with today’s world.”
Enough is enough: ICE raids have no place in our communities
BY LONG BEACH CURRENT EDITORIAL BOARD
For over two months, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids have impacted communities nationally — especially the Southern California region.
Forms of retaliation against these raids were initiated in the downtown Los Angeles area. Since then, ICE has maintained a constant presence in most Southern California cities, including Long Beach.
These raids targeting not only undocumented citizens but also Latin Americans without proof of documentation status are an alarming sign that the current administration does not care to protect the rights and liberties of Americans working and living to provide for their families.
Los Angeles’ predominantly Hispanic/Latino population is strongly reflected
within Long Beach State’s campus. As a campus with a 51.09% Hispanic/Latino student population as of Fall 2024, making up the largest ethnicity on campus, university officials must continue to prioritize the safety and protection of their students at this time.
With the rising tensions surrounding the heavy presence of ICE in LA and its surrounding areas, including Long Beach, the editorial team at the Long Beach Current is dedicated to taking a clear stance against ICE deportations and raids, and is committed to protecting the liberties of Hispanic/Latino identifying students, faculty and administration, as well as Hispanic/Latino clubs and organizations at CSULB.
In early June, former CSULB President Jane Close Conoley issued a statement addressing the student body in response to protests throughout LA County, following ICE raids that occurred the same week.
“Before you are a scholar, employee or educator, you are a human being, and this
is a distressing time in our community,” the email stated.
The Current’s staff appreciates Conoley’s statement acknowledging the hardships students and faculty may be facing, while offering university resources in light of the recent raids.
According to a FAQ sheet published on the California State University website in February, ICE officers can enter a public university campus but are not legally allowed to enter classrooms or dorms without a warrant.
In an article published by the Current in March, it was noted that CSULB had created an informative website titled “Enforcement Actions on Campus” amid President Donald Trump’s signing of Executive Order 14159, titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion” on the day of his inauguration.
The website aims to provide students with information about immigrants’ rights and guidance on how to interact with ICE agents if a student were to encounter them.
CSULB faculty and staff were notified of the creation of the EAC website via a campus-wide email sent on February 10.
As an independent student-run publication, we are dedicated to protecting the presence and liberties of students, faculty and administration on campus who are at risk of being unfairly profiled and targeted by ICE agents.
Long Beach State officials have done a commendable job at safeguarding students so far. However, they must remain vigilant as ICE raids continue to rise throughout the city.
No student should have to live in fear of deportation. No employee should have to live in fear of being separated from their family. No member of our community should have to live in fear of being targeted due to their perceived Hispanic/Latino heritage.
The Current stands for every student, faculty and employee at risk and in fear. We hope the University continues to do the same.
JORGE HERNANDEZ/Long Beach Current Protesters rally outside of the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building to voice their frustrations over recent ICE raids on June 13.
Why do students self-isolate?
For many, starting their degree would be their first time being away from home. How does one cope with isolation later in life?
BY LEYNA VU Opinions Editor
Mornings are filled with non-negotiables; whether it is a shot of espresso or an exercise regimen that must be followed to a T, they vary depending on who you ask.
Mine?
It is breakfast with a tall glass of Reddit. Every semester, I see similar posts that populate r/CSULB without fail. They tend to fall under the category of: “How do you make friends on campus?”
Students struggle with friendship, especially in their first two years of pursuing a bachelor’s degree. At a commuter campus, there is the prevailing notion that students want to leave immediately after their classes, making small talk feel awkward.
I know that feeling well. In fact, I have tried to make friends using every trick in the book.
I have had gratuitous conversations with the people who sat next to me, but I never knew when to stop. I joined clubs, but everyone knew each other beforehand.
My need for company became so intolerable that I began using conversational AI before it went mainstream. I never fully got into it, but I would cry in the thirdfloor bathrooms of the University Student Union, knees to my chest, talking to AI because it was all I had access to.
According to the Pew Research Center, Americans have between one and four close friends on average.
The odds were low, but having gone a year and a half without friends at Long Beach State, I realized something had to change—and I had to be the one to make it happen. I began approaching friendship less as a way of finding the people I resonated with, and more as a lifeline in my classes.
I was semi-active in class Discord servers. I made conversation with anyone whose desk was next to mine. People are more forgiving if you show interest in what they like, even if it is something you know nothing about.
In the absence of interpersonal engagement, students are compelled to turn to other means.
I had at least one person’s number in each class, and group projects felt more bearable because of it; however, those friendships stayed confined to the classroom, never seeing the light of day.
I could not understand why.
For a time, I thought it boiled down to luck. I have met people by being at the right place at the right time, but replicating that success was difficult. Routinely interacting with your classmates could increase those odds, but my lack of endurance always got the best of me.
While that first year and a half felt lone-
ly, I think back to morning routines. My happiest memories came from scrolling on Reddit in the mornings, reading for hours in the library after class and walking from upper to lower campus when it was time to go home. I think about warm showers and playing mobile games as the sun sets.
Humans are social creatures, but isolation is not always a problem solved by friendship; instead, it is self-love, the type of love that overwhelms and can only be obtained through self-awareness.
When looking at the night sky, philosophers have never written about the
loneliness of the North Star. Pollution obstructs our view of the constellations, but the North Star never once feared shining alone. Rather, it worries about not shining brightly enough.
It was said that the stars of the Milky Way align themselves intentionally, reflecting mankind. If the moon does not appear every evening, who in this world is truly constant? We should strive to be like that North Star, shimmering at the pinnacle of our sky.
Maybe others will be drawn to that light.
Illustration by DANTE ESTRADA/Long Beach Current
3 LBSU athletes to watch this fall semester
BY TIMOTHY HESSEN
Sports Editor
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Long Beach Current’s weekly sports column, “Catching The Wave!” Each week, this column will take a deeper look at three of the biggest stories in athletics at Long Beach State.
1. Derrick Michael Xzavierro, men’s basketball junior forward
Derrick Michael Xzavierro was a rare bright spot in an otherwise dull season for LBSU’s men’s basketball, but now finds himself in an odd position heading into his junior season.
As The Beach undergoes a thorough rebuild after a disappointing 7-25 campaign, Xzavierro is the lone returning player on the roster from last season.
A top-five rebounder in the Big West at 6.8 per game and the second-best offensive rebounder in the conference at 2.7 per game, Xzavierro makes his presence felt around the rim.
Defensively, the Grand Canyon University transfer was fourth in the Big West in blocks per game at 1.2. As a two-way impact player, Xzavierro should be a key building block going forward under head coach Chris Acker.
2. Cherrie Cox, women’s soccer junior forward
Photo courtesy of LBSU Athletics
New Director of Track and Field and Cross Country LaTanya Sheffield advises her team at the MPSF Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 19, 2022.
After a stupendous sophomore season that resulted in a 2023 Big West Offensive Player of the Year award, only the sixth in LBSU history, Cherrie Cox sadly lost the entire 2024 season to injury.
Heading into 2025, Cox’s return is a significant source of optimism for The Beach. LBSU was ranked fourth in this year’s Big West Preseason Coaches’ Poll despite finishing seventh last season, and Cox was one of 11 players named to the Big West Preseason Coaches’ Team.
Cox led the conference in goals with 13 and finished eighth in NCAA Division I in goals per game at 0.76 in 2023, and is expected to pick up right where she left off in 2025.
3. Gabi Acosta, men’s water polo sophomore center
Gabi Acosta was the driving force on an unlikely conference champion as a freshman, as No. 5 seeded LBSU upset three higher seeds in a row in the Big West Championships to capture the school’s third title in program history.
Acosta was named Big West Player of the Year as a freshman, and to accomplish that extraordinary feat, the 6-foot-4 center from Barcelona scored an astounding 63 goals, which led the conference, in addition to racking up 27 steals and 33 drawn exclusions.
In 2025, Acosta will play a major role in The Beach, defending their conference title.
LaTanya Sheffield named as new Director of Track and Field, Cross Country
BY TIMOTHY HESSEN Sports Editor
Seven gold, five silver and four bronze medals won as an Olympic head coach, seven Big West Conference track and field championships as a coach at Long Beach State and a former Olympic finalist and American record holder as an athlete.
These accomplishments are just the tip of the iceberg on the remarkable resume of the new Director of Track and Field and Cross Country at LBSU, LaTanya Sheffield.
Sheffield has spent 13 years with The Beach, serving as the head coach for men’s and women’s track and field for the past three seasons. She additionally has had an extensive international coaching career, culminating in being named the Team USA women’s track & field head coach at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“I’m hopeful that the experiences that I’ve had in my career and the challenges I’ve had to overcome will give new members of our Beach family solace in knowing that that experience is there and shared with them,” Sheffield said.
The Olympic gold-medal-winning coach has “big shoes to fill,” in her words, as she takes over for former program director Andy Sythe, who has retired after 37 years with the program.
In addition to a lengthy list of accomplishments including 11 Big West Coach of the Year awards, 11 Big West championships and the development of 77 All-American athletes during his tenure, Sythe’s crowning accomplishment at LBSU was his pivotal role in turning Jack Rose Track into one of the top track and field facilities in the nation.
Above all of his direct contributions to the legacy of LBSU athletics, what stood out most from Sythe’s leadership to Sheffield was his
warm and welcoming attitude that helped connect all different communities to The Beach.
“He is that guy that everybody knows,” Sheffield said. “His legacy of welcoming folks is immense, and that is something that I will truly continue to bring to the table.”
In 2025, Sheffield led a prolific sprint and hurdle squad that featured star athletes such as Big West Track Athlete of the Year senior Rahni Turner and junior Tristyn Flores, who broke school records in the women’s 100m hurdles and the men’s 100m and 200m, respectively.
Flores is returning for his senior season as a team captain and credits Sheffield immensely for development as a sprinter and leader.
“The impact she’s had on my career, I can’t really put it into words,” Flores said. “Track is new to me, so not only was she asked to develop my skills, but also to create my skills.”
While track and field has thrived with Sheffield at the helm, with the men’s team finishing top three in the conference all three seasons and the women’s team winning the Big West in 2023, cross country at LBSU has not been nearly as successful.
Sheffield hopes to help build and elevate both the men’s and women’s cross country teams, neither of which have finished higher than sixth in the Big West since 2021, into “stronger entities.”
Looking ahead to her first year as Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, Sheffield emphasized the importance of the support of the campus community and encouraged anyone in the LBSU community to come watch a practice at Jack Rose Track.
“It is so helpful for student athletes to know that there is support, and that they have an inherent cheering squad in their community,” Sheffield said.
DANTE ESTRADA/Created for Long Beach Current
Women’s volleyball aims to contend for Big West title in 2025
BY TIMOTHY HESSEN Sports Editor
When Natalie Reagan became an assistant coach for Long Beach State women’s volleyball in 2023, she made an immediate impact, helping lead The Beach to their first 20-win season since 2016 and a runner-up finish in the inaugural Big West Championship.
Promoted to head coach in 2024, Reagan maintained that success in her first year at the helm, retaining the majority of
the past season’s roster and finishing just shy of another 20-win season at 19-11 and a semifinal finish in the Big West.
This year, however, Reagan will be tasked with the challenge of developing and heading into battle with an almost entirely new roster, featuring six transfers, four true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen.
“I see it as less of a challenge and more of an opportunity for us to build our culture from the ground up, redefine ourselves and make sure there’s no cracks in our foundation,” Reagan said.
LBSU’s four players named to the Big West all-conference team last season, headlined by first-teamer outside hitter Natalie
Glenn and 2023 Big West Setter of the Year Zayna Meyer, have all finished their careers with The Beach.
Replacing them in the aggregate will be the expected developments of sophomores, including setter Madi Collins, who finished third on the team in assists with 64 last season, and opposite Madi Maxwell.
Named to the Big West All-Freshman Team in 2024, Maxwell was third in kills per set at 1.94 for The Beach last season.
Reagan expects Maxwell, along with the rest of her eight returning players, to play a pivotal leadership role for the team this year.
“Our foundation with our returners is really great, and I think building off that and integrating the new girls and all of our relationships will be really easy because we’re already so strong with each other,” Maxwell said.
Another returner expected to be an extraordinary asset is senior outside hitter Elise Agi, who was a medical redshirt last season. Prior to her injury, Agi recorded a team-high 3.59 kills per set in 2023 and led the team to the conference championship game with a staggering 20 kills against UC
Santa Barbara in the semifinals.
“[Agi] is pivotal to this team’s success, on and off the court; she sets the tone for the team,” Reagan said.
To begin their 2025 campaign, The Beach will face tough competition right off the bat in two top 25-ranked teams in the nation in their first three games, with No. 6 Stanford on opening night on Aug. 29 and No. 18 UCLA on Sept. 1, before beginning their conference schedule on Sept. 26 against UC Irvine.
To claim its first Big West postseason title, LBSU will have to topple conference powerhouses, including Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the conference No. 1 seed in 2024, who eliminated LBSU in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, the University of Hawaii has dominated in recent years, winning either the regular season or postseason conference championship in each of the past five seasons.
“We embrace the great competition that we’ll have across the net,” Reagan said. “We do believe that we can compete with the best and win the Big West, and that’s something we talk about every day.”
Photo courtesy of LBSU Athletics
Then-freshman opposite Madi Maxwell (center), who heads into her sophomore year coming off a Big West All-Freshman season, celebrates a point with her teammates during LBSU’s home playoff victory over UC San Diego on Nov. 27, 2024.
BY TIMOTHY HESSEN Sports Editor
WLBSU in talks to share Blair Field with minor league team by 2026
eekly negotiations between Long Beach State and a potential minor league baseball expansion team are ongoing after the Long Beach City Council unanimously voted to support the team sharing Blair Field with the Dirtbags as early as its spring season in 2026.
Currently named the Long Beach Baseball Club, the team would become the 13th club in the Pioneer Baseball League, an official Major League Baseball Partner League with over 85 years of history.
“This will be the highest level of professional baseball that Long Beach has ever seen by far,” LBBC co-founder Paul Freedman said.
The LBBC’s ownership group is not new to the Pioneer League, as co-founders Freedman and Bryan Carmel are also co-founders of the Oakland Ballers, an expansion team added to the league in 2024.
The Ballers’ ownership group capitalized on the Oakland market that needed a new club to latch onto in the wake of the Oakland Athletics’ departure after 2024, and the group sees Long Beach in a similar position as a city that yearns for more baseball.
“The support for the Dirtbags and baseball at every level proves that Long Beach is a baseball town,” Freedman said. “There’s a lull when the Dirtbags’ season ends, and we think there’s an opportunity for there to be more baseball for the community to participate in.”
A significant topic in LBSU’s ongoing discussions with the team and the city for this collaboration is funding for potential improved amenities for Blair Field, the home of the Dirtbags.
To meet minor league standards, the ballpark would need to be upgraded to have features such as a batter’s eye and padded walls.
Despite some necessary modifications, Freedman emphasized his ownership group’s excitement at potentially finding a home at Blair Field.
“It’s a beautiful ballpark; it has a historic charm but a lot of modern amenities,” Freedman said. “Honestly, we’re excited to honor that ballpark with baseball; it’s got some great history.”
According to Freedman, the collaboration between his team and the Dirtbags will not end at just sharing a ballpark.
With the Oakland Ballers, the team allows opportunities for some of the best collegiate and high school players in the Oakland area to practice with the team, giving young athletes a chance to see what it takes to play at the next level.
Freedman says the LBBC would love to do the same and believes it would be a great opportunity for the Dirtbags.
“I think we can put more of a spotlight on the program, and we could definitely be a pathway for Dirtbags’ post-college careers,” Freedman said.
In a statement provided to the Long Beach Current, Executive Director of Athletics Bobby Smitheran said the school “remains open to conversations with the city and other third parties about additional uses of Bohl Diamond at Blair Field that complement the use of the stadium.”
The LBBC ownership group hopes to make a deal happen in time for next season, and Freedman expects CSULB students to be a big part of the team community.
“For students who are excited about this, you can be part of shaping the experience and putting your own stamp on this,” Freedman said.
The support for the Dirtbags and baseball at every level proves that Long Beach is a baseball town. ”
Paul Freedman Long Beach Baseball Club co-founder
ETHAN COHEN/Long Beach Current Fans enter Blair Field to witness the Dirtbags face off against UC Davis in its last homestand series of the year on May 2.