May 12, 2022 • Volume 94 • Issue 1 • Published since 1927 Abortion rights
activist march the streets of Long Beach News | Page 2
VIKING NEWS Long Beach City College May 12, 2022 • Volume 94 • Issue 1 • Published since 1927
Long Beach City College potentially facing double court action News Page 3
NEWS
2 NEWS BRIEFS
A gradual return from COVID-19
This semester marked a greater return to normality on campus as more classes returned. For one, the Viking is running its first print edition since the campus closed down in spring of 2020. Despite this, progress has been gradual. Events earlier in the semester such as club day saw minimal turnout as many clubs didn’t hold up through the pandemic. For many students the pandemic served as a chance to reevaluate their worldviews on subjects such as how to assess safety and judge risk. —Viking Staff
Free transit pass for LBCC students
Long Beach City College students are now eligible for free rides with LA Metro and Long Beach Transit after the school announced a new partnership with the transportation systems. Students who would normally use the LA Metro or Long Beach Transit as modes of transportation could now potentially save hundreds of dollars in fares. The only requirement to obtain a GoPass is that the student must currently be enrolled in at least one course at LBCC. “With the GoPass, all students need is to be enrolled in just one unit. That’s it,” Justin Mendez, manager of LBCC’s basic needs program, said. — Sophia Cobb
Four affinity group graduations Long Beach City College will be holding cultural graduation celebrations for various affinity groups in addition to the official Commencement Ceremony. There are four affinity groups being celebrated this semester: Latinx, African American, AIPD and the LGBT community. “We see this model across the nation, where institutions have their general commencement and then there’s these additional cultural celebrations that are done as well,” said Sonia De La Torre, the dean of student affairs. Cultural graduation ceremonies are intended to create an environment in which people from similar backgrounds can enjoy themselves to the fullest extent while surrounded by others who share cultural similarities. — Eddie Gomez
On the Web
For complete versions of these stories, go to lbccviking.com.
May 12, 2022
Activists defend Roe v. Wade By Sophia Cobb Viking Staff
Hundreds of abortion rights activists rallied in front of the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse on the afternoon of May 3 to protest the recently leaked Supreme Court draft that could potentially overturn Roe v. Wade. The draft of the decision was leaked on May 2 to the media outlet Politico. If the Supreme Court votes to overturn Roe v. Wade, abortion laws would be controlled by the states, which would result in many states restricting or banning abortions completely. “Abortion access is fundamental to human rights,” activist Sheila Bates said, who publicly spoke during the rally. “It is a racial justice issue, a disability justice issue, a healthcare issue, a class issue, a housing issue and an educational justice issue,” Bates said. Bates explained how Black women and other women of color would suffer the most from abortion bans. “Reproductive justice is about full bodily autonomy and healthcare, and we have to be honest about the fact that black and brown people and black and brown women have never had full access to their bodies,” Bates said. The rally began with several speakers who shared their thoughts regarding the leak. They also led chants that the crowd engaged in, such as “Right-to-life your name’s a lie, you don’t care if women die.” The crowd then marched the streets, along Broadway, starting from Magnolia Ave to Pine Ave, then continued up to 3rd St and back up to Magnolia Ave, making a full circle. About halfway through the march, a police car approached the crowd from behind and told everyone to move to the sidewalk, but they refused and continued to walk on the street for the entirety of the
Photo by Desary Vailencour Protestors gathered on May 3, 2022 at the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse
in Long Beach to demonstrate against the Supreme Court draft to overturn Roe v. Wade. march. Among the crowd of the rally was Katie Stanton. “I’m here today because I’m furious with such a deliberate abandonment of women, honestly,” Stanton said. “It literally means the difference between life and death for some women.” Having worked in reproductive health, Stanton knows first-hand what an abortion can mean.
On the Web
For more photos and a photo gallery of a CSULB protest, go to lbccviking.com. “I’ve worked in a reproductive health clinic and I’ve helped women on one of the worst days of their lives. It’s never an easy decision, but it’s their decision and it’s their right,” Stanton said. Stanton also discussed her concern on how abortion rights are not the only thing that’s at stake right now.
“There’s so many things that this affects, and the fear of taking away my right to possibly marry my fiance who’s a woman,” Stanton said. Attending Tuesday’s rally was Carole Sergy, who remembers when the Supreme Court passed Roe v. Wade in 1973. “When I was a young girl, there was no abortion,” Sergy said. “I’ve been coming to these (rallies) for a long time. I’m very concerned about not just the end of abortion, but how this is the beginning of such a negative, dark thing, trying to take away access to birth control and gay rights.” Sergy urges people to wake up and take action. “Wake up, folks. This is going to be our world here in the United States. I find that unacceptable,” Sergy said. This was one of several rallies that took place in Long Beach throughout the week. One of the rallies was at CSULB on May 5 which drew a large crowd. Many more have been planned through the city and nation.
A new president steps up for LBCC By Sean Davis Viking Staff
Photo by Sean Davis Mike Munoz expresses joy as he’s installed on April 14, 2022. Munoz thinks he can build an experience for all types of students.
Mike Munoz highlighted Long Beach City College’s attempts to meet students’ basic needs and improve equity in education for minority students as he was installed as president and delivered the State of the College address on April 14, 2022. Munoz’s address discussed services employed by the college to aid students during the pandemic, efforts to improve educational success and graduation among minority populations and improvements to campus facilities provided through public grants. “My leadership has always centered on one question: ‘How does this look from a student perspective?,’” Munoz said.
Some think Munoz as president might draw students back to LBCC with his energy and outlook for the school’s future. “I think his energy will be able to rally people to come back on campus,” Richard Blackmon said, who i the student trustee. “He’s such a clear leader for everyone. I think we’re excited to see him grow even more in the position,” Ava Cross said, Associated Student Body president. Munoz is taking the helm at a turbulent time for the college, with former president Reagan Romali suing the school and two part-time instructors suing over alleged minimum wage violations, setting the stage for a legal battle with potentially national consequences. Munoz also highlighted advancements for historically underserved populations.
NEWS
May 12, 2022
3
Part-time teachers sue for underpay By Maisie Vilchis Viking Staff
Long Beach City College was presented with a class action lawsuit co-sponsored by the California Teachers Association on April 4, representing two of the school’s very own part-time professors. Art history professors Karen Roberts and Seija Rohkea claim that the school’s pay contract for adjunct professors is in violation of California labor laws, since they are not paid minimum wage for the hours they are expected to put in outside of the classroom. “We are not paid to meet with students, we are not paid to grade papers, we are not paid for any class prep, we are only paid for the time that we have in the classroom and we have tried to bargain office hours previously and it has been unsuccessful,” Roberts said, a part-time professor who has taught for over twenty years. “We surveyed the part-time faculty a few years ago and we found that part-time faculty that participated in the survey put anywhere between three to ten hours outside the classroom,” Roberts said. 67 percent of Long Beach City College’s teaching staff is part time, which is 16 percent more than the national average. Hiring an abundance of adjunct professors is reflective of the schools efforts to maintain a tight budget but the professors are wondering where is the money from
“The money is there. The question is what are they doing with it?” Seija Rohkea
Part time art history professor
COVID-19 grants as well as the money given for the cost of living adjustment (COLA) passed by Gov. Newsom last semester sitting. “The money is there. The question is what are they doing with it? Why are they hoarding it? Why aren’t they paying adjuncts in every capacity to do right by the students and to be there by the students?” Rohkea said. “There is a problem where they are expecting part time faculty to work for free, we should be paid minimum wage for this additional work that we are doing,” Roberts said. Part-time professors do not get compensated for any hours they put in outside the classroom, but with a turn over rate of 1 in 3 per year, these professors feel that they are at the mercy of the district and have to put in their all, not only because they care about their students but because teacher evaluations can control their fate at the college. “We’ve really fallen into the category of gig workers and
many of our students don’t even know that, so who is left out is the student and as adjuncts we know that our job security comes at the heels of student success so we have to put in that extra time for every single student that comes to us for help,” Rohkea said. The average part-time professor makes less than $20,000 a year, and some even have to rely on government aid between semesters just to get by. Some adjunct professors like Rohkea and Roberts have to work at multiple colleges to make ends meet. Eileen Goldsmith is the representing lawyer for the professors brought on by the California Teacher’s Association who are standing with the two professors and are co-sponsors of assembly bill 1752, a union contract bill that would require part time professors to receive compensation at an amount that is more proportionate to what full time employees are paid. “We are looking to change the practice of how adjunct professors are compensated and we would like to bring them closer to parity with full-time professors,” Goldsmith said. According to Goldsmith, the case could easily take a year or more until we see any changes in their contracts. Goldsmith says she is exploring similar cases across other districts, as well as with other part-time professors facing similar issues. If the adjunct professors succeed, the district will have to compensate part-time professors from 2019 and on.
Former superintendent files $10 million claim By Matthew Walker Viking Staff Long Beach City College faces a $10 million claim filed by former superintendent-president Reagan Romali, who was fired in 2020 amid both allegations of misconduct done during her presidency at LBCC, and her own allegations of misconduct levied against members of the board of trustees. The $10 million claim alleges that Romali’s firing was retaliatory in response to her filing a whistle-blower claim against specific members of the LBCCD board of trustees and a damage to her reputation that has caused her to be unable to find work at the same level that she had been. Board President Uduak-Joe Ntuk, who represents Area 1, made a statement regarding the claim. “There is no justification for the arbitration claims against LBCCD, Trustee Malauulu or myself; they were independently investigated two years ago and found to have no merit,” Ntuk said. The investigation referred to by Ntuk references a whistle-blower claim made against the college by Romali, listing Trustees Ntuk and Vivian Malauulu in specific; with claims of defamation, retaliation and
gender discrimination. In the statement, Trustee Ntuk said that the claim would be handled in the same way as the lawsuit against Trustee Sunny Zia, with the cost having no monetary impact to the school’s general funds or student services. Louis J. Cohen, an attorney representing Romali, called Ntuk’s statement a “Typical Ntuk misdirection.” “It’s a plain and simple whistle-blower retaliatory case” Cohen said, referring to Romali’s termination as “vindictive” and that they believe that the investigation against her had come up with nothing. Cohen claims that the timeline of her termination is suspicious as well, with Long Beach Post’s reporter Jason Ruiz publishing a story on the whistle-blower claim on March 2, Trustee Ntuk requesting the whistle-blower ledger from Romali on March 3 (which was provided) and Romali being terminated from her position on March 4. “If you look at the timeline, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that this is retaliation,” Cohen said. The LBCCD board of trustees does have its own allegations against Romali, including multiple claims of misconduct and inappropriate use of a staff member. An investigation performed by the
File Photo Former President Reagan Romali starting her first State of the College Address in June, 2019. Romali believes she has been defamed by the LBCCD board of trustees.
board of trustees alleges to have uncovered the following allegations against Romali; including derogatory comments regarding an employee’s sexuality, saying she is unable to fire a gay Black man because he was protected by two identity classifications, allegedly managing other staff ’s styling choices as not to compete with her own and calling a dean “hot.” Romali is also alleged to have used a staff member for personal errands including babysitting, automotive service, gro-
cery shopping, clothes shopping, and adoption assistance, which the board believes is inappropriate. On the other side, Romali’s whistle-blower claim alleges Brown Act violations, misuse of public funds and concerns over pay-for-play, done by Trustees Ntuk and Malauulu, which Romali had reported to the police in August of 2019, according to Cohen. Both sides believe the other side’s investigation findings have no merit.
LIFESTYLE
4
May 12, 2022
Basic needs offered at Viking Vault Story by Sean Davis Viking Staff
The Basic Needs Department at Long Beach City College has geared its efforts by helping students with their most pressing day-to-day issues, offering free groceries and bus passes, along with key housing assistance resources. Located on the Liberal Arts Campus, building E-131, known as the Viking Vault, the Basic Needs Department provides resources to any LBCC student who is experiencing difficulty meeting their basic needs in the areas of food, housing, transportation and more. “We have a holistic framework of basic needs which is circular. We understand that our basic needs are physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, all happening at the same time,” Basic Needs department manager Justin Mendez said. “COVID helped us, as basic needs practitioners,” Mendez said. “In the past, students weren’t walking around with a sign saying ‘I need support with housing.’ COVID facilitated us as an institution to create tools, like the Emergency Aid application. Outreach tools and access points were increased through COVID.” Housing aid and rental assistance is a flagship of the Basic Needs Department, with students able to work with a specialist to rapidly rehouse and park in a safe location if they are living in their vehicle or get a one time rent check up to $2000 for past due bills. “Just this semester we have 800 students asking for housing support. Food requests have just passed housing but probably by the end of the semester that may swap again,” Mendez said. Nicole Swayne, an outreach and recruitment specialist, explained that “When a student is experiencing hous-
Photo by Sean Davis Karen Romero, a CSULB social work student interning with the Basic Needs Program, studies in the Viking Vault. Students are able to use the Vault space to hang out and work, in addition to accessing the free resources provided.
ing insecurity or at chronic risk of homelessness, they can email basicneeds@lbcc.edu to tell us their situation to collect information, communicate with the housing partner (program) and then we’re able to connect the two.” “We have everything from rapid rehousing to bridge housing. Our services can either be immediate, like a ho-
tel voucher, or housing navigation for students who are already working and just need a stable situation,” Swayne said. Student LaJune Elder who frequents the vault said ,“I use (Viking Vault) all the time for groceries and things I can’t afford at the regular grocery store. It definetley helps.”
Viking Closet offers free clothes to students Story by Desary Valencour Viking Staff
School can be so time consuming and demanding for some students, this is why the Viking Closet is here to help by offering free clothing for anyone who may need it. The Viking Closet is a donation-run clothing store that has recently reopened on April 11 for all LBCC Students in building E. Jacqueline Evans is an aspiring actress that is in the Performing Arts program at Long Beach City College. She enjoys taking trips to the Viking Closet to find cool merchandise. “There is so much good stuff in there, from clothes to shoes and accessories. This really helps me out,” Evans said. They cater to both men and women, and soon they will be having a section for kids and babies. They always have new arrivals and try to rotate stock with the seasons. There’s all sorts of varieties of clothing that are free, including business attire, for-
mal wear, athletic and casual wear to name a few. Clothes are not the only thing they carry in the Vikings Closet. They also have some hygiene products, school supplies and snacks for you while you’re shopping. Nayzeth Nolasco-Romos, the Viking Closet coordinator, informed us that club members go through every piece of clothing. They wash and even mend some of them, but only if they’re in good condition. Nolasco-Romos says they only like to have things in there that are nice and not worn down and old. Then, they organize all the clothing in the closet into their proper destination of categories, so it’s easy for the students to find whatever they may be looking for. The club members take inventory of everything that comes in and out of the facility, so they can have a better idea of what students need. “We are really here to cater to the students’ needs. That’s our main priority,” Nolasco-Romos said. The Viking Closet is run by Alpha Gamma Sigma-Kappa which is the Scho-
Photo by Desary Valencour Jacqueline Evans looks through clothes during a break between classes at the newly reopened AGS-KAPPA Viking Closet.
lastic Honor Society for the California Community Colleges. The hours of operation are from 10am11:30am and 1:15pm-3pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They are looking to expand the hours soon. Evans enjoys reusing clothes because
it helps save the planet and second-hand fashion has really come into popularity within recent years. She thinks going to the Viking Closet is better than going to the thrift store because it’s free.
LIFESTYLE
May 12, 2022
5
LBCC opens new social justice center By Emily D’Amico Viking Staff
Long Beach City College opened the new Social Justice Intercultural Center on the lower level of the LAC Building E. Students can use the center to work on their studies, find helpful resources, and also grab snacks and drinks if needed. The center provides students with board games, film screenings, webinars, computer access, printing resources, and cubicles for resource programs. There are cubicles lined up along the wall for different programs on campus to reserve. The center is a part of the Student Equity departments initiative to create more resources for students. “We will be hosting more events later on. My goal is to have more identity focused workshops, socials, mixers, and community building,” Itzel Marin said, who works in the center. The Student Equity departments goal is to create and sustain an inclusive culture on campus that enables students to thrive. “The Social Justice Intercultural Center is intentional about meeting the non-cognitive, social, and environmental needs of our diverse student population,” Eric Becerra said, Interim Director of Student Equity. “We hope to positively impact retention, persistence, and completion among our most disproportionately impacted populations, namely Black/African American, Latina/o/x, LGBTQI+, Asian Pacific Islander DESI, and Native American students,” Becerra said. The Social Justice Intercultural Center is open now Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m.5 p.m.
Sofia Amores holding a “Women In Stem” sign welded by a former student.
Photo by Eduardo Gomez
Women in STEM break bias
By Maisie Vilchis Viking Staff
Women at LBCC are breaking the bias in STEM, which includes the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. “Regardless of how small my stature is, this is something I want to do and so I don’t care about the bias. Yeah, it’s a man’s field still but that is changing,” Jules Fugett said, a student worker in metal fabrication. According to the United States Census Bureau, only 27% of STEM workers
were women in 2019, despite making up nearly half the workforce in the United States. “Luckily here at LBCC I don’t really feel like there’s much of a bias, I think most of the student workers here are women, from what I’ve seen,” Fugett said. Julianna Maleki is a second year student at LBCC and is working on pursuing a career in computer science. “In my class of thirty plus kids there is only me and one other girl, thankfully having a female teacher makes me feel a lot more confident in the class. Professor Davis is a really good teacher and she makes me feel like I am capable of doing
well,” said Maleki. Sofia Amores, who originally came to LBCC to obtain her associate’s degree in sociology, saw a poster advertising trades and decided to take up welding. “The only way I am breaking any bias is just by choosing to be myself. It’s cool to be able to express your femininity and still do man’s work,” Amores, a welding and metal fabrication student said. Darlene Garcia is also a female welder hoping to create a safe space for women. “I feel like I’m setting an example and creating more space for women in the field so that other women will feel more inspired to do this,” Garcia said.
Horticulture creates a haven at PCC By Maisie Vilchis Viking Staff
Photo by Marlon Villa Ethel Scrappy the Squirrel holding a sign that says “Join the LBCC Horticulture Club”. Scrappy has resided in the horticulture gardens for over two years.
If you're in need of an area to de-stress at Long Beach City College, look no further than the horticulture department at the PCC campus. Featuring deadly psychedelic flowers, plants that smell like buttered popcorn, gardens galore, and a friendly neighborhood squirrel named Ethel Scrappy. Behind the steel gates bordering the horticulture department, students can be found with a shovel in hand while enjoying their morning coffee brewed in the department's student-made cafe. “It's important to always take time to be in nature,” said Jaazaith Moore, a student who has been taking horticulture classes since 2019. Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a majority of the plants within the gardens died as a result of the campus closure due to
the lockdown. “People are going to have to understand we have not been on this campus in over two years, so there is still a lot of work being done. But things are coming together and are going to look hopefully even better than before,” Moore said. The horticulture department has various gardens ranging from California native plants to roses and everything in between to suit almost anyone's taste. With newly sprouted vegetables, orchards freshly grafted, and gardens pruned, the horticulture department is anticipating a bountiful bloom on campus, as well as a garden that is accessible for students with disabilities. Students interested in getting to know more about gardening and nature, the horticulture club holds meetings every Monday at noon in the horticulture gardens at PCC.
SPORTS
6 PLAYOFF UPDATES
Women’s Beach Volleyball
The LBCC women’s beach volleyball team finished the season with an overall record of 11-6. Pairs Jennifer Lias and Celestial Ropati, secured a spot in the top 20 pairs in So-Cal and will advance to the state tournament.
Men’s Volleyball
With an overall record of 18-3, the LBCC men’s volleyball team saw themselves clinch the first seed in the Western State Conference, along with freshman Erik Hernandez being chosen as the Western State Conference Player of the Year. The Vikings went on to play Orange Coast College in the CCCAA State Championship Finals, but fell short, losing the match by a score of 0-3.
Women’s Softball
The LBCC women’s softball team entered the playoffs with a 29-11 record and secured the fifth seed. LBCC defeated Fullerton College in the first round of the Regionals and will advance to play Santa Ana College in the Super Regionals.
Men’s Baseball
With an overall record of 28-12, LBCC’s men’s baseball team was named as the Co-Champions of the South Coast Conference. The Vikings was defeated by the College of the Desert in the first round of the Regionals.
Women’s Basketball
The LBCC women’s basketball team fell short against Mt. San Antonio College in the third round of the Regional playoffs. With a conference record of 9-1, and an overall record of 22-8, expectations were high for the Vikings. Despite their defeat six athletes received All-South Coast Conference selections, with freshman guard Amanda Lopez being named Tri-MVP.
Men’s Basketball
The LBCC men’s basketball team’s season ended in the second round of the CCCAA So-Cal Regionals, where they were defeated by San Diego City with a score of 88-72. The Vikings finished the 2021-22 season with a 7-3 conference record, and a 18-12 overall record.
May 12, 2022
New athletic facility opens April 1 By Dylan Kurz & Marco Haynes Viking Staff Something that is sure to change the experience of athletes, is the recent opening of the new kinesiology lab and aquatics center, where Long Beach City College hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 1 at the LAC campus. “I’m very excited about this great new addition to our campus and the many advantages it will provide our students while honoring our past like the legendary Monte Nitzkowski,” Athletics director Randy Totorp said. This new facility was named after the late water polo coach Monte Nitzkowski, who died in 2016. Nitzkowski coached LBCC to six state championships in water polo between the years 1954 and 1989. Totorp explained that this new building is “a tribute to the past as much as it is a commitment to the future” Jeff Wheeler, a member of LBCC’s masters swim team and a current professor in the English department says that “LBCC has always had a great pool, a great aquatics program but this is a huge deal.” “I know what it was like to go into our team space, and I gotta tell you that as an aspiring 18-year-old, it wasn’t amazing back then,” Totorp said on this time as a student athlete at LBCC. Long Beach City College finished construction of their new $100 million athletic facilities which opened on April 1 with the athletes already training and playing games on it. The finalized construction added two new artificial turf soccer fields, a National Collegiate Athletic Association level beach
Photo by Frederick Iwuagwu Board of Trustees and athletes from swim, softball, beach volleyball, and soccer teams
On the Web
For video of the opening of the athletic facility go to lbccviking.com. volleyball facility, tennis courts, a renovated softball field, and a brand new aquatic facility with a 50-meter long pool. The state-of-the-art pool includes locker rooms and a training facility with many games planned to be played in it. For the coaches, athletes, and staff of LBCC, it adds a professional environment and confidence booster. “Amazing gives the sound of a professional environment with the locker room and training room for the field. Easy access. Super nice surface and amazing what Long Beach can pull off for the program,” Jorge
Reyes, men’s soccer coach said. “It’s a landing spot but now a launching point for players,” said Eduardo Nunes, women’s soccer coach on his thoughts about the future of athletics at LBCC. In 2015, Measure LB gave the college nearly $1 billion in construction money with $100 million spent on the athletic facility. LBCC will be using the money to upgrade all of its facilities in phases with the recent construction being phase one. Plans for phase two and phase three will be towards the renovation of Veterans Memorial Stadium and the Hall of Champions gymnasium
Two soccer players sign to D1 schools By Marco Haynes Viking Staff LBCC women’s soccer team players Alieza Vargas Deason ended her conference season with eight goals and eight assists in 17 games while Sophomore forward Allison Rose Veloz ended the conference season scoring 20 goals and assisting nine times in 18 games, both of them signed for division one colleges. “We’re going to miss them. They’re very impactful on our team, but that’s what we’re here for, to give our players an opportunity. Give them a stage and a spotlight, so that they can get the offers to a 4-year school and leave here on a really good note,” said Eduardo Nunes, the women’s soccer coach. Veloz earned offensive player of the year, making it both into the South All-Region and All-State teams including being
invited to participate in the sophomore showcase at the California Community College Athletic Association State Championships. As for Deason she made the South All-Region team and collected the South Coast Conference first-team honors. Deason has chosen to keep playing college soccer at the University of Maine, Fort Kent, and Veloz is committed to further her athletic career at Northern Arizona University. “I expect big things from them. I’m looking forward to following their path and keeping up with what they’re doing. I anticipate they’re going to do a lot of good things,” Nunes said. The LBCC women’s soccer team finished the conference season with a record of 7-4, losing round 1 of the SoCal regional playoffs to Saddleback 4-0.
Photo by Frederick Iwuagwu Alieza Vargas Deason (left) and Allison Rose Veloz (right) pose for a photo. Deason & Veloz have signed to division one schools to continue their soccer careers.
May 12, 2022
SPORTS
Cheer wins national championship
7
By Shelby Tiefenthaler Viking Staff
LBCC’s cheer team participated on February 23, in the USA Collegiate Championships for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Which resulted with them coming home as 2022’s national champions. On the first day of this two day competition, LBCC Cheer team started with a strong lead, hitting all of the stunts in their routine, ranking number one with only 1.5 deductions. In comparison to their competitors from Utah, Snow College finished with 10.5 deductions. The second day they brought the same energy back out onto the mats, which led the team to their first place victory. A cheer spectator this weekend commented on the competitor team, traveling all the way from Utah saying, “They must be hungry for a win,” LBCC cheerleader , Ronaldo Vicencio, responded by saying, “Yeah well we’re starving.” Ina-Mawrie Timbo, who has been with this team for five years and is one of the team captains says, “routing each other on, being very encouraging, saying you got this let’s go, ”are some of the attributes that helped make this team successful. This championship isn’t the only title LBCC cheer has won this year. At the end of January, they competed in Ontario and came out as the CheerPro California State Champions. This competition helped lead them to Anaheim this February. Their first place win at the CheerPro State competition is not just a token to show the skill and hard work this team has, but this achievement proved that LBCC
Photo by Shelby Tiefenthaler LBCC cheer team hit their pyramid at the Spirit National competition in Anaheim. They walked off the mats with only 1.5 deductions.
Cheer takes the meaning of dedication farther than most. Coach Diana Galias said that “their love for each other, their consistency, their dedication, their work ethic,” is what sets this team apart from others and raises them to the top. LBCC Cheer has prospered through the difficulties of practicing and working as a team through the pandemic. They even made a nickname for this team, calling themselves “The Zoom Squad” Due to the surge of another Covid vari-
Individual awards won by women’s swim team
Photo by Frederick Iwuagwu Atiya Yuwana (left) and Kaya Barrett (right) receive SCC Co-Swimmers of the Year Award. Bradley Adamson (middle) was recognized as SCC Coach of The Year.
ant in January, the team suffered by not being able to attend practices when they were supposed to be perfecting the finishing touches for their routine. Galias said, “We’ve had so many obstacles. When we came back to school in January we had an outbreak of Covid, we had to shut down. We only had two practices before we went to state… which we took first place.” Each week has about 8 hours of practice, excluding the open gym hours available to the athletes.
On the Web
By Shelby Tiefenthaler Viking Staff
Both girls credit the LBCC coaching for helping them reach the spot they are in For the first time in 16 years, Long Beach City College women’s swim team won its first South Coast Conference Championships title, which rightfully earned first-year head coach, Bradley Adamson, the coach of the year award. LBCC represented three out of the five recipients in the SCC swim and diving awards this year with athletes Atiya Yuwana and Kaya Barrett receiving the Co-Swimmer of the year award as well. It was able to break Mt. Saint Antonio’s streak of winning four consecutive titles. “I plan on continuing this. It’s my first year as a head coach, and I just want to really establish ourselves as a championship program,” said Adamson. Adamson has been coaching the LBCC’s swim team since 2015, but has deeper roots as he was a student-athlete for the school from 2010 to 2012. The window of opportunity opened for Adamson to assist coach Dave Costa while Coach Oeding was at the Rio Olympics.
Returning home with the co-swimmer of the year award given to Atiya Yawana and Kaya Barrett, Long Beach City College’s women’s swim team dominated at the 2022 South Coast Conference swim championships. Not only did these two athletes receive conference awards, but they helped end a drought in LBCC’s women’s team by winning their first SCC Championship title in the past 16 years. Both Yuwana and Barrett are sophomore students at LBCC but are first-year swimmers with this team. Throughout their high school years, both participated in swimming activities. Yuwana competes as a back-stroker and in the individual medley, with her favorite event being the 100 backstroke, as it is similar to a sprint. “My teammates are mainly the only thing keeping me going because if it wasn’t for liking being here, then I wouldn’t be here,” Barret said.
Check out the video of the Cheer team winning on lbccviking.com. The main goal for this team is to get a bid for the NCA College National competition held in Daytona every April. Competing at the NCA competition would set LBCC as not simply the number one college for the two-year cheer division, but bringing in the top of all recruits.
OPINION
8
May 12, 2022
Less tests, less stress
Editor-in-chief: Sophia Cobb Marlon Villa
By Matthew Walker Viking Staff A panicked glance at the classroom clock, unanswered questions littering the scantron, the fear of failure and the anticipation of disappointment swarming in your mind. For many students who have taken standardized testing, this is an experience that they are all too familiar with. The anxiety and stress that is often associated with standardized tests has affected thousands of students, despite the fact that there are alternatives that should be used instead of the outdated method of standardized testing. In the study, “Testing, Stress, and Performance: How Students Respond Physiologically to High-Stakes Testing” researchers found that cortisol, a primary stress hormone, changes in response to highstakes testing. The impact that testing has on a student’s overall grade is the greatest factor in the high-stakes nature of testing. On average, exams or quizzes make up the highest percentage of your grade when it comes to an individual class, causing them to either make or break a student’s grade in a class. These kinds of tests can result in issues with students losing hours of sleep because they are studying for exams and quizzes instead. There are benefits of this kind of testing, with the most important one being an accurate assessment of the student’s retained knowledge on a subject without outside sources affecting the results. Yet, this kind of testing leads to intense stress within students alongside having alternatives that could lead to less stress and similar results. For one, tests being used as an accurate assessment of student learning is flawed, as cheating is commonly used by students to circumvent the purpose of a test. A research study by the International Center for Academic Integrity, out of 70,000 high school students at over 24 high schools in the United States, 64% admitted to cheating on a test. One solution would be to reduce the disparity between the effect that test scores have on the grade, making it more equal to the rest of factors that make up a student’s overall grade.
News editors: Craig Roberts Moises Vargas Matthew Walker Opinion editors: Eduardo Gomez Eli Orozco Lifestyle editors: Karina Serrano Maisie Vilchis Photo by Eli Orozco Cannabis education should be accessible for everyone. The city of Long Beach should fund cannabis education, if it wants to relish on the revenue of cannabis taxes.
Prioritize cannabis education at LBCC By Eli Orozco Viking Staff
The city of Long Beach has an obligation to help build communities that have been affected by the War on Drugs. Cannabis education should be part of the city’s social equity program. Long Beach has a history of being progressive toward cannabis and as a result, attracting a booming industry. According to MJBiz, only 2% of social equity applicants are operating in Long Beach, CA. Even when the city expanded its social equity program in Oct. 2021, the eight applicants that applied are still awaiting licenses to operate. For two decades, the Long Beach Collective Association (LBCA) has been a backbone for the industry; an established organization whose primary goal was to help the city council with cannabis regulations. Although the city attorney is in charge of cannabis oversight, cannabis education falls under the department of public health. A visit to their site will simply lead you to more links that will direct you to places where you can get that education. In other words, cannabis education is limit-
ed, hard to find, and jargon. Pam Chotiswatdi, MPH is an instructor for the cannabis course at LBCC and a director of Community Education and Executive Administration for the LBCA. On the web Read more opinion stories promoting the culture and lifestyle of cannabis at lbccviking.com “The illness (of the wars on drugs) is put on the industry,” Chotiswatdi explained. The government does not like to take the blame for bad policy and the war on drugs. LBCA has addressed the lack of resources and education by helping establish the first cannabis course at LBCC. However, LBCC is unable to offer financial aid for the course and students interested would have to pay $420 to get this education. The city should reform its cannabis equity program and offer the course to students at no cost. If Long Beach seeks to have an active social equity program, funding cannabis education is necessary.
VIKING NEWS POLICIES The deadline for news, advertisements and letters to the editor is the Thursday before publication. The Viking is published by Journalism 80, 81, 82, 83, 86, 87 and 88 students of the LBCC English Department, with funding from the Associated Student Body.
The Viking newsroom is located at LBCC, LAC 4901 E. Carson St., Long Beach, Calif., 90808, Room P135, mail code Y-16, Telephone (562) 938-4285 or contact the staff by email to vikingnews@lbcc.edu or on social media. The views expressed in the Viking do not reflect the
views of the advisers, administration or the ASB. First copy free, each additional $1.
Have an opinion? The Viking welcomes letters to the editor. Writers must identify themselves by showing their ASB card, driver’s license or ID card and email. Only names and major will be published with the letter.
Sports editors: Marco Haynes Frederick Iwuagwu Social Media editors: Eduardo Gomez Staff Genesis Campano James Conley Jameson Craig Sean Davis Emily D’Amico Dylan Kurz Daniel McMahon Shelby Tiefenthaler Desary Vailencour Adviser: Walter Hammerwold Photo and online adviser: Chris Viola