Daily 49er

A large number of Long Beach State students continue to rely on food insecurity programs such as Basic Needs to combat hunger, and applications have continued to rapidly increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kenneth Kelly, the director of CSULB’s Basic Needs program, said that the program’s applications increased from 700 submissions in 2020 to 2,000 submissions this school year.

Kelly said the program was underutilized before the pandemic and now more students than before are opting for on-c

Allison Borwell recalls a time in college when a graduate student came into her class to share her thesis on comprehensive sex education.

“A light bulb went off,” she said. “I was like, wow, I really want to be a part of this.”

She believes that if people were more open to having conversations about sex, alcohol, and drugs, it would lead to a happier and healthier lifestyle.

Risk education allows people to be heard and understood without judgment to get help before bigger health problems emer

After attending three classes the day before, Natalie Alvarez, a graduate student at the School of Social Work at Long Beach State, woke up on the morning of Aug. 31 realizing that she had lost her sense of taste and smell.

Alvarez is vaccinated, having gotten her second dose in April of this year. Still, she went to get tested.

It came out positive.

Gregory Woods, CSULB manager of media relations and visual journalism, said so far 97% of students coming to campus have indicated that they are