The parents of Dreamers and existing DACA recipients, for example, will receive no help. Likewise for the parents whose children were not born in the United States. Despite having lived here for more than five years, paying taxes and generally being hard working people, they will watch from the sidelines -- alongside those who have been here for less than five years -- as many others begin their applications for employment authorization.
Knowing that there is a stigma of certain communities in Merced and knowing that there are pockets in the community that are poor or have a strained relationship to police, that says to me that the city doesn’t care as much about these parts of the community because they’re not putting resources into these parts of the community.
I think in California we have a separate dream: The California dream. We have the opportunity to be different than the rest of the nation. And I think we pivot that difference off the fact that we have these great universities, and great state schools and great community colleges. But they can’t be great in name only. It takes substance under that. I think for a long time now we’ve been hiding behind reputation as opposed to what really matters, which is public support.
Yo siempre quise ser maestra desde niña. Mi padre, aunque no tenía muchos recursos, me ayudó a ir a la Normal más cerca que hubiera. Estudie en una escuela Normalista en Arteaga, Michoacán. Ademas de educarnos, hacíamos lo mismo [que los estudiantes desaparecidos], hacíamos huelgas y nos apoyaron diferentes escuelas Normalistas como la de nosotros y la de Ayotzinapa. Así como esos estudiantes andaban protestando, nosotros así lo hacíamos.
My name is Carolina Arceo. I’m from Planada, California, and I’m 45 years old. I was motivated to attend [the protests in Merced] in support of the 43 missing normalista students when I heard an announcement at my church urging the congregation to attend. Twenty years ago, I too was a normalista like the missing students. Hearing about their disappearance hits home for me because I used to attend protests and rallies like they did.
Discussions of police misconduct in mainstream and social media outlets have reduced it to a black and white, and decidedly urban issue – African Americans on one side, white officers on the other. New America Media asked youth reporters in rural, and predominantly Latino, areas of California to survey people in their community about how they perceive local law enforcement.
Since the War on Drugs started in the early 70’s our communities have been hurting and punished through incarceration, with no real rehabilitation opportunities. For several years my older brother was caught up in a vicious cycle of addiction and incarceration. To me the passage of Prop 47 meant offering him a second opportunity. It was about sending the message that black and brown lives matter!
If I could vote this election I would vote for Prop 1 because it saves our water and our marine animals. I would also vote for Measure T because all sections of Merced should have a say in this city. As of now, everything is one sided because the city council are all from the non-ghetto side of Merced.
Changing the single-member district system would mean that Merced would be split into six districts and each district would elect one representative to sit on the city council. Each district would have about an equal proportion of voters and candidates would only have to campaign in their district, which could mean candidates would pursue a pool of 13,500 residents instead of 81,000, according to proponents.
I’ve seen people that have been to prison or have been in jail and they come out, turn their life around but they can’t find jobs. They can’t get financial aid for school because they have a felony, so they can’t get an education. I don’t think it’s fair, especially for minor things which is what Prop 47 will turn around.
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