Translate
Stories by Issue
LCFF goals include increasing student test scores and English comprehension, providing clean, safe and secure learning environments and increasing parent participation. Parents are also supposed to have a say in how local schools carry out their LCAP, a goal Corchado and other local advocates say is essential for Merced families. “All the parents we work with have always wanted to participate in their kids education. They’ve always wanted to get involved in the school but they just didn’t know how,” she said.
BHC. Education Cultiva La Salud LCFF. LCAP PIQUE SAT spotlight“It’s really important that the communities who are disenfranchised and have been ignored for so long, turn out and vote. They have power and they can help make a change,” said Brenda Gutierrez, organizing director of Associated Students of University of California, Merced (ASUCM). The 20-year-old university student spent a majority of her summer going door-to-door in Merced County to help spread the word about several ballot measures and campaigns this year. Her work was part of the ASUCM external office “We Vote” program, a statewide initiative across the UC campuses aimed at getting students more involved in elections.
ASUCM elections SALE spotlight Student voters uc merced voter registration votingEveryday my dad is in that jail, I fear he may die because of harsh treatment prisoners are subjected to. This month inmates in prisons around the country, including where my dad is incarcerated, went on a hunger strike to protest the cruel treatment they receive. I wanted to go on hunger strike too, but my mom says that I am too young. She has joined the strike for me and has not eaten since September 9th.
hunger strike incarceration jail prison Schools not prisons spotlight
The opportunities for employment available to young people within Merced are very limited, said Michelle Xiong, youth coordinator with Building Health Communities Merced. Besides working in the fast food industry, very few jobs are marketed to teens and young adults.
merced spotlight unemployment youth youth disengagementIf you allow students to carry firearms onto a college campus you are setting people up for harm. The college environment is filled with stress, alcohol, and peer pressure, and if you add easy access to firearms it becomes a ticking time bomb ready to explode. There is also the possibility of would-be vigilantes thinking they can stop crime with a gun. This could lead to needless deaths and incidents of cops shooting the wrong person in the crime.
guns on campus open carry open carry laws spotlight TexasThe status quo in Merced is under threat, and some of those in power clearly don’t like it. Our leaders need to accept responsibility and help all Merced communities rise instead of offering false, or at best, misinformed opinions specifically intended to question the purpose and approaches of our work. Let’s be clear: they disagree with the tactics because they are afraid of the outcomes.
BHC Merced building healthy communities change Politics spotlight status quo