Valley College hosts the ribbon cutting of the VACC

On Wednesday, students and faculty gathered in the VACC’s plaza to officially open the newest building on campus featuring facilities for the media arts.

By: Michel Melichar and Daimler Koch, Staff Writers

Administrative staff gather as Valley President Barry Gibbons and LACCD Board President Sara Hernandez cut the ribbon to commemorate the opening of the Valley Academic & Cultural Center, during a ceremony held on April 29. (Fanny Rosales for the Valley Star)

As the Los Angeles sun beamed down on the roughly 200 attendees of the the Valley Academic and Cultural Center’s ribbon cutting ceremony, district officials, students and faculty celebrated the grand opening of the 118,000 square foot media arts center.

The Valley Academic and Cultural Center has been unveiled as the latest building completion of the ReVitalizing Valley project on campus with a 45-minute long ribbon cutting ceremony with various speakers from students, Valley professors and LACCD representatives. 

After 10 years of construction and over $100 million, the VACC is the latest building completion of the ReVitalizing Valley project on campus. 

The center has been in use by various programs since the start of the spring semester. The building has three separate theaters and proper LEED-certification, meeting the promise of a green building that's meant to curb energy consumption and water use.A total of eight different speakers gave speeches at the event. Carmen Dominguez, dean of the Arts, Media, and Design Department, gave the opening address and introduced the other speakers to the lectern. The event had two student speakers, Tyler Oni Saisrinal, who gave respect and acknowledged the native lands on which the building sits upon, and Kaia Mann, who represented the student body’s excitement over the new facility. 

“We celebrate today, a promise that has been fulfilled; a promise that we made to invest in this beautiful community that deserves access to higher education and opportunities,” said LACCD Chancellor Alberto J. Roman. “Today, I think we make a bold declaration of what is possible, when opportunity meets purpose.”

As the speeches wrapped up, the speakers along with other faculty members lined up to cut the golden ribbon in front of the VACC’s main entrance. 

Afterwards, select faculty members led attendees on tours throughout the building, stopping by facilities like the 450-seat main theater and Valley Star newsroom.

Film students Ashton Bell and Maxim Rose attended the event to network with the other attendees and to acknowledge what the school has provided for them through the VACC.

“It’s super dope, man,” Bell said. “For me, I think this is probably the first time, outside of working a job, acting, I think that I’ve been in a space where you can see the behind-the-scenes of everything, understanding the science of how they all flow together, by learning in the soundstage, or even being able to work around and seeing the editing labs. I think it’s super cool.”

“It’s a privilege to be a film student here,” Rose said.

“I'm so excited to see how the spaces within this center grow and adapt as new students walk through the doors and find a way to tell their own stories,” Kaia Mann, the second student speaker, said during her speech.