On November 4th, Californians will cast their votes on Proposition 47. The prop, also called The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, would reclassify six non-violent crimes currently charged as felonies -- including drug possession and shoplifting -- as misdemeanors. We'Ced Youth Media and The kNOw Youth Media asked teenagers in Merced and in Fresno, Calfornia: When is incarceration a just punishment? And how should society deal with non-violent offenses and petty crimes?
Aceves says she never thought about her Hispanic identity or the fact that there are relatively few Hispanics in science until recently, when she perused the names and faces of others in her program. “There was no one that looked like me,” she remembers. Indeed, according to the National Science Foundation, Hispanics account for only 10 percent of all STEM-related degrees. Census data from 2011 show Hispanics make up only 11 percent of the STEM workforce. The number of Latinas within these groups is even smaller. It’s something Aceves is hoping to change.
Escobedo was in middle school when his family settled in the mostly agricultural town of Atwater, located 8 miles north of Merced up Highway 99, six years ago. His father landed a job that offered better benefits and a better salary, he explains, allowing his mom to remain at home and focus on helping Escobedo and his younger sister with their studies. The effort paid off. When it came time to apply for college, Escobedo received acceptance letters from three UC schools – Davis, Irvine and Merced. He chose the latter, he says, for a variety of reasons, including the school’s smaller size and its proximity to a community he was just then beginning to discover.
The long-term goal of the organizing, added Abril, is less about getting people to perform a one-time act of voting than it is about igniting a lifelong commitment to civic engagement. Gallardo agreed: “Beyond just getting folks to go out and vote on November 4th we want to really make it part of our culture here in Merced.”
On Saturday, August 9th 2014, Middle State Feminists and We'Ced Youth Media teamed up to put on RESPECTICON, an all-day, sex Ed, battle of the bands event.
Joining groups like We’Ced has really helped me bring my attention to all the things that do happen in Merced. In the long run, I want to inform more friends and peers about local events so more and more people can begin to grasp the idea that there are so many things that do go on in Merced.
I feel like the police have no place in this situation due to them being the cause of the tragedy that starting this in the first place. That whole family are the victims. The most important point to me is that a cop shot an unarmed young individual, like who hell does that?!
I have been living here since I was 3. I think, write and speak in English. I’m a part of American culture. I’m thankful for the opportunity DACA provides, but I stay hopeful that someday I will be fully legalized in my home.
Bergman said he tries to have enough variety in the truck so any family buying food can make a whole meal out of the products. At any given time, the truck sells pears, grapefruits, lemons, apples, carrots, onions, broccoli, rice, beans, and more, depending on what local farmers have available.
The camp was a mind opening experience. I feel like the camp changed my point of view. As a young man of color, I may have issues and difficulties that I face that others do not. This does not mean that I am alone. I now think of others as well, instead of just myself. I left the camp with new hope that we can make a change in our communities.
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