Homeless Count

Published on DownTownLongBeach website December 2012 

http://downtownlongbeach2012.wordpress.com/homeless-count/

    Long Beach Connections and the Long Beach Multi-Service Center will be working together to do a new homeless count to determine how to help the city’s most vulnerable citizens.

   The count will take place on Thursday, January 24 from 5 am to 12 pm. As a part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Long Beach Multi-Service Center is required to do a homeless count every two years. The last count that took place in 2011 had over 350 volunteers who participated.

   “We’re hoping to have at least 300 volunteers for this event”, said Long Beach Multi-Services Center Coordinator Elsa Ramos.

  During the count people seen living on the streets are interviewed and have their picture taken with their permission. This is done in order to help track them so that they can get the services they desperately need such as supportive housing, permanent housing, and medical care.

   “At this point we can track a lot of different people”, said Martha Long, Head of the Long Beach Homeless Connections Initiative. “We’ve been able to offer immediate supportive housing to people and we can assess their vulnerability to death”.

   According to Long Beach Connections, the homeless count within the city has dropped 12% since 2009. Yet due to city wide budget cuts, the homeless in Long Beach are falling on much harder times.

   “The winter shelter has in the past had over 200 beds, but now the maximum will only now be 140 beds”, said Long. “That’s a big, big cut. It’s going to mean that more people will be on the streets and not getting the services that they need”.

From Victim to Survivor

Published on The Union Weekly website March 6, 2013

http://www.lbunion.com/news/555-from-victim-to-survivor.html

      Outspoken sexual abuse survivors Angela Rose, Founder and Executive Director of the national nonprofit Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment (PAVE), and Glamour Magazine’s 2012 Woman of the Year Erin Merryn spoke at the Long Beach Memorial Hospital last Friday in order to bring awareness to the child sexual abuse epidemic taking place across this country.

            According to the U.S. Department of Justice, one in six boys and one in four girls will become victims of sexual abuse before they reach adulthood. Not only can this cause victims much pain and suffering later in life, but it can also cost them an estimated $450 billion a year when medical costs, lost quality of life, and medical costs are considered.

            When she was just seventeen, Rose was kidnapped at knifepoint at a Chicago 

shopping mall and experienced sexual assault from the hands of her kidnapper. After eventually being let go by her perpetrator Rose founded PAVE in February 2001 as a response to the lack of activism in combating sexual violence.

            Merryn was raped when she was just six years old and faced sexual abuse at the hands of a teenage cousin from the ages of 11 to 13. She is the sponsor of Erin’s Law, which requires schools to teach children how to protect themselves against sexual predators and the difference between safe and unsafe touching as well as the difference between safe and unsafe secrets.

“It teaches children (that) you don’t keep that secret if someone is touching you in the areas that your swimsuit covers you”, said Merryn.

Rather than pass it nationally all once through congress, Merryn has taken Erin’s Law state by state in order to gain support for it.The law has been passed in five states, including Merryn’s home state of Illinois, with similar legislation pending in at least seven other states.

            “What I’ve learned in my research on Erin’s Law in California is Erin’s Law already exists here, (but) nobody is enforcing it” said Merryn. “That is why we are here to talk to everybody. We need to enforce this”.

            PAVE Ambassador and Real World star Sarah Rice also spoke last Friday about the importance of sexual abuse education.

            “The journey from victim to survivor is a long journey”, said Rice. “It starts with education and it starts with having a support system in place when something does happen. The only way that can really happen is if the education is there.”

ASI Election Season Continues

Published in The Union Weekly April 8, 2013

http://www.lbunion.com/news/616-asi-election-season-continues.html

Students at Cal State Long Beach coming back from Spring Break will be faced with yet another week of seeing campaign posters as they walk to class.

            The incumbent team of John Haberstroh and Jon Bolin won the most votes for President and Vice-President, with Haberstroh receiving 49% of the vote and Bolin receiving 43%. Yet neither one received more than 50% plus one vote, which means they will both be facing runoffs which will take place online this week Tuesday through Thursday. Results of the runoff will be announced this Friday at 1pm at the SouthWest Terrace.

             The incumbent President and Vice-President will also be running against candidates of different teams. Haberstroh will be running against Sean Zent of the team Sean and Larry, while Bolin will be running against Deshe Gully of team JAD. JAD team member Agatha Gucyski was elected ASI Treasurer in a landslide with 64% of the vote, with Andrew Carnes coming far behind at 27%.

            Alejandra Hernandez, Ariane Nguyen, and John Zacha were all elected to the Isabel Patterson Child Center Board of Trustees. David Hayter, Wendy Casillas, and Michelle Morales were elected to the Student Media Board. Jessica Corral, Kayla Huynh, Patricia Abellenosa, Nicholas Smith, and Tony Hoang were elected to the University Student-Union Board of Trustees. Elham Koukabi-Koukabi, Melanie Hawe, and Isai Reyes were elected to the Academic Senate. Vanessa Mendoza, Dominique Noble, Erika Suarez, Rain Gregorio, Brandon Ratner, and Grant Oliver were all elected Senator-at-Large.

            By an overwhelming majority, students voted to make CSULB a smoke-free campus, with Referendum #2 passing with 64% of the vote. Referendum #1, an Amendment of Associated Student Bylaws, also passed overwhelmingly with 70% of the vote.

            Also part of the elections were positions for 12 Senate seats, two from each of the school’s six colleges. Union Staffer Alison (not Allison) Ernst was elected Senator for the College of Business Administration, along with Isaac Pineda. Tuan Nguyen and Andrew Siwabessy were elected Senators for the College of Engineering. Danny Hargreaves and Gregory Ruiz were elected Senators for the College of the Arts. James Dinwiddie and Fernando Bogarin were elected Senators for the College of Liberal Arts. Anh Tran and Rhea-Comfort Addo were elected Senators for the College of Natural Science and Mathematics. And Allyson Roach and Kelley Bowen were elected Senators for the College of Health and Human Services.

            Although the 15% turnout record from last year was broken, only 19% of students voted in the election for ASI President and Vice-President. The election for Senator for the College of Business Administration had the highest turnout with 21.24% of business students voting. The election for Senator for the College of Liberal Arts had the second highest turnout with 21.04% of Liberal Arts students casting ballots online

College Beatin'

Published in The Union Weekly March 19, 2012

http://www.lbunion.com/news/145-college-beatin.html

CSULB movie buffs should be stoked by the fact that Academy-Award winning director Steven Spielberg is an alumnus of our campus, having earned his B.A. in Film and Electronic Arts 10 years ago this May. If you dream of becoming the next Spielberg, you should definitely check out College Beat, which holds their meetings every Thursday at 6 p.m. 

Founded back in 1999 and located in a tiny room on the ground floor of the Student Union, College Beat produces several weekly shows for students as well as helps aspiring filmmakers gain experience in video production. Some of the shows they produce include The Wire, which is filmed every Friday and informs students about national and international news events; Long Beach Tonight, another news show centered on entertainment; and Beach Week, which brings students information on campus events that are happening that week.

Students are also free to propose their own segment ideas at the meetings. If several other students like a particular idea, then the executive producers (the students in charge of College Beat) will help that segment become a reality by making sure the crew has the necessary equipment, guiding the editor through the editing process, and overall helping the student filmmakers make the best video they can. Sometimes clips of segments are shown at the College Beat meetings, so not only can students interested in filmmaking gain experience in the filmmaking process, but they can also get feedback from other aspiring filmmakers of what works and what doesn't. It's like a little mini-film school, except everything is run by student filmmakers and you don't have to worry about being accepted to this school's very impacted film program. 

Being a huge movie buff and aspiring filmmaker myself, I joined College Beat back in September when I transferred over here from Long Beach City College. During the first few weeks of school, College Beat holds a "boot camp" one Saturday where they train students in the moviemaking process. For my first boot camp experience, I was director of photography of this short video called Mr. Puppy, about a student who is interviewed by this stuffed dog. Even though I haven't finished editing it yet, I'm so thankful for the experience College Beat has given me. In addition I have also gained experience doing sound and the teleprompter for The Wire. 

From Steven Spielberg to Steve Martin to Beauty and the Beast screenwriter Linda Woolverton, this campus is full of alumni who have made it to Hollywood. If you have a burning desire to make it in Hollywood, College Beat could definitely be your ticket to making your cinema dreams come true.