LBCC Student Body President Advocates for Inclusive Mascot Change

Associated Student Body President Priince Bass at Long Beach City College - photo by Jackie Rae

As the nation moves further away from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, Long Beach City College’s student body president believes a change to the school’s mascot could serve as a campus-wide reminder of the college’s commitment to every student.

Priince Bass began his college career at LBCC as an unhoused student. Despite the challenges, he not only navigated higher education for himself but also helped others in similar situations register for classes and secure housing.

Seeing his leadership, then–Associated Student Body President Shamonique Harris encouraged Bass to get involved in student government — a role he initially felt unprepared for.

“Still being homeless and not having all of my resources together, I didn’t feel like I was worthy, but she believed in me,” he said.

Navigating his own housing insecurities while supporting other unhoused students, Bass naturally expanded into civic engagement.

“In my efforts, I would educate and teach people about the power of voting,” Bass recalled. “There were measures coming up in the election that impacted their lives, especially their lives as students.”

With Harris’ encouragement and a growing commitment to public service, Bass ran for and was elected vice president of legislative affairs. That role opened the door for him to become a student delegate for the Student Senate for California Community Colleges, where he collaborated with student leaders statewide to advocate for legislation and solutions that reflect student needs.

“We all come together to change laws, make resolutions and understand other people’s problems,” he explained. “Then we figure out how we can come up with solutions for them.”

After becoming ASB president, Bass said the nationwide rollbacks on DEI policies gave him a renewed sense of urgency to ensure all students at LBCC feel welcome and valued.

“I realized that instead of being DEI in our words — which may hurt us or impact us negatively — we can practice DEI in our actions,” he said.

That mindset sparked an idea he believes could make a meaningful difference: changing the school’s mascot. His proposal is Captain Danie the Dolphin. The name DANIE is an acronym for Diversity, Accessibility, Normalization, Inclusion and Equity. Bass says the new mascot would signal the college’s commitment to creating a welcoming campus culture for everyone.

While he acknowledges the change is symbolic, Bass argues that symbols matter, especially now.

“With all the things going on in the country that make our students feel isolated, not included, or not worthy, this symbolic change will show our students, the community, and the world that we put our students first — and that we put doing the right thing over tradition and history,” he said.

For nearly a century, LBCC has used the Viking as its mascot. Bass notes that while there’s no historical evidence Vikings traveled to this region, their image is widely associated with conquest and violence.

“The importance of having a mascot or a logo is to be a representation of the students and the community,” he said. “Ninety-eight years ago, this school had zero percent Hispanic, zero percent Black, zero percent population other than white people. Times have changed — and so has the student body.”

Today, LBCC is a majority-minority campus, with a large Latino student population and increasing diversity across all demographics. Bass believes the mascot should reflect that reality.

According to Bass, student surveys have shown strong support for the change. He said that resistance from administrators largely centers on implementation logistics. With new construction scheduled to begin within 12 to 24 months, he argues that a decision must happen sooner rather than later.

Walking through campus, Bass pointed out that changing the mascot would come at minimal cost since physical signage is limited. Most Viking imagery is found in the athletics department — on older banners, stencils, and digital materials that are already slated for replacement.

He also emphasized that adopting the dolphin aligns with the Gabrielino/Tongva land acknowledgment read before each Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees meeting.

Mockup of new logo courtesy of Priince Bass

“As humans, we must listen to each other and have empathy,” Bass said. “The Gabrielino/Tongva land that we’re on — in their flag and banner — they have a picture of a native and a dolphin.”

Although Bass is hopeful that the student body and administration can agree on a mascot change within the next few months, Superintendent-President Mike Muñoz cautions that the process will be complicated.

Although Muñoz did not share his personal opinion on the mascot change, he told The Viking, LBCC’s student newspaper, “It’s not as simple as flipping a light switch, we’d need to put it to a student vote, but there’s a lot of important things to consider, with branding, sports teams, and our 100 year anniversary coming up. We look forward to working with him.”

Bass is now meeting with the President's Leadership Council to form a board that will guide the mascot change process. He says it’s essential that students, faculty, alumni and community members all have a voice in the decision, and he has created a form to make participation easier.