Inside Fullerton Summer 2021

INSIDE FULLERTON POETRY: A LANGUAGE THAT CREATES BRIDGES AND BREAKS BARRIERS LEARNING LGBTQ+ SEX ED THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA JOVEN DE SANTA ANA DEDICA SU LUCHA A LA COMUNIDAD LATINX DISNEYLAND’S HISTORY OF CHANGE & INNOVATION FROM VILLAINS TO INNOCENT BEINGS: SHARK FINNING, AN ECOSYSTEM IN CRISIS

SUMMER 2021

SUMMER 2021

INSIDE FULLERTON STAFF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Salina Falcon

Nallely de la Pena

MANAGING EDITOR

PHOTO EDITOR

Margaret Trejo

Carly De Girolomo

NEWS EDITOR

ADVISER ASSISTANT

Angela González

Jessica Delgado

CULTURE EDITOR

ADVISER

Matt Covarrubias

Joanna Jacobo Rivera

STAFF WRITERS Emandra Garavito Justin Glenn Matthew Mejia Richard Mendoza Iván Morales Alexcia E. Negrete Jacob Romero Ashley Sosa

Special thanks to journalism department coordinator Jay Seidel and graphic design professor Steve Klippenstein for their assistance.

Inside Fullerton is produced every semester by Fullerton College’s magazine production class, Journalism 132, under the guidance of student editors and advisement of Joanna Jacobo Rivera. Editorial and advertising content herein, including any opinions expressed, are the responsibility of the students in the class. Information published herein does not represent the position of the North Orange County Community College District, Fullerton College or any other officer or employee within.

Inside Fullerton

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EDITOR’S NOTE SALINA FALCON

DEAR INSIDE FULLERTON READERS, Thank you for your time in reading our Inside Fullerton summer issue. As times continue to change, journalists are seeking more than ever the courage of what journalism portrays. It has not been easy due to the challenges posed

by COVID-19, restricting our staff from working together in one environment. Nevertheless, with hours of communication through Zoom, emails, text messages and phone calls, our staff worked tirelessly to produce such a diverse and inclusive magazine for all to enjoy. Our staffers here at Inside Fullerton brought the topic of togetherness and chose to write and include the voices of those who needed this platform to speak on human rights, inclusiveness and representation.

This has been my fourth semester at Inside Fullerton and with each experience I have always witnessed something new and exciting to learn. Each semester has brought a variety of different stories to tell, with our staffers writing about the hopefulness of humanity and a brighter future. This summer issue brought something so special — a part of myself and what other Latinx across the city of Fullerton can acknowledge.

I can proudly say that in this issue of Inside Fullerton we produced two articles in the Spanish language for the first time, with the help of our News Editor Angela González and special appreciation to our Adviser Joanna Jacobo Rivera.

Coming into this semester of the magazine, our staff wanted to bring new and exciting content that would leave a wholesome mark embedded into the eye of diversity. The staff chose to speak on subjects that would enlighten topics not spoken enough about, such as Let’s Talk About Sex by Iván Morales, which brings attention and awareness to sex eduation pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community; Alexcia E. Negrete speaks with lawyers and activists on the future of immigration with her story Activists Anticipate Immigration Policies, which is also displayed in Spanish; and Angela González sheds light on a Santa Ana local who dedicates time and effort to her Latinx community in La chispa que prendió fuego a la abogacía, displayed in English as well.

Other stories like Star Wars and its diversity problem, a drag artist participating in a protest against an anti-LGBTQ+ pastor and how poetry is a vessel that can bring people and cultures together also bring to light the diversity in our issue.

Human advocacy can be heard in so many ways, a main force that drives the 21st Century — it is all part of the desire to empathize and equalize ourselves with our neighbors.

To not be divided, but one. To not be excluded, but included.

To not be invisible, but visible.

NEWS

LIFESTYLE

Changes in Downtown Fullerton Impact Business Owners Richard Mendoza The First 30 Days of a President, Compared Jacob Romero

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Road to the Future Matthew Mejia

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The Fight for Puvungna Alexcia E. Negrete

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Tattoos, and the Stories Told Iván Morales

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How Quarantine Affected Athletes Justin Glenn

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Baseball is Back!

Matthew Mejia

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The Danger Presented Itself: How the City of El Monte Rose Up Against an Anti-LGTQ+ Pastor Jessica Delgado

CONTENT S

FEATURES

CULTURE

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Bridges of Poetry Salina Falcon

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Let’s Talk About Sex Iván Morales

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Activist Anticipate Immigration Policies Alexcia E. Negrete

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¿Cambiaran Leyes Migratorias con Biden?

Alexcia E. Negrete

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La Chispa que Prendió Fuedo a la AbogacÍa Angela González

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The Spark that Ignited the Fire of Advocacy Angela González

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Police’s Lack of Mental Illness Training Increases Conflicts Jacob Romero

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Shark Finning: An Ecosystem in Crisis Richard Mendoza

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Sugar & Likes & Everything Nice: How A Candy Company was Transformed by TikTok Carly De Girolomo

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Blurring the Lines of Fashion Ashley Sosa

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Six Social Media Trends that Dominated Quarantine Emandra Garavito

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Realism of Gen Z TV Carly De Girolomo

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Disneyland: A Legacy of Change and Innovation Justin Glenn & Matt Covarrubias

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Opinion: Star Wars and The Galactic Diversity Problem Matt Covarrubias

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Simply Vegan: Recipes for Tasty Dishes Ashley Sosa

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The Literary Guide to Tranquility Margaret Trejo

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How Minimalism can Declutter Your Life Emandra Garavito

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Changes in Downtown Fullerton impact Business Owners

By Richard Mendoza

Downtown Fullerton was once thriving with open coffee houses, trendy restaurants, vintage shops and nightclubs. Now, several empty storefronts and temporarily closed businesses are becoming more apparent across the area. Many of those who visit downtown Fullerton speak greatly about the nightlife in the area especially bars and restaurants. The area has gone from packed places to forlorn because of the COVID-19 pandemic—an unusual sight for downtown Fullerton.

“During the uncertainty of whether or not her business would reopen, her landlord was still expecting rent to be paid” As Orange County makes its way into tiers that would allow more businesses to reopen, downtown Fullerton has been forced to change. Businesses large and small have had to adopt other strategies to remain open. Mandates of masks, outdoor dining, social distancing, gloves for workers or customers and improved cleaning and sanitary techniques are some of the new guidelines businesses 6

are being forced to abide by. While this change may be temporary, it has impacted the flow of commerce in the downtown Fullerton area as some shops have permanently closed and others remain closed with an unknown date to reopen.

With a lack of foot traffic and a change of demographics in the area, it has been rough for storefront owners, given that most shops and eateries draw the majority of their business from students and the nightlife scene. Keeping up with regulations and restrictions is forcing businesses to work both remotely and shrewdly until the concerns regarding the Coronavirus spread dissipate.Some businesses that have been affected with temporary closures are Dripp Coffee Shop and Calita Cafe, which were both great attractions for customers of the area, including students, like Luis Hernandez.

“Before COVID, I’d walk to Dripp and get a coffee and do some homework or just hang out with some friends, and the same goes for Calita Cafe,” said Hernandez. Since the closure of these coffee shops, Hernandez, as well as other once-regulars, have had to seek elsewhere to get their coffee.

Vino Nostra, a well-respected wine shop in the downtown Fullerton area, was also forced to close in late 2020, alongside McClain’s Coffeehouse, The Enchanted Closet and Tranquil Tea Lounge. Many storefronts have been left empty, bearing “CLOSED” signs on the doors and windows.

Plans for new business could arise at the right price, but the area itself is still struggling to gain support—both from consumers who aren’t ready to head back out and from owners who hesitate to reopen.

Despite the closure of her physical store in downtown Fullerton, coowner of Tranquil Tea Lounge, Michelle Phelps, has rebranded the business to Mākena Tea, based in her home state of Hawaii. Like many other restaurants and stores in the area, Tranquil Tea Lounge

“Businesses large and small have had to adopt other strategies to remain open” closed down indefinitely last year as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened in Orange County. During the uncertainty of whether or not her business would reopen, her landlord was still expecting rent to be paid. Reflecting on her decision to close the store in downtown Fullerton, Phelps said, “Fortunately, they allowed us to move out of our location and end our lease early. Looking back on the past year with the restrictions and the length of time restaurants in California had to remain closed or work with very limited operations. the decision we made was the best for us.”Since nightlife and businesses have come to a standstill, many who visit and live in the area are left wondering what the next steps are for downtown Fullerton.

Restaurants and stores that once allowed customers to dine in and shop have been forced to place limits on the number of people allowed within the location. Such rules have forced owners to look to outdoor dining and take-out only options. Abiding by these guidelines, downtown Fullerton business owners are beginning to see a small increase in customers.

Some businesses were able to remain afloat with the Payroll Protection Program — passed twice by Congress during Donald Trump’s presidency —, as well as grants and small loan programs made available by the state and city. Others, like Albert Ochoa, owner of Revolucion Cantina, were awarded money by the “The Barstool Fund.” The project was launched by Barstool Sports owner, Dave Portnoy in order to help struggling businesses through the pandemic.

Ochoa is one of the 332 businesses the fund has supported across the country, totaling over $37 million in awarded funds. This money gave Ochoa and his employees the chance to reopen the renowned nightclub as the city relaxed restrictions.

Although more events, bars, stores and restaurants are beginning to reopen, times are still uncertain with a pandemic of this magnitude.

Not abiding by policies and regulations for the COVID-19 pandemic can lead to another round of closures.In order to prevent these risks, businesses must complete a checklist that would allow them to reopen.

According to the city of Fullerton, all businesses must find industry guidance, perform a risk assessment and site-specific protection plan, train employees to limit the spread of COVID-19 by screening themselves and to stay home if any symptoms occur, provide disinfection protocols and physical distancing guidelines. Once the checklist is completed all businesses must post an attestation, letting the public know they have completed the protocols to reopen.

These protocols will help in the process of reopening businesses, however it is up to our community to come together and ensure a safe environment.

(Right) Downtown Fullerton business Vino Nostra was forced to close as stay at home orders began within the city. Photo Credit: Richard Mendoza

An Empty downtown Fullerton lurks in the shadows as business remain closed. Photo Credit: Richard Mendoza

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THE FIRST 30 DAYS OF A PRESIDENT, COMPARED

By Jacob Romero

“ Wanting to get people to agree is not a terrible idea.”

Analyzing the 30-day benchmark of a president's term in office can help visualize how their administration may function for the next four years. President Biden has already set a dramatically different tone in his first 30 days compared to former President Donald Trump, who spent his first month in office quite differently.

Although the first 30 days may seem inconsequential compared to four or possibly eight years, the first 30 days of a president are packed with major decision-making that dictates the future of the country, sets the tone for the nation and serves a glimpse into what their term may be like.

Some presidents have used their first month in office to enact executive decisions, while others use it to address the public in times of uncertainty or mourning. A president's first 100 days in office became a significant time frame to monitor in the last century, beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt, who coined the term “First 100 days” in 1933. However, because the last two decades have been filled with periods of unrest and turbulence, each former president has used their first 30 days to define their a dministrations quickly.

When Joseph R. Biden was sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2021, he wasted no time passing executive actions and memorandums in his first days in office. He has followed that up by signing 41 executive orders as well as pushing a $1.9 trillion stimulus package that has managed to pass the floor without Republican support.

It is not uncommon for an acting president to reverse a former president's executive orders.

“I'm not making new law. I’m eliminating bad policy,” the president stated when speaking on his signed orders. Biden addressed the public from the Oval Office on Feb. 2, 2021, making his intention clear about removing former President Trump's administrative legacy.

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Jodi Balma, a political science professor at Fullerton College, mentions in an interview that "It is not unheard of for a president to sort of leave 'trash' behind. Bill Clinton did it to George W. Bush where Bill Clinton had been president for 8 years." President Clinton was rushing towards the end of his term to sign executive orders, but when President Bush entered office he quickly reversed those decisions.

During Biden’s first month in office, he spent time comforting the public while also cleaning the White House by countering former President Trump's executive orders on immigration and climate change.

When Trump was on the campaign trail, he laid out a 100-day action plan in October 2016. He labeled it “Donald Trump’s Contract with the American Voter” which outlined plans to “suspend immigration from terror-prone regions," repeal the Affordable Care Act and lift restrictions on the Keystone XL pipeline, among others.

During his first day in office in 2017, Trump signed an executive order that waived certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act and another that froze pending regulations. Trump went onto sign three more executive orders altering the Trans-Pacific Partnership, freezing certain federal hiring (military excluded in certain situations) and barring federal funds going to international abortion groups.

During Trump's first month in office, he signed 23 executive actions that fell in line with his campaign promises. These executive orders helped Trump undo former President Obama's signed orders. At the time, these could be deemed small steps in the right direction for his administration by his base. However, Washington D.C. was the epicenter of protest and marches demonstrating discontent with the president and his actions. These manifestations across the country became known as the Women’s March. Trump responded through social media with several passive-aggressive tweets condemning then encouraging the protest.

This type of response would turn out to be a common theme during Trump’s presidency. He went on to use Twitter 168 times in his first month in office to voice his opinions and rally his supporters. It is almost an abstract alternative version of Roosevelt’s fireside chats he commonly used during his time in office to address the public— Trump used his voice to create hysteria and division amongst the public.

Trump's first 30 days was a tango of two steps forward and one step backward —although he was going in the right direction in regards to his action plan, it was not as smooth as he made it seem. In his first hectic month in office, he was focused on trying to deliver the campaign promises he said he would deliver.

“ It is not unheard of for a president to sort of leave ‘ trash’ behind.”

Before Trump entered the White House, President Obama was in office for eight years. His first 30 days saw 14 laws passed compared to Trump’s 29 signed. Obama’s contained more words than Trump’s, though, and this could give some insight into what types of bills they were and the impact they have.

Obama inherited a damaged economy and immediately began a campaign to garner support for his economic stimulus package. He was successful and it passed in the House Jan. 28, 2009 and in the Senate on Feb. 10. Obama also signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which improved and protected workers against wage discrimination. This would be the first legislation signed by the Obama Administration. Obama kept the same stance as Bush and vowed to get troops out of the Middle East.

The landmark differences between the legislation passed by Trump and Obama are black and white. Trump was unable to pass some of his ambitious policies compared to Obama who among others was able to pass his legislation that expanded the state children’s health insurance program.

When Bush took office on Jan. 20, 2001 he introduced a $1.6 trillion tax-cutting program he also got himself and his successors a raise in presidential salary to $400,000. Bush instated the New Freedom Initiative which aided disabled Americans. Bush’s first month in office was filled with controversy as he found out an FBI agent may have been a Russian informant for years. Far from uneventful, Bush’s first month in office was overshadowed by the events of 9/11 and its aftermath.

During President Biden’s inaugural speech he called for an end to this “uncivil war” among Americans, which closely echoed Abraham Lincoln’s address to the nation 160 years ago on the eve of the civil war. Balma believes this is good for the nation, “He called it an uncivil war, which is what we are. A polarized nation. And wanting to get people to agree is not a terrible idea.”

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Road to

By Matthew Mejia By the year 2035, California will order the end of the marketing of gasoline-powered cars and passenger trucks. This state executive order was passed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020, and it states that all new cars sold within the state will be zeroemission vehicles. Questions emerge about the impact it will have on the automotive industries, local mechanics and car enthusiasts. Concerns also rise for low-income families who fear the financial capability to buy electric vehicles.

Slowly but surely, car manufacturers are gearing up ideas to help them adjust to the new world of electric-powered vehicles.

With the rise of Tesla and the high anticipations of new electric vehicle companies such as Lucid Motors, long-time car manufacturers are trying their best to perfect their own takes on electric cars.

Nissan has their line of fully electric cars like the Nissan Leaf, and coming out later this year, the Nissan Ariya, a fully electric SUV. The two biggest Japanese manufacturers, Toyota and Honda, have their cars coming soon with Toyota announcing their two new electric cars later this year, and Honda preparing their electric SUV to be available to consumers by 2024.

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For those who live to drive fast, luxurious vehicles that aren’t so efficient on gas mileage as opposed to the daily commuters who make their gas efficiency the focal point of their cars, higher-end vehicle manufacturers are developing their own take on individual electric cars. The luxury car manufacturers are on the same page as commuter car companies.

The Porsche Taycan for example is a luxury sports sedan electric vehicle with a horsepower of 616 for the Turbo S model. The mile range on this specific vehicle is up to 200 miles which is not too far in comparison to their gas-powered sports sedans.

With a more luxurious company like Lamborghini, they will be teaming up with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to release their own supercar, the Terzo Millennio, which is Italian for “the third millennium.” As of now, the car is still a concept in development.

There have often been misconceptions about electric vehicles.

For some, it seems as if these cars are produced and catered to wealthier families. Although for the first couple of years of existence that may have been true, the electric vehicle scene is evolving through extensive efforts to reach out to middle and lower-class communities. For instance, the previously mentioned Nissan Leaf is starting at around $30,000, which is a start in the right direction in appealing to the middle class. The average new car price in the US was $37,851 in 2020, according the Kelly Blue Book.

As for lower-income areas, it’s looking like an uphill battle that the government is working hard to solve. Many car companies have a hard time selling to low-income families due to a lack of credit, a language barrier or the vehicles being out of their price range.

THE Future A $1.5 million grant from the California Energy Commission was given to show the support of placing electric vehicles and charging stations in lower-income areas. The grant will also invest partially in other ways of transportation by making buses and ride-sharing more accessible and cleaner for low-income communities. In September 2020, Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, promised a $25,000 Tesla model that will be sold globally in 2023. Some financial analysts say that it has the potential to be sold for a price as low as $20,000.

Car enthusiasts all over the country have mixed or strong feelings about the slow and certain end of gasoline emission cars. Roberto Marquez, 20, is a car enthusiast who enjoys driving and working on his cars. ”I understand the importance of this change, but it’s unfortunate that this will most likely change a lot of things involving something I am very passionate about. My hobby was something I was hoping to pass down and enjoy with my kids one day,” he said.

Marquez fondly remembers his dad and uncles introducing him to the world of cars early on. “At a young age, I was always interested. When I turned 17 and received my first car from my family, I found out it was more than a hobby but something I looked forward to every day,” he said.

However, Márquez sees a compromise with the reality of the situation: “With everything I learned about gasoline cars, I am looking forward to learning about electric vehicles and having that knowledge to pass down.”

Auto mechanic high school teacher Eduardo Martin fears about the future of his occupations and everything he’s built becoming jeopardized.

“I’m worried that everything I’ve worked on these past five years like forming an auto club at the school, will be shut down eventually due to the new laws,” he says.

Although he sees an upside for his mechanic business he foresees it not being there for the long haul. “I like that by 2035 when the law is in place that car manufacturers will probably not provide services for their gasoline-powered cars, which will make more people look for local mechanics like me,” he says, “But the downside is that in 15 years I will have some good business but in 30 years I’ll probably be out of business.”

Though no one can say what the country or even the world will be like in 15 years, it’s always interesting to talk and think about; technology has come a long way and now it’s planning to play a major role in preserving the environment. Hopefully, with this new step Gov. Newsom proposed we will find a way to work out a compromise for every individual affected by this change.

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By Alexcia E. Negrete At California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), people from the Tongva Nation, Acjachemen Nation, and other supporters are fighting for the over 2,000-year-old sacred land Puvungna. Puvungna used to be more than the current 20 acres, but the university was built on top of the land. This land originally belonged to the Tongva Nation but has also been a home and a gathering place for prayers and ceremonies such as ceremonies for many local Native Americans and others that come to learn about the culture. However, many Native Americans and supporters fear losing the land to future construction projects by CSULB. The university began to move piles of dirt filled with debris and other trash from their previous construction projects onto the sacred land back on Sept. 27, 2019, which also fell on the 52nd annual Native American Day in California. This sparked outrage within the community. Native Americans and activists immediately began

Photo provided by Rebecca Robles: taken at Puvungna

American site without conducting an environmental review of the potential impacts.”

Assistant professor in American Indian studies at CSULB and descendent of the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel Dr. Theresa Gregor explains how the situation between the university and Native Americans first started.

“When the dumping occurred in 2019, it was a mistake by a subcontractor who was not informed about the protocol in the way he should have been. It was a miscommunication within the process that had already been established,” she explained.

On Jan. 13, 2021, CSULB released a video addressing the situation on their YouTube channel titled, “A Message about Puvungna.”

In this video, CSULB President Jane Close Conoley addressed the community about the dumpings.

“ It is damaging to Puvungna.

It is damaging to the community.

It is damaging to the tribes.” protesting and began to spread awareness of the incident via social media. Almost two years after the incident, the Daily 49er, the campus’ newspaper, now reports that the university is being sued for its actions by members of the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation-Belareds and California Cultural Resources Preservation Alliance, Inc. This lawsuit was originally filed back in October 2019 but is still ongoing due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a press release from March 15, 2021, authored by a representative from the groups who are suing the school, the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation-Belareds and California Cultural Resources Preservation Alliance, Inc. are suing CSULB for violating the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

According to the release, the university dumped “6,400 cubic yards of construction dirt and debris on a listed historic and sacred Native 12

“At the time, keeping soil from campus here on site was the preferable method of managing excavated earth based on counsel we received from our campus committee on Native American Burial Remains and Cultural Patrimony,” Coloney stated.

Despite this statement, Michelle Castillo, land caretaker for Puvungna and Indigenous from the Acjachemen Nation, explained that this is not the first time the university has done something like this.

According to Castillo and the About Puvungna page from CSULB, in 1993 CSULB attempted to build a strip mall on the sacred land. Native Americans and activists protested against the university’s plans and a lawsuit was filed against the school. Eventually, the university’s plans were blocked by the Puvungna Sacred Site Struggle.

Castillo explained that she, alongside other Native Americans and supporters, has now been protesting for the protection of Puvungna for nearly two years. She is part of an Indigenous-led community group known as Friends of Puvungna. They are active on social media and share details of virtual gatherings, ceremonies and fundraisers.

Castillo, along with others that care for Puvungna, claim that the school had dumped dirt on the land four different times.

“It is damaging to Puvungna. It is damaging to the community. It is damaging to the tribes,” Castillo said.

Tongva descendent and CSULB alumni Summer Wilson shares common ground with Castillo when discussing how hurtful the situation is to Indigenous and other local communities. She highlighted the fact that the word “Puvungna” means “gathering place” and argues that the land is not only important for Indigenous people, but for all that want to learn about the culture itself.

Like many people protesting against the actions of CSULB, she is demanding the school take accountability for their actions. “I want President Conoley and those under her that have enforced this to give an apology. I want the president to admit that she lied and that it was not a mistake,” Wilson said.

“We were actively using the site when they dumped the soil and then lied about it.”

The Daily 49er reported on March 16, 2021, that the university did have plans on building a parking lot on Puvungna back in 2019.

Images of emails and mapped-out blueprints displaying the plans of the parking lot structure have been released by the university, which will be exhibited in the ongoing lawsuit. President Conoley had previously denied the plan of turning Puvungna into a parking lot in the YouTube video released back in January and claimed in the same video that they were “rumors.”

Afro-Indigenous and descendant of the Acjachemen Tribe In’yoni Felix is frustrated by this and has been actively working to spread information, mainly via TikTok, about Puvungna and the action of CSULB dumping dirt on the historic land. She has also helped organize a peaceful protest at Puvungna to send a message to the university.

Photo by Alexcia Negrete: These dirt hills, dumped by CSULB, have not been removed. This has sparked outrage within the Indigenous community.

Felix believes that the action of the school dumping the soil on Puvungna was disrespectful to the Native American and the Indigenous community. “It has really shown us that the university does not care about its Indigenous people and does not value what we say nor value our traditions,” said Felix, “We were actively using the site when they dumped the soil and then lied about it.”

Acjachemen Tribe member Rebecca Robles describes how appalled their community was when CSULB used trucks to deposit 6,400 cubic yards of soil on the land. Robles explains that they have recently sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom asking for support and to preserve Puvungna.

In the press release from a representative from the groups who are suing CSULB, Robles states that “Dumping construction dirt and debris on this land is fundamentally disrespectful and, what’s more, it is a continuation of the cultural genocide that has been practiced on the Indigenous people of Southern California for centuries.”

Photo provided by Rebecca Robles: Indigenous people at a 1993 Puvungna protest

Robles goes on to highlight the importance of Puvungna by sharing the fact that ancestor remains were found there, and that the university was built over most of Puvungna and is now left to less than 22 acres.

Herself and others are calling for the university to remove the dirt, remove the trash, and protect Puvungna into perpetuity.

“We are calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom, we are calling on Chancellor Joseph Castro, and we are calling on people to support us in fighting for justice.”

Photo provided by Rebecca Robles: taken at the Puvungna sacred land site.

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By Iván Morales

Tattoos have for centuries been a form of storytelling — from each line, shape, color and form tracing a particular narrative. Although not a typical canvas, tattoo artists give a home to meaningful art onto the human body, portraying the person’s most cherished stories.

Tattoos have a long history across the globe. Throughout each culture, tattoos carry different meanings and give individuals the opportunity to hold these on their very being. Local tattoo artists of Orange County share their most memorable tattoos in reflection on how they got into the business of body art.

Chris de Armas, 33, a tattoo artist at American Vintage Tattoo, Anaheim, (@chris_de_armas) had an affinity with art, from an early age, as his father was an oil painter. Around the age of 13, De Armas recalls recreating the famous “Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette” (1885) by Vincent van Goh. To do this, De Armas would use his father’s oil paints, cementing his connection with art.

During his teenage years, De Armas would often accompany his older brother to get tattooed, and, as he would watch, his passion for art grew, specifically the passion for creating body art. Influenced by the “Punk-Rock” sound, De Armas saw tattooing as a way to follow the “do whatever you want” lifestyle.

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At the age of 18, after networking with tattoo artists, De Armas obtained an apprenticeship that allowed him to experience first-hand how others got inked. De Armas’ tattoo style is American traditional, with additional experience in fine line and Japanese tattooing. When it comes to his most meaningful piece, De Armas showcases a “12, 12, 12” tattoo on his thumb. This tattoo is about his father, himself, and his son, who although born on different months, share the 12th day in common.

Leann Galvan, 29, is a tattoo Artist at Autumn Moon Tattoo, Anaheim, (@Leanimal_Tattoos).

Growing up, Galvan knew that she wanted to be an artist. Sketching and drawing have always been a crucial aspect in her life. In high school, she practiced her artistic skills, where she moved past black and white drawings to incorporate color. Originally Galvan wanted to be a graphic designer, but after considering her peers’ push for her the join the tattoo industry, Galvan decided to look for an apprenticeship. She has been professionally tattooing for 10 years and her style is neo-traditional, while also expanding outside of this style to meet her client’s needs.

Finding inspiration during tough days is what fellow tattoo artists share in common, especially when surrounded by innovative peers and visionary clients, who bring their own stories to the artists’ ink table.

“We’re a different type of artist. We’re commissioned artists, so I’m not creating things that are inspired by my life, I’m creating things inspired by your life. So that’s what keeps me going. I have inspiration every day through my clients,” says De Armas.

When enduring times of difficulty, Galvan finds inspiration in the shop. “I do it for people, I do it to make people happy.”

In relation to facing adversities, Galvan’s most meaningful tattoo is a portrait of Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture, done by her former boss.

Galvan explains that while other “David” renaissance commissioned pieces are seen with David standing over his defeated opponent, Michelangelo’s piece demonstrates David during his conscious decision of whether to engage in battle, per the meaning of the original sculpted piece. “[David] is making the decision and I think that’s where heroes are really made when you make the choice of what you are going to do and stick to it and follow-through,” says Galvan. For her, the meaning of this piece is a reminder of leadership and remaining committed through trials and tribulations.

Artists of all kinds may use different canvases to not only showcase their skills but also to shed light on different meanings and expressions.

Mikhail Barrett, 31, a tattoo artist at Goodfellas Tattoo Shop, Anaheim, (@shootdamoon), has been tattooing professionally for the past decade. Reflecting on his childhood, Barrett recalls being exposed to the world of art through his grandparents, who were artists. As a teen, Barrett picked up the art of graffiti and began working on his artistic skills, not knowing he would enter the field of tattooing with an American traditional style.

Barrett would eventually enter the body art business by giving himself his first tattoo — a diamond piece on his thigh.

The most meaningful piece Barrett has on himself is a tattoo that his friend did, which took seven hours from start to finish, in honor of his mother. It presents a woman looking into the mirror with the reflection of a skull.

A reminder for him that, “No one is perfect” and that everyone makes mistakes.

“I’m from a family of six and I’m the middle child, so I feel that I got it pretty rough, especially from my mom,” says Barrett. This piece has allowed Barrett to begin a healing process with his mother, to turn the page and create a new and healthy relationship.

His advice for a prospective tattoo artist is to start sketching, drawing, and continuously push oneself. The next step is to find a mentor, to be under someone’s wing to learn the ins and outs of the occupation.

For first-timers getting a tattoo, it is important to do the research and choose the right artist for the job. With today’s social media platforms, finding a great tattoo artist has become a smoother process.

“When you get a tattoo, you’re putting on the outside of your body what you love the most on the inside,” says De Armas.

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HOW THE PANDEMIC AFFECTED

By Justin Glenn

Due to the ongoing pandemic, many high school and college athletes did not get to play their regular sports season in 2020. This has caused athletes to lose scholarship opportunities, miss out on being recruited to play for the NCAA Division 1—the highest level of collegiate sports, where most scholarships are full rides, games are televised and athletes reach celebrity-status—and suffer from emotional distress.

“I had teammates and friends say they started hanging out with their ‘set’ again, or some started making bad decisions, all because they do not have football. Others say they are dealing with anxiety and depression, and you do not see that on surface level,” said Michael Vargas, a semi pro player who plays for The Stars USA Football team, which plays internationally.

ATHLETES

According to Kyle Yost, assistant professor of family and community medicine at the University of Maryland, children and teens “use sports as a way to help reduce stress and control anxiety and depression.”

“When school and other social interactions have been taken away,” this can lead to a huge sense of loss for teenagers, Yost said during an interview with the University of Maryland Medical Center.

“Not being able to play really hurt my confidence because taking time off affected my rhythm on the field when getting back into soccer again. We are still having a season, it is only five games, I believe, but it’s still something,” said Emmanuel.

Daivon Lowman, a Fullerton College running back, although disappointed about the cancelled season, is optimistic about the future despite the circumstances.

“OTHERS SAY THEY ARE DEALING WITH ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION, AND YOU DO NOT SEE THAT ON A SURFACE LEVEL” “It was very frustrating for us coaches, especially not knowing everyday if we could practice indoors, or practice at all,” said Brian Rivera, a men’s volleyball coach at El Dorado High School in Placentia, Calif.

“Last year the season was cancelled completely, and a lot of seniors were very upset. However us coaches, although frustrated, understand the situation.”

Due to the widespread of the COVID-19 virus, the NCAA Division I Council implemented a recruiting dead period early on in 2020, meaning that college coaches could not meet in-person with potential high school and junior college recruits. In February, the council extended the period through May 31, according to an NCAA press release.

This has made recruiting even harder for high school athletes graduating in the summer. Emmanuel Perez, 15, is a high school soccer player in his Sophomore season.

“At first I thought this was going to be over in a couple weeks, not go on for a full year. I was a little bummed out and went through a series of emotions including grief, being mad, sad,” said Emmanuel.

“I know many people that had their careers ended by COVID,” said Omar Veloz, a catcher for the California State Fullerton baseball team.

“They were forced to get jobs and hang up their cleats because they weren’t allowed to play.”

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“They’re giving us an extra year of eligibility and we got more time to prepare. We are having a season this summer,” said Lowman, whom, prior to the pandemic, was being scouted by schools including Pennsylvania State, a Big Ten university involved in the Big Ten Conference, the oldest Division I athletic conference in the U.S. “Some positives about extra time away from the game is that we got extra time to workout and prepare. Covid ended up affecting my college route for the better,” said Veloz, “I was at junior college last year when our season shut down and I had no idea where I would be playing the following year. Luckily California State Fullerton came up so I took the opportunity.”

It is likely sports will change drastically as seasons start to play out.

Yost noted how other countries and even professional leagues are continuing their seasons playing in empty stadiums. Some of those, like the MLB and the MLS, plan to allow a 20% capacity in their stadiums. How that will ensue for high school and college seasons is yet to be known.

“Hopefully I can still get a scholarship. I want to work hard, get good grades and get into a top school that also has a good soccer program,” said Emmanuel.

(Top) Emmanuel Perez, 15, practices his soccer moves in his community park of Eastvale, Calif. Photos provided by Claudia Perez.

“ I’m just glad that my favorite team is coming back to play week in and week out.”

The beloved sport of baseball is back for its 2021 season. The MLB has been working on a plan for the season that will allow for the full 162 games and fans will be excited to hear that they are working with each city to provide safe and limited seating for their stadiums.

In Anaheim, the Los Angeles Angels are ready to take on the new season. Fans of the Angels are slated to be able to experience inperson games, again as news surfaced about Orange County giving the green light to allow 20% capacity at the Angel Stadium for home games. That means roughly 9,000 fans will be able to attend.

Though fans will recognize the difference from the average 37,000 supporters per game from the 2019 season, many see this as a start to recovery for all the games that were missed.

Long-time Angels fan Kevin Despart, remembers his first core memory of becoming an Angels fan. “The earliest I could remember was 1986, I was 10 years old at that point, and [the Angels] were in the American League Championship Series. The Angels were one game away from going to the World Series but unfortunately lost,” he shares.

One Angels fan however, is very determined to go watch his team play. Elias Mercado, 16, is eager to see his team in action. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a game. The prices might get high, but I’m for sure going to try my best to get a ticket,” he says.

One of the precautions Elias will be taking is avoiding the purchase of merchandise and general items at the stadium.

“I don’t think I’ll buy anything when I head over just to be safer.”

Elias hopes to make more special memories at the stadium, like the time when he was able to catch one of his favorite players, Mike Trout, riding in a golf cart after a game. He recalls how he got an autographed picture and how special that night was for him.

Although they struck out with a defeat that year, Despart recalls the good times he spent with his family and friends, all Angels supporters, watching the game. “I remember what a loss like that meant to the fans, some devastated by what they just saw on the scoreboard,” he says. “This showed me how much passion the fan base had for its team, it’s what really started my fandom growing up.

Watching with people with the same passion for the Angels winning is an indescribable experience.”

Some fans, such as Jesus Gonzalez who grew up just three miles away from the stadium, are trying their best to find tickets.

Despite being excited to see the Halos back on the field, Despart voiced his concerns about the opportunity to go watch his team play, noting that he would be “hesitant to go. Maybe once my wife and I are vaccinated it could change my story.”

He feels confident that the community will respect the safety guidelines while being mindful of the space between one another. When asked about personal precautions he would take, Gonzalez says he will avoid certain foods when he attends a game.

“I think it’s good for the fans because of how much they missed watching them, and also the players because they did well with the empty stadiums last season but it may have seemed a bit boring,” he expressed regarding the possibility of allowing some fans into the stadium.

He continued saying that with the proper health and safety measures in place, everyone should hopefully be safe. “With the majority of baseball games being played outdoors, and with distanced seating, and with the right precautions taken, I believe it should be safe enough.”

“I will try to be going the first month. I’m planning on it unless the ticket prices are ridiculously high and out of price range, then probably not,” says Gonzalez, who is trying to score tickets for him and his friend.

“I believe foods that are mostly spat out like sunflower seeds and gum shouldn’t be purchased. They usually are left all over the floor which could have the chance to spread germs. If I am going to eat something, I’d choose something preferably I can eat entirely or have on a plate which you can then dispose of,” he says.

Angels fans are buzzing with excitement as they wait for the new season to embark, whether it’s at home through the television or going out to safely observe the games at the stadium. As Despart says, “there were many hardships throughout this strange year. I’m just glad that my favorite team is coming back to play week in and week out.”

BASEBALL IS BACK!

By Matthew Mejia 17

The Danger Presented Itself:

How the City of El Monte Rose Up Against an Anti-LGBTQ+ Pastor

Protesters gather outside and caravan by First Works Baptist Church, where pastor Bruce Mejia preaches hate, misogyny, homophobia, and more. Photo Credit @giggle_snaps

By Jessica Delgado Getting up in full drag with a fiery red wig and pink dress on a Saturday, Phillip Hurt is the only drag activist out on the streets of El Monte. In addition to looking pretty, Hurt fully embodies the spirit of queer resistance. When it came time to face any forms of any intolerance in the city of El Monte that was exacerbated by the presence of a new pastor, Hurt recounts, “The protest I did was not just with him, but anyone in the community who didn’t want to support womxn, queer, Black and trans people”.

Tensions between the El Monte community and an anti-LGBTQPIA+ church sparked when a viral TikTok created by Hurt, an El Monte local, drag artist and activist, spread across multiple social platforms. This content shed light on the multiple conservative preachings of Bruce Mejia, head pastor at the California Chapter of First Works Baptist Church (FWBC). While the church seemingly sprang out of nowhere, the FWBC previously resided in Maywood.

Activists like Hurt have kept their eye on the FWBC after the church’s move into El Monte, especially after their investigative findings on Mejia’s previous preachings encouraging the death of LGBTQPIA+ people; Mejia’s personal connection to the head preacher of FWBC; condemning womxn who work; and speaking against the Black Lives Matter Movement. In 2020, the FWBC was listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for spewing hate speech against the LGBTQPIA+ community. Through his sermons, Mejia has developed a reputation for his hate speech against womxn, LGBTQPIA+ communities and trans and gender nonconforming folks.

But his ideologies are not his alone.

Mejia was once under the mentorship of Pastor Steven Anderson, who has previously praised the occurrence of the 2016 massacre in Orlando, in which many LGBTQPIA+ folks were killed at the Pulse Nightclub.

According to Hurt, Mejia carried on similar rhetoric by referring to the more commonly used LGBTQ+ acronym as, “Let God Burn Them Quickly,” and

constantly referring to queer folks as sodomites and pedophiles. Yet, this rhetoric did not stop activists like Hurt from coming to the forefront.

Hurt’s exposure to the FWBC and eventual activism against their messages came as they were scrolling through Facebook pages related to El Monte. As an activist, it was important that they stay as up to date with their hometown as possible because of their “Natural chola instincts and punk aggression.”

Having been born and raised in El Monte, Hurt’s passion for keeping the city inclusive is not surprising. Years prior to their activism, Hurt was involved in the church that sat where the FWBC once did, because of their mother brought them along to volunteer While Hurt no longer considers themselves to be religious, they still recount how the previous church was dedicated to being as supportive for anyone who walked through their doors as possible. When the FWBC overtook the location on the corner of Tyler Ave and Elliott, Hurt reflects, “What breaks my heart is that the church before… was like a little haven for previous addicts... the homeless y todo, and they even had AA meetings at one point. And to know that church disappeared and this one took over really broke my heart, especially with the hate this man is bringing.”

As a queer femme, Hurt was also concerned about Mejia’s messages about womxn and other femmes involved with the Black Lives Matter and trans rights movements: “When I started looking at his videos, [he’s] not only attacking the gays… he also targets women. He’s known to have said that if women work, women are whores and women are basically weak…”, Hurt says, recalling watching Mejia’s sermons.

For Hurt and many other LGBTQPIA+, womxn, Black and trans rights activists, it was imperative to keep safe the city of El Monte and all other cities that may house another FWBC church. To achieve this, Hurt coacted with other activists and members of the community to establish the “Keep El Monte Friendly” collaborative. These El Monte youth were the main force behind the protests against the church.

In solidarity, Hurt attended the caravan protest that took place between Tyler Street and Elliott Ave. on Jan. 17, organized by the Keep El Monte Friendly collective. Hurt showed up adorned in full drag— a statement that made it clear that when it came to El Monte, hate of any kind was not permitted especially, “Not my f**s and my femmes.”

“The protest I did was not just with him, but anyone in the community who didn’t want to support womxn, queer, Black and trans people” Obtained by Phillip Hurt Instagram Account: @theoff_queer_ Photo by @theanthonycarrillo

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For the sake of avoiding the spread of COVID-19 and the protection of both parties, Hurt made it clear the protestors made an effort not to step on the sidewalk attached to the church per the El Monte police’s guidelines. Though the church’s ideologies were opposite Hurt’s and the other protesters, respect for boundaries were kept, especially for children and womxn in the church.

Hurt’s activism in drag is rooted in deep cultural beliefs of respect because, “Growing up in the chola culture, numero uno is respect—if you don’t respect me, I get aggressive, and the way I channel aggression is: ‘we gotta confront.’” During this confrontation, El Monte police remained primarily neutral, even when, according to Hurt, an underage female protestor had been touched by a male member of the FWBC, and when Mejia inquired to the police on whether they would remove Hurt and the other activists.

“But there was an incident,” Hurt says, “…where [another] protestor… they were actually right next to Bruce Mejia... and Bruce actually shoved him, at the same time making [the protestor] cross the line.” In an attempt to continue the protest with minimal contact and violence, Hurt warned the police that if anyone protesting against the church were to be taken in handcuffs or harassed by any members of the FWBC, they would be recorded by activists filming the event.

Regarding the actual members of the FWBC church present during the demonstration, Hurt points out that many were not from the city of El Monte, or California, at all. Upon investigation and seeing the members themselves, Hurt recalls that nearly all of the blue-eyed, blonde church sympathizers were from out of state. When the protest was over, many members of the church flocked to Hurt’s social media to make homophobic comments and even went so far as to directly message their sister for defending the activist and telling Hurt to die by suicide, including Bruce Mejia himself.

Though these comments from the counter collective created by the church, called “Keep El Monte Safe” on social media, did not shake Hurt and the many members of the Keep El Monte Friendly collective, a bombing that took place on Jan. 23, a week after the protest, stirred up suspicion of who was to blame.

According to the El Monte Police Department, officers arrived at the scene around 4:30 a.m., to find the windows of the church blown out due to an explosion from the interior of the building. Upon investigating the bombing, the FBI has determined that the device that caused the explosion was homemade, and as of March 31, the agency has issued a $25,000 reward for information on possible subjects: a male and female whose photos have been released to the public.

Photo Credit: @elmonte.captured

Prior to the attack, the collaborative had planned another protest to take place the following Sunday, on Jan. 24. After the reports were made, the Keep El Monte Friendly collective posted about the incident, which Hurt clarifies, “The Church released a statement saying that the Church was bombed by protestors...,” further creating a narrative that the protestors were to blame.

However, the Keep El Monte Safe collective made it clear in their Instagram post regarding the event that, “We do not condone hate crimes and are not responsible for the IED [improvised explosive device] that was set off at First Works Baptist Church. The members of our organization have never had access to the inside of the building nor do we have any interest whatsoever in defacing property or harming the individuals of the group.”

Hurt adds, “We were against what they them — that’s not what we do.”

were for, but would never hurt

While the FWBC claims that the bombing was a hate crime, authorities have yet to frame it as such. Hurt believes it is questionable to frame the protestors as main suspects considering that glass from the explosion shot outwards and the graffiti tagged on the church was not similar to the tagging of El Monte locals.

Obtained via keepelmontefriendly Instagram account, @keepelmontefriendly

Though the church itself has appeared to have moved on to their next location —Mejia followed the bombing with a preaching the day after dedicated to the persecution of the “sodomites” and “terrorists” who he believed bombed FWBC — Hurt and other members of El Monte have remembered the rhetoric the church left behind. For Hurt and others, “The bottom line was that the danger was there, no matter when it was, no matter how it was – that danger was there, the danger presented itself, [and] they have radical ideas about what religion is to them.”

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By Salina Falcon Poetry has the potential to bring together what some say to be a divided nation. It speaks about personal experiences and how to cope with them. For many poets, poetry is also a vessel they can use to press concerns they have regarding life around them and how they believe these can be fixed.

Amanda Gorman, a Los Angeles youth poet laureate and, at 22, the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, conveys the power of poetry and how it can be political.

“Poetry has never been the language of barriers, it’s always been the language of bridges. It’s that connection-making that makes poetry, yes, powerful, but also makes it political,” Gorman mentions during a TED Talk.

Poets have the ability to rewrite the nation, with the words and fearlessness they speak, taking on certain issues in society. Gorman writes in her poem In This Place, “the Protestant, the Muslim, the Jew, the native, the immigrant, the Black, the Brown, the blind, the brave, the undocumented and undeterred, the woman, the man, the nonbinary, the White, the trans, the ally to all of the above,” portraying the hopefulness in united integrity.

“Poetry was very confined in Iambic pentameter, in the 18th century. Then you get into poetry evolving with the American Civil War, and you start to see the free verse poetry come to life at the end of the 19th century. Then you see the beginning of World War I and World War II, and how poets interact with the changing of times,” she states.

Chicanx Femme gives an example of T.S. Elliot, whose poetry style evolved as times changed, writing with responses to the “Lost Generation” of World War I. Issues disrupting the unity within the United States is something that many poets feel the urge to bring to light, while others may turn away from.

“You have so many Latinx, Black, Asian poets and it’s something that you’re seeing more often because our people are basically saying ‘hey, we are not being represented,’” says Chicanx Femme, as she describes the desire poets have in bringing representation and expression to heritage in a learning society.

“ Poets and writers in general are able to perceive the world from a bird’s-eye view in a sense, they are able to see everything to deconstruct it” Political poetry is defined by poets as a type of writing style that is related to activism, protest and social concern. It also comments on social, political or current events.

Stacy Russo, an Orange Country poet, explains that the types of poetry that might be considered political are, “Someone speaking about racism, someone speaking about feminism. That content is then easy to see as political poetry.”

How a poet’s writing evolves with time and history, must also be taken into consideration. A poet can take us on a journey through time, to help us understand how our world once was, to where it can be.

Chicanx Femme writes poetry on envisioning a new world and getting rid of mass incarceration. “I also touch upon the immigrant experience, about how people do start over all the time… In the immigrant rights movement, you really see how the narrative of immigration has now started to embrace concepts of capitulation because detention centers are an extension of mass incarceration.”

Chicanx Femme’s poetry is an example of how poets perceive injustices that occur across the globe. Poets have the ability to push for change and make people listen— building those bridges and connections with their audiences. Just by reading a poem one is able to learn about someone else, and what they are going through at any point in time.

“Poets and writers in general are able to perceive the world from a bird’s-eye view in a sense, they are able to see everything to deconstruct it,” Chicanx Femme says.

Political poetry holds an important place for writers—being able to have a voice and use it as a way to help others. They are able to listen and observe the world around them to proclaim those stories.

Hmm Chicanx Femme, a Santa Ana poet, explains the transitions of poetry according to each era and the change it endured through each decade within American and general poetry.

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Gustavo Hernandez reading his poetry at RipRap, a Cal State Long Beach literary journal event celebrating its 40th anniversary. Photo Credit: Richard Sánchez

Gustavo Hernandez, a poet and author who writes about immigration as well as his experiences within his community of Orange County, says, “My poetry is very political because it talks about our place as immigrants, me specifically as someone who is Mexican, an immigrant, and I think that in writing my poems I am giving myself a voice. One of my biggest hopes with poetry is that I inspire others who may feel like their voices are not important.”

Hernandez supports Gorman’s notions of poetry and how it can build bridges.

He uses an example of Joy Harjo, a poet laureate and the first Native American to hold that honor. Harjo provides that bridge to readers by establishing a connection, writing about the joy and struggles of everyday life of Native Americans.

“Here I am someone, who is Mexican; Joy Harjo is Native American. There are things that I see in her work that absolutely resonate with me. So, she’s here and built a bridge not only for me to see her experiences, but at the same time she also built a bridge for my voice,” Hernandez says. Recognizing the styles that Harjo exhibits is something Hernandez takes into account when he writes, and how he speaks about the life of a migrant. “| Think of a stem growing north and a bloom spreading” is a line from one of Hernandez’s books. It is how he portrays immigration and his story of how his family came from Mexico into the United States—growing in one place; blooming in another.

Some poets embrace their heritage as they write about their experiences.

They write with the notion of not knowing whose perspective they might change for the better.

“Some poets are sharing so much of the trauma they carry within their identity,” says Hatefas Yop, a poet in Santa Ana. Yop, who at first did not consider her poetry to be political, began to acknowledge and embrace her poetry as such when she began covering topics related to intergenerational trauma in the United States. Her work also speaks on violence against children and women, as well as injustices in healthcare and school systems in other countries. Poetry is how she humanizes those narratives.

“In some ways poetry definitely breaks barriers and bridges communities together, like for myself, I identify as an Asian American; as a Muslim growing up in a very Latinx-concentrated part of Orange County. There’s so many layers to it,” says Yop. “However, in the different, very genuine open mic and poetry spaces that I’ve had the honor to perform at, I’ve met so many diverse folks where friendships were built.”

Poet, Stacy Russo performing at the Fall 2018 Community Poetry Reading in downtown Santa Ana. Photo Credit: Annie Knight

So many people who may be ethnically different can share one thing in common: the humanity that poetry brings out in them.

Russo takes into consideration that we can learn from all poets, “especially if we read poetry by people who may be different from us, and that can be different in a lot of ways: racially; a different economic class; maybe they live in an entirely different area of the world. Whatever it is that makes them seem different, we are going to find connections in their poetry.”

In the words by the Roman playwright Terence (Publius Terentius Afer), poet Maya Angelou recites in her life lesson speech, “Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.’ Which is Latin for “I am a human being. Nothing human can be alien to me.”

We are all human beings existing in one world. Figures with the same erythrocytes inhabited by each layer of skin cells, regardless of color, gender or status. In the end, it comes down to the important changes poets crave: equality, equity and empathy.

Hernandez takes a moment to say where the power of poetry will take society.

“We are in a moment right now where poetry is showing its presence, its importance again, and I think that through these growing pains that this country is experiencing is a sign that a lot of us are growing really tired of being marginalized. And I think that poetry is going to be the song that accompanies the battle.”

“ You have so many Latinx, Black, Asian poets and it’s something that you’re seeing more often because our people are basically saying ‘Hey, we are not being represented’” 21

LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX

By Iván Morales

Sex. Condoms. Lube. That’s it, you got your sexual health

education. If you’re lucky, you hear about HIV and STIs, but those don’t affect everyone, right? Wrong. Your parents at one point covered your eyes at mere television kisses, your peers tell you more than the textbooks, and everything else around you tells you the oohs and aahs about sex. You think you’re informed enough to make the best decisions. If this were true, then why does the LGBTQ+ community feel excluded from sex health education, making this population the most susceptible to venereal diseases?

“I don’t want anyone to have to go through what I had to go through, which was learning from experience because when you get older, you look back [and] realize ‘I didn’t know that I could have run into this issue or problem,’” said Elsayed.

Much like Elsayed, members of the LGBTQ+ community often engage in sexual experiences without having the proper knowledge of safe practices, which can be dangerous.

In 2018, there was 37,968 new HIV diagnosis. Nearing the end of 2018, the CDC estimated 1.2 million individuals were living with

“DIGITAL SPACES HAVE BECOME SITES OF LEARNED BEHAVIOR, GUIDANCE, AND THE DISSEMINATION OF CRITICAL INFORMATION REGARDING SEX.” With state legislation setting the stage for curriculum on sex education, LGBTQ+ communities are still feeling the waves of isolation within the educational spaces of middle school and high school health courses; leaving them to their personal experience as a means of attaining sexual education, which may reflect the high number of venereal diseases within this community.

Digital spaces have become sites of learned behavior, guidance, and the dissemination of critical information regarding sex. For many, the subject matter of sex is still very much taboo and shameful.

Jorge Diaz, 41, the Client Navigation and Support Director at Bienestar Human Services, once felt highly stigmatized for being HIV positive. According to Diaz, the topic of sex education within the LGBTQ+ community needs to move beyond prevention to a place that speaks on gender, sexualities, different stigmas and how families come into play with this education.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, in the U.S. a large population of LGBTQ+ youth goes through an educational system that inadequately recognizes their existence. This curriculum fails to include their identities within the pages of health education, especially in the face of sexual discourse. The National Alliance on Mental Health reports that a large percentage of LGBTQ+ individuals have faced rejection from their families and peers which impacts their mental health. This may explain some of the reasons why this community is largely affected by sexual health disparities.

How does a person of the LGBTQ+ community attain adequate sex health education, then?

Kody Elsayed, 23, a graduate student at NYU, had to learn sex education via first-hand experience. He recalled his time in high school health class, where teachers and students did not take the information seriously. These experiences helped him decide to promote sexual health education on his TikTok platform.

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HIV. While this disease is stereotypically known to only exist within marginalized groups, specifically LGBTQ+ communities, it should be known that 24% of the new cases in 2018 were from heterosexual identifying individuals.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, in 2013 gay and bisexual men only made up about 2% of the entire U.S. population, yet accounted for 55% of people living with HIV. Also, HIV criminalization statutes — laws that can criminalize individuals accused of not sharing their HIV status with partners — may be influencing these high numbers, as individuals are less likely to get tested or treated for HIV for the stigma placed on them.

Under the California Healthy Youth Act (AB 329), California schools are required to teach an all-inclusive sexual health curriculum, as well as HIV prevention. Each school district has the liberty to choose which instructional resources will be used to teach from. Under AB 329, LGBTQ+ inclusivity must be merged with sex education lessons, throughout the entirety of the curriculum; therefore, any isolation of LGBTQ+ sexual health education can be liable for discrimination.

However, under this legislation, parents can opt their students out of sex education lessons and material under sexual health, which touches on gender and sexual orientation.

“We are not informing people in a way that’s easy to digest and makes the conversations lighthearted and fun, but also informative because, at the end of the day, this is information that we all need, and how else will we learn it if we are not circulating it,” Elsayed said.

Elsayed, who took an entire year to plan out his platform on TikTok, introspectively arrived at the topic of his content because of his own experience with sex education. Elsayed aimed to provide easily digestible conversations to make the topic of sex lighthearted and informative.

“Public schools are not teaching sex education in a beneficial way for individuals to make informed decisions about their sexual encounters.

I think that’s the biggest issue and that’s why my content is doing so well on TikTok because I am filling that void,” Elsayed said.

However, such information about sex on TikTok can lead to having videos taken down due to violations of community guidelines.

According to Elsayed, this happens because the language in the video can be too direct when it comes to sexual health. This, then, is deemed as risqué for the TikTok community, whose platform is strongly youth-led.

“With high access to online resources, teens go to shows like Sex Education or POSE, as well as social media applications like Instagram or TikTok to learn about sex education,” said Diaz. Unfortunately, at a certain point, they stop watching the show or close the application, and the dialogue between the characters no longer applies to them.

These younger individuals become very distant from the realities being addressed online, like talks about HIV and STIs. For those who do not identify with a heteronormative script, their personal experiences become the source of knowledge.

lower numbers in HIV and STIs, as he states,“It wasn’t just ‘I hooked up with a random dude,’ it was ‘I didn’t love myself as a youth.’”

The responsibility lies, then, in one’s surrounding communities, Diaz explained, in providing an inclusive place where LGBTQ+ youth feel safe to explore their identities and, in the process, preserve healthrelated knowledge when engaging in sexual behavior.

“It’s not just about changing K-12 education [because] if you and I have the best curriculum but go home to homophobic families, from the jump you are already growing up with shame about who you are as a person. So, families and our own culture play a big role in these HIV numbers,” said Diaz.

To promote a journey of self-love, Bienestar organizes trips to beaches or hiking trails, during which interventions or teachings take place. Past the lessons on condoms and their use, Diaz makes sure his health educators are cementing the message that within all communities there are many identities, and no matter how feminine or masculine or non-binary one wants to be, one needs to embrace the self, which will lead to self-love.

If schools don’t teach LGBTQ+ youth about sexual health with an inclusive curriculum, and if social media applications frown upon language that relates to sex, adolescents aren’t learning how to take care of themselves when engaging in sexual activities.

Much like Elsayed, Diaz draws from personal experience to empower the LGBTQ+ community by creating families of kin, safe spaces, and a support system to further assist in the retention of information regarding sexual health. Bienestar, a community-based health care and social services organization for the LGBTQ+ community, provides a plethora of services, from HIV testing to counseling, as well as youth and adult support groups.

“We work with medical providers, medical fellows, students and interns to teach them that when they meet a young queer individual, they know what Grindr is; they know what a top and bottom is; they know the language, so they don’t get stuck on male and female...

There are so many angles to what we do to continue to give access to the youth to be empowered. So, when they get to 18, 19, 20 years old, they are not sucked up into the gay hookup culture and playing dangerous games [rather] to not feel ashamed of having sex, and making sure they use condoms, have access to PrEP, and are getting tested,” Diaz said.

Diaz believes that LGBTQ+ organizations need to be present in high schools, where individuals can join these clubs and feel included within the school environment. Past the physical or tangible resources, Diaz spoke on self-love as a means of healing a community and reflecting

Resources Condoms

Condoms come in varying sizes, flavors, colors, and textures. While the popular male condoms exists, there are also female condoms, which should not be used in conjunction with each other as there is a high risk of rupture. Other materials are available for those with latex allergy. While using condoms, individuals should check for expiration dates, as well as slippage or breakage of the condom during intercourse.

Lubricants

Lubricants, also known as lubes, work in conjunction with condoms to prevent breakage. Lubes reduce the friction between body parts, which reduce bodily fissures or tears. There are three main types of lubricants, water-based, silicone-based, and oil-based. Oil-based lubes should not be used in conjunction with condoms as the oil will tear the condom down.

PrEP & PEP

THE RIGHT WAY TO USE A MALE CONDOM 1. Use a condom every time you have sex.

2. Put on a condom before having sex.

5. Store condoms in a cool, dry place.

3. Read the package and check the expiration date.

7. Use water-based or silicone-based lubricant to prevent breakage.

6. Use latex or polyurethane condoms.

PrEP and PEP are both methods to curtail HIV transmission. PrEP protects individuals from exposure to HIV and should be taken by individuals who fall under those at risk of contracting HIV. PEP is an emergency form of protection that should be used for individuals who have been exposed to HIV within 36 to 72 hours of exposure, this will decrease the chances of contracting HIV.

4. Make sure there are no tears or defects.

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ACTIVISTS ANTICIPATE IMMIGRATION POLICIES

By Alexcia E. Negrete Now that President Joe Biden has signed an executive order, reversing former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, activists are optimistic but are not taking breaks from their efforts, as there is more work to be done.

Throughout the history of the United States, immigration has always been a topic of debate. Undocumented immigrants, especially those that don’t come from Western Europe, face countless obstacles. Some of the most difficult challenges immigrants face is the process of obtaining a visa and becoming an official United States citizen. With a variable wait time, it can take up to six months to two years, oftentimes longer, to become an American citizen. Another setback can sometimes be the cost. The application fee costs $640 and biometric services cost $85. These fees alone add up to a total of $725, and when you pile on the cost of legal services, the total amount due becomes unaffordable for many immigrants.

The cost and application process is only one part of the problem. Immigrants are also faced with issues of deportation, obtaining affordable health care, and getting paid a living wage, among others. These plights have fueled activists for decades. Another main issue that caused an increase in activism in 2018 was former President Trump’s Zero Tolerance Policy. The implementation of this policy led to undocumented immigrant families being separated at the border, and to date, hundreds of children have yet to be reunited with their parents.

Issues like these are what push activists to fight for change. Full-time student and activist Laisha Santillan was just entering high school when she began to notice Trump’s campaign promises about immigration. “Many of his words hit close to home,” says Santillan.

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After seeing negative actions being taken on her community, she began researching to learn more information and later created an educational platform on her Instagram page to share and spread awareness to her followers. Santillan has also participated in multiple protests and has organized a Black Lives Matter protest in the city of Buena Park.

Spreading awareness and teaching others about issues going on in the community is a form of empowerment that should not go unnoticed.

Santillan went on to describe her views on President Biden’s immigration policies and what it means to her as an activist.”I liked his campaign promises.

But, he can’t just do the executive orders. There needs to be action after that,” she explains. Activists are paying close attention, as they are looking for kept promises and big changes.

Robert Herrera, Director of Community Engagement at Resilience OC, is one of many activists in the country that stays hopeful.

“We took a deep breath after the election,” says Herrera, explaining the emotion of relief they felt, change just might be on the horizon.

Herrera grew up in Santa Ana, and after seeing what was happening in their community, they decided to work towards making a change.

Resilience OC helps younger people who face immigration issues by spreading helpful information to the community.

As a leader of the organization, Herrera would visit schools, before the pandemic, to help students learn more about immigration policies, like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), that they can benefit from.

Herrera, like most immigration activists, hopes to see detention centers cease their operations and a decrease in deportations. However, given the history on immigration and how it has been an ongoing issue with each presidency, its hard to examine if and when activists will see these hopes become a reality.

“I am worried that detentions and deportations are still going to continue.

We need to push back on that. I am hoping the Biden Administration releases as many people as possible from immigration detentions,” Herrera explains.

One of the bills that many are hoping to see pass under Biden’s administration is the New Way Forward Act, which was reintroduced in Congress on January 26, 2021. This legislation would overall reduce mass detention of migrants and would be intended to shut down privately-operated detention centers.

There are currently over 200 detention centers, including private ones, in the country run by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This bill would also require county jails to stop holding immigrants in custody based on their undocumented status.

This act has made immigration and criminal defense attorney Luz TijerinaGarduño and her clients more hopeful. She describes a majority of her clients fear being deported and being separated from their children. Her clients want to stay in the country when going through the application process, something that was difficult to accomplish under the Trump Administration.

“For the past four years, the government has been very strict with immigration.

Us attorneys can already tell that they are being a little more lenient with us, even if the public may not directly see it. We are hoping that President Biden will go back to using administrative closure and give people a second chance.

It is giving some people hope,” says Tijerina-Garduño.

Immigration attorney and Immigrant Justice Corps fellow Diego MenendezEstrada is optimistic to seeing private detention centers being shut down.

One of the main things he wants the new administration to achieve is an expansion of DACA. “DACA is no longer under threat. We want to cover young people who came in after the cutoff in 2007,” says Mendez. Under DACA, young undocumented immigrants must have continuously resided in the United States before June 15, 2007, in order to be eligible. This poses a problem for other undocumented immigrants who face many hurdles in obtaining legal status in the U.S. Megan Debin, a professor and advisor for the Puente Program at Fullerton College, uses her position to support DACA students and learn about their struggles. She advocates for immigration policy changes by donating money to programs that support change. She also helps students by communicating information about student protests to the Fullerton College Administration and has participated in a few protests in the past.

Debin, like other activists, believes that the campaign promises made by Biden were good. “However, immigrant rights organizations have alarmed us that many people have been deported in the past month. It is disheartening,” she says.

One of President Biden’s campaign promises was to have no deportations during his first 100 days in office. This promise has not been kept and 127,457 of undocumented immigrants have been deported, according to the pro-immigrant organization United We Dream.

Immigration attorney Mubarak Malik advocates for change within the immigration system. He supports his clients by spreading important information on various different platforms and strives to put them before his own needs. Despite the broken promise, Malik sees President Biden’s policies heading in the right direction for immigrants.

“Biden is backing legislation that would give legal status and pathway to citizenship to an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States. I am really excited about that. I hope that becomes something we see in his presidency,” he mentions.

Malik speaks of the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, a legislation that would create an eight-year pathway for individuals and allow new immigrants into the U.S., while giving legal status to immigrants who are currently within the country.The legislation will contribute to responsibly managing the border by taking communities and families into consideration, as they control the migration between countries. Border managing was a constant situation that was not controlled correctly by the Trump administration which resulted with children being separated from their families.

Recently, over 13,000 migrant children are in custody without their parents.

Activists are now turning to President Biden to see what he will do for the children and other immigrants.

For more information or support regarding immigration, you can find help at the organizations listed below.

Orange County Rapid Response Network https://ocrapidresponse.org/ (714) 881-1558 Resilience Orange County https://resilienceoc.org/ (657) 210-0157

World Relief Southern California https://worldreliefsocal.org/ (714) 210-4730

(Left) On June 28, 2020, activists rallied with masks as they brought awareness to the fact that 75% of ICE arrests in Orange County happen in collaboration between the OC Sheriff’s Department and ICE. Photo By: Roberto Herrera

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¿Cambiarán leyes migratorias con Biden?

Por Alexcia E. Negrete Ahora que el presidente Joe Biden firmó una orden ejecutiva revirtiendo las órdenes migratorias del expresidente Donald Trump, los activistas proinmigrantes se han tornado optimistas, pero no se toman un descanso de sus esfuerzos, ya que hay más trabajo por hacer.

A lo largo de la historia de Estados Unidos, el tema migratorio ha sido uno de debate. Los inmigrantes indocumentados, especialmente aquellos que no provienen del continente europeo, enfrentan innumerables obstáculos en este país. Algunos de los desafíos más difíciles que enfrentan son el proceso de obtener una visa y convertirse en ciudadano naturalizado de EEUU. Con un tiempo de espera variable, puede tomar de seis meses a dos años — en muchos casos, aún más- convertirse en ciudadano estadounidense. Otro desafío también puede ser el costo de estos trámites. La tarifa de solicitud cuesta $640 y los servicios biométricos cuestan $85. Estas tarifas por sí solas suman un total de $725, y cuando se acumula el costo de los servicios legales, la cantidad total adeudada se vuelve inasequible para muchos inmigrantes y sus familiares.

El costo y el proceso de solicitud son solo una parte. Muchos inmigrantes también enfrentan obstáculos, como temor a ser deportado, obtener atención médica asequible, recibir un salario digno, entre otros. Estos contratiempos han alimentado a los activistas durante décadas.

Otro detalle significante que provocó un aumento del activismo en 2018 fue la póliza de Tolerancia Cero implementada por el expresidente Trump.

La implementación de esta política llevó a que familias de inmigrantes indocumentados fueran separadas en la frontera y, hasta la fecha, cientos de niños aún no se han reunido con sus padres.

Para la joven activista, hacer conciencia y enseñar a otros sobre los problemas que ocurren en la comunidad es una forma de empoderamiento que no debe pasar desapercibida.

Las promesas de campaña de Biden le cayeron bien a Santillán, pero “él no puede simplemente cumplir con las órdenes ejecutivas. Es necesario que haya acción después de eso”, ella explica. Los activistas están prestando mucha atención, ya que buscan promesas cumplidas y grandes cambios.

él no puede simplemente cumplir con las órdenes ejecutivas. Es necesario que haya acción después de eso

Temas como estos son los que motivan a los activistas a luchar por cambios.

La estudiante y activista Laisha Santillán recién ingresaba a la preparatoria cuando Trump lanzaba su primer campaña presidencial, durante la cual hizo comentarios negativos sobre migrantes. “Muchas de sus palabras me calaron”, dice Santillán.

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Después de ver ese tipo de odio en su comunidad, comenzó a investigar para obtener más información sobre el tema, y luego creó una plataforma educativa en su página de Instagram para difundir y crear consciencia entre sus seguidores. Santillán también ha participado en múltiples protestas y hasta organizó una protesta de Black Lives Matter en la ciudad de Buena Park.

Robert Herrera, director de participación comunitaria en Resilience OC, es uno de los muchos activistas del país que mantiene la esperanza. “Respiramos profundamente después de las elecciones”, dice Herrera, explicando la sensación de alivio que sintió — el cambio podría estar en el horizonte, pensó.

Herrera creció en Santa Ana y, después de ver lo que sucedía en su comunidad, decidió trabajar para lograr un cambio. Resilience OC es una organización sin fines de lucro ubicada en el condado de Orange que ayuda a las personas más jóvenes que enfrentan problemas de inmigración al difundir información útil a la comunidad. Como líder en la organización, Herrera visita escuelas e imparte información para que los alumnos aprendan más sobre las políticas de inmigración —como la Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia (DACA, por sus siglas en inglés)- de cuales ellos y sus familias puedan beneficiarse.

Respiramos profundamente después de las elecciones Herrera, como la mayoría de los activistas de inmigración, espera que los centros de detención cesen sus operaciones y disminuyan las deportaciones.

Sin embargo, dada la trayectoria del tema migratorio y cómo ha sido un problema constante con cada presidencia, es difícil examinar si los activistas verán su clamor por cambio tornarse una realidad.

“Me preocupa que continúen las detenciones y deportaciones. Tenemos que rechazar eso. Espero que la Administración Biden libere a la mayor cantidad posible de personas detenidas”, explica Herrera.

Uno de los proyectos de ley que muchos esperan que se apruebe bajo la administración de Biden es la ley New Way Forward, que se reintrodujo en el Congreso el 26 de enero. Esta legislación reduciría en general la detención masiva de migrantes y estaría destinada a cerrar los centros de detención que operan de forma privada. Actualmente hay más de 200 centros de detención para migrantes en el país —incluidos los privados- administrados por el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE, por sus siglas en inglés). Este proyecto de ley también requeriría que las cárceles del condado dejen de mantener bajo custodia a inmigrantes debido a su estado de indocumentado.

Este proyecto de ley ha hecho que la abogada de inmigración y defensa criminal Luz Tijerina-Garduño y sus clientes mantengan la esperanza. Ella describe que la mayoría de sus clientes temen ser deportados y separados de sus hijos. Sus clientes quieren permanecer en el país cuando atraviesan el proceso de solicitud, algo difícil de lograr bajo la Administración Trump.

“Durante los últimos cuatro años, el gobierno ha sido muy estricto con la inmigración. Los abogados estadounidenses ya pueden decir que están siendo un poco más tolerantes con nosotros, aunque el público no lo vea directamente. Esperamos que el presidente Biden vuelva a utilizar el cierre administrativo y le dé a la gente una segunda oportunidad. Le está dando esperanza a algunas personas”, dice Tijerina-Garduño.

El abogado de inmigración y becario del Immigrant Justice Corp, Diego Menéndez-Estrada, se muestra optimista ante el cierre de los centros de detención privados. Una de las principales cosas que quiere que logre la nueva administración es una expansión de DACA. “DACA ya no está bajo amenaza. Queremos cubrir a los jóvenes que llegaron después del corte en 2007”, dice Méndez. Bajo DACA, los inmigrantes indocumentados jóvenes deben haber residido continuamente en el país antes del 15 de junio de 2007 para ser elegibles. Esto plantea un problema para otros migrantes que enfrentan muchos obstáculos para obtener un estatus legal en EEUU. Megan Debin, profesora y asesora del Programa Puente en Fullerton College, usa su puesto para apoyar a los estudiantes de DACA y aprender sobre sus luchas. Ella aboga por cambios en las políticas de inmigración donando dinero a programas que apoyan el cambio. También ayuda a los estudiantes al comunicar información sobre las protestas estudiantiles a la Administración de Fullerton College y ha participado en algunas protestas en el pasado.

Debin, como otros activistas, cree que las promesas de campaña hechas por Biden fueron buenas. “Sin embargo, las organizaciones de derechos de los inmigrantes nos han alarmado porque muchas personas han sido deportadas el mes pasado. Es desalentador”, dice.

Una de las promesas de campaña de Biden fue cezar deportaciones durante sus primeros 100 días al cargo. Esta promesa no se cumplió. Al cumplir poco más de 50 días al mando, 127,457 migrantes fueron deportados, según la organización proinmigrante United We Dream.

importante en varias plataformas diferentes y se esfuerza por ponerlos antes que sus propias necesidades. A pesar de la promesa incumplida por parte de Biden, Malik ve que las políticas del presidente van en la dirección correcta para los inmigrantes.

“Biden respalda una legislación que otorgaría estatus legal y vía a la ciudadanía a aproximadamente 11 millones de inmigrantes indocumentados que actualmente residen en los Estados Unidos. Estoy muy emocionado por eso. Espero que se convierta en algo que veamos durante su presidencia”, menciona.

Malik se refiere a la U.S. Citizenship Act de 2021, una legislación que crearía un camino de ocho años para obtener la ciudadanía, y permitiría que más inmigrantes ingresen a EEUU. La legislación también brindaría estatus legal a migrantes que se encuentran actualmente dentro del país.

La legislación contribuirá a la gestión responsable de la frontera teniendo en cuenta a las comunidades y familias, ya que son éstos los que controlan la migración entre países. La gestión fronteriza era una situación constante que no estaba controlada correctamente por la administración Trump y que resultó en que los niños fueran separados de sus familias.

Actualmente, más de 13,000 niños migrantes están detenidos en centro migratorios sin sus padres. Los activistas ahora se dirigen al presidente Biden para ver qué hará por los niños y otros inmigrantes.

Para más información o apoyo en cuestiones migratorias, comuníquese con las organizaciones siguientes:

Orange County Rapid Response Network https://ocrapidresponse.org/ (714) 881-1558

Resilience Orange County https://resilienceoc.org/ (657) 210-0157

World Relief Southern California https://worldreliefsocal.org/ (714) 210-4730

El abogado de inmigración Murbarak Malik aboga por un cambio dentro del sistema de inmigración. Apoya a sus clientes difundiendo información (Left) Activists gather with their signs outside of the Hall of Administration in Santa Ana on Dec. 8, 2020, during the OC Board of Supervisors meeting and 2020 Truth Act Forum. The Board of Supervisors host public hearings to review how the OC Sheriff’s Department works with ICE. Photo By: Roberto Herrera

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La chispa que prendió fuego a la abogacía Por Angela González

En donde se unen la pasión por ayudar a su comunidad y la defensa de los derechos humanos es donde se encuentra Silvanna Morelos.

Silvanna, quien vive en Santa Ana, es una brillante joven de 18 años que ha logrado encontrar su voz mientras se involucraba en programas enfocados en el mejoramiento social.

Desde su segundo año de preparatoria, ella ha sido parte del club Young Senators en donde ha expandido su conocimiento sobre su comunidad y sobre la gente dentro de ella. A través de este involucramiento, Silvanna ha logrado informar e involucrar a personas de todas las edades acerca de sus derechos legales.

“Se llamaba la presentación ‘Conoce tus derechos’ y simplemente dábamos información a los estudiantes para que ellos estuvieran preparados para cualquier situación o para que ellos pasaran la palabra a sus familiares, entonces existía este efecto dominó”, dice Silvanna.

Entre la información que difundían se incluía información acerca de DACA e información acerca de como registrarse para votar.

Aunque en ese grupo lograba interactuar con su comunidad frecuentemente, Silvanna anhelaba comenzar una conversación acerca de la justicia restaurativa. Fue entonces que se unió al Youth Policy Fellowship en donde dice que su experiencia fue “muy reveladora”.

(Abajo) Fotografía cortesía de Silvanna Morelos (Below) Photography courtesy of Silvanna Morelos

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La justicia restaurativa es un enfoque basado en la comunidad para lidiar con el crimen, los efectos del crimen, y la prevención del crimen, según El Centro Para Solucionar Conflictos. Fue en este programa en donde Silvanna pudo aprender y comenzar una conversación acerca de la justicia restaurativa.

El Youth Policy Fellowship es un programa impartido por la organización juvenil Resilience OC, cuya misión es construir un movimiento de jóvenes líderes que trabajen hacia la transformación sociosistémica, según la página web oficial de la organización. Esta organización sin fines de lucro promueve prácticas y programas que son inclusivos de todos los miembros de la comunidad, algo que Silvanna admira.

“Eso es lo que sucede con Resilience. Cada vez que tenemos un programa es muy acogedor y, al menos en mi experiencia, hacen que el ambiente sea muy amigable. Es muy fácil comenzar a formar lazos aunque no nos veamos a menudo”, cuenta Silvanna.

El ambiente creado en el programa es uno que hace que Silvanna se sienta segura, y eso la ha cambiado de manera significante. A pesar de ser una persona tímida y callada, Silvanna siente que sus experiencias dentro de estos grupos la han transformado en alguien segura de sí misma.

Aunque Silvanna no se considera activista por título, a ella la motiva la justicia. Desde antes que formara parte de Young Senators, Silvanna anhelaba por ayudar a las personas de su comunidad. Siendo parte de una familia inmigrante de bajos ingresos con una madre que se veía obligada a tener múltiples trabajos, ella bien sabe las dificultades que uno puede enfrentar en la vida.

“Siento como si toda mi vida yo estaba esperando a que las cosas sucedieran para mi, y de una vez yo quería tomar control y hacer algo al respecto’’, dice Silvanna.

Acerca de las acciones sociopolíticas que deben ser tomadas, Silvanna cuenta que lo más importante que ha aprendido en el Youth Policy Fellowship es que, “tenemos que derribar el sistema.

[El sistema] fue descrito como un cáncer. Puedes hacer esto y aquello pero para un cáncer, se necesita deshacer completamente de él”.

Actualmente, Silvanna cursa una licenciatura en sociología en la Universidad de California, Berkeley, con sueños de algún día convertirse en abogada.

The spark that ignited the fire of advocacy

By Angela González

Where the passion for helping the community and the defense of human rights come together is where Silvanna Morelos can be found.

Silvanna, who lives in Santa Ana, is a bright 18-year-old who has managed to find her voice through her involvement with programs focusing on social improvement.

Since her sophomore year of high school, she has been part of the Young Senators club where she has learned more about her community and the individuals within. Through her involvement, Silvanna has been able to inform and educate people of all ages about their legal rights.

“It was called the ‘Know Your Rights’ presentation and we were just giving information to the students so that they could be prepared for any case scenario or so they could spread the word to their own family members, so there was just this domino effect,” said Silvanna.

Amongst the information they provided was information regarding DACA and steps on how to register to vote.

Although she was able to frequently interact with her community in that group, Silvanna longed to start a conversation about restorative justice.

It was then that she joined the Youth Policy Fellowship where she says her experience was “very eye-opening.”

Restorative justice is a community-based approach to dealing with crime, the effects of crime and crime prevention, according to the Conflicts Solution Center. It was there at the Fellowship where Silvanna was able to learn and start a conversation about it.

The Youth Policy Fellowship is a program within Resilience OC, a youth organization whose mission is to build a movement of young leaders who work towards social-systemic transformation, according to their official website. This nonprofit organization promotes programs that are inclusive of everyone in the community, something that Silvanna admires.

“That’s the thing about Resilience. Whenever we have a program it’s very open and at least in my past experience, they make this environment that’s very friendly. It’s easy to start getting these bonds even if we don’t get to see each other that often,” said Silvanna.

The environment the program creates makes Silvanna feel safe, which has changed her significantly. Despite being a timid and quiet person, Silvanna feels as if her experiences in these groups have transformed her into someone confident. Although Silvanna doesn’t label herself an activist, her driving passion is justice. Even before joining Young Senators, Silvanna longed to help those in her community. Coming from a low-income immigrant family with a mother who had to work multiple jobs, she knew very well the difficulties many people face in life.

“I felt like my entire life I would just be waiting for things to happen to me and for once, I just wanted to take control and do something about it,” she said.

In regards to the socio-political actions that must be taken, Silvanna says the most important thing she learned at the Youth Policy Fellowship was that “we have to take the system down. It was described as a kind of cancer. You can do this and that but for cancer, you just need to get rid of it.”

Currently, Silvanna is majoring in sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, with dreams of someday becoming a lawyer.

(Top) The “Inside Out Project” created by the Young Senators Club at Santiago High School (Garden Grove) showcases people of different backgrounds. (Photo: Young Senators Club Instagram page)

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POLICE LACK OF MENTAL ILLNESS TRAINING INCREASES CONFLICTS

By Jacob Romero

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On Sept. 23, 2020, sheriff’s deputies Eduardo Duran and Jonathan Israel confronted San Clemente local Kurt Reinhold on grounds of jaywalking. This confrontation culminated in the needless loss of life when Reinhold was fatally shot by the officers.

At the time of the incident, Duran was a 14year veteran and Israel an 8-year veteran— both members of the Orange County Sheriff’s San Clemente Homeless Outreach Team. Both officers were arguing prior to stopping Reinhold, with one officer stating “It’s controlled, man, don’t make case law,” while the other officer mulled on the idea of stopping Reinhold. They eventually did encounter him, and the situation escalated when both officers used force to stop Reinhold.

Initially, the authorities denied releasing any footage of the confrontation, but in mid-February, the OC Sheriff’s Department released video footage of the incident.

The unit Duran and Israel were in, the City Net Homeless Outreach Team, specialized in assessing and dealing with homeless issues in the community of San Clemente. However, during the confrontation shown in the police dashcam footage, there were no outreach or de-escalation methods used when dealing with Reinhold, the family claims. John Taylor, the attorney for the Reinhold family, released a statement to the public saying: “They weren’t trying to help him... their words weren’t saying ‘We should help him get to a shelter.’” Taylor believes the deputies couldn’t agree on what Reinhold did wrong, “But they decided to stop him anyway and escalated the situation.”

A father and husband, Reinhold suffered from a schizoaffective disorder he had been battling for years, which led to him becoming homeless.

“They weren’t trying to help him... their words weren’t saying ‘We should help him get to a shelter.’”

Reinhold’s death left a bloody stain on San Clemente and was covered minimally by news outlets. His death is a testament to the call activists have been making for years, urging for the change needed in California’s police departments and the change needed in the way police conduct calls with individuals that suffer from mental health issues.

Since 2015, The Washington Post has cataloged fatal shootings conducted by police officers in the United States; there have been 1,422 reported cases wherein police officers have shot and killed people living with mental illnesses. Police departments around the country started to utilize CIT (Crisis Intervention Teams) to address these types of cases. However, there has been heavy criticism toward the program. Ron Bruno, executive director of Crisis Intervention Team International, spoke out against the effectiveness of the program.

“If you keep throwing money at training officers, and that’s all you do, and not address the system around mental health care, you’ll continue to have nothing but problems,” he said.

Montebello police officer Terri Oronoz said, “Mental illness and homelessness is a huge problem in every city. We developed a MET [Mental Illness Evaluation] team; we assign an officer who is then paired with a health department social worker. The mental health social worker has more resources and so they pair them together so they can offer more services to these people, but they do not get involved in anything that can escalate into force.”

“‘If you keep throwing money at training officers, and that’s all you do, and not address the system around mental health care, you’ll continue to have nothing but problems.’”

“Nine times out of ten it’s usually somebody that is really disturbed and they are not trained to handle a situation with any type of force. That’s been an issue too,” said Oronoz.

Programs like these have been introduced to evoke change and understanding amongst the ongoing stigma between mental health and police departments, instead of appropriately assisting those who need help or properly redirecting people to get the health services they need. In the U.S., Black individuals make up 13% of the population, while 39% are experiencing homelessness.

This is a system that failed Reinhold and has failed many others.

The summer of 2020 saw mass protests across the nation spurred on in the wake of the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Kurt Reinhold at the hands of police officers. These names are etched into the stars and into the history books—their deaths discussed on national television bringing to light and reminding those unaware of the racial disparities still plaguing the nation. People in major cities in the U.S. and across the globe came together to protest against the systemic injustices plaguing Black citizens.

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By Richard Mendoza

AN ECOSYSTEM IN CRISIS 32

Photo courtesy of Mare Nostrum Foundation

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, from 1970 to 2014, animal populations have decreased by 60% across the globe. Now another animal, one that is ocean-based, faces an issue that, if not dealt with, will wipe out most of its population and send shockwaves across the marine ecosystem.

Sharks, which have fossils dating back 400+ million years ago have seen populations decrease 70% since 1970, according to the British journal, Nature. Although sharks are at the top of the food chain, their biggest threat is not another ocean animal or climate change. Instead, the biggest prey to animal populations like sharks is humans.

Shark finning, which is the practice of cutting off a live shark’s fins and throwing the rest of the animal back into the sea, has been a pressing issue for many activists, researchers, scientists and organizations advocating for these animals.

Many shark species are now considered endangered, and with approximately 100 million sharks being killed annually by humans, the problems that sharks face do not just come from one area.

Climate change is a factor, but the practice of shark finning and selling has become the driving force in decreasing shark populations.

While the practice of shark finning and fishing for sharks is a big problem, another issue hinders the work of these organizations: the fishing markets.

This issue ultimately relates to money and fisheries themselves, and since these fins and products are worth a considerable amount, there is a market for them. “Fisheries not wanting to understand sharks need to be protected... [choose] siding with commercial industries because commercial industries say ‘there’s a market and we want to sell it and you’re ruining jobs,’” says Stefanie Brendl, founder and executive director of Shark Allies.

While it isn’t likely all shark species will become extinct, many could if things continue this way. The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List For Endangered Species states that 33% of shark and ray species face the threat of extinction.

According to Brendl, one shark species going away will not mean that another will take over its role in the ecosystem. Different types of sharks play different roles in the ocean and without them, the oceanic ecosystem has a difficult issue to deal with. “As apex predators, sharks play an important role in the ecosystem by maintaining the species below them in the food chain and serving as an indicator for ocean health. They help remove the weak and the sick as well as keeping the balance with competitors helping to ensure species diversity,” according to Oceana, an advocacy organization focused on ocean conservation. Removing sharks from the ecosystem will cause the entire structure to crumble. Without sharks, entire food chains will be put out of order, which will, in turn, cause a decrease in their populations as well.

“ONLY 14 STATES HAVE BANNED SHARK FIN TRADING”

From a business and fishing standpoint, “Many fishermen prefer to practice shark finning instead of bringing whole sharks to the market because the fins are far more valuable than the rest of the body, sometimes selling for as much as $500 a pound or $1,100 a kilogram,” according to the Smithsonian Ocean website.

Once a shark is caught and brought on board, the fins are cut off. Many of these creatures are then left to endure a slow and painful death after being thrown back into the ocean, eventually bleeding out or becoming food for other creatures. Once the fins are obtained and sold, they are mainly used in a food dish: shark fin soup. By most accounts, the shark fin itself does not hold much flavor and is mainly eaten due to its texture and status symbol.

The high demand for shark fins is usually attributed to Asian countries, however, there is also significantly high demand in the U.S. and in many other countries. In many restaurants across the nation, including the state of California, shark fin soup can still be found. The Animal Welfare Institute currently has an article that was last updated in 2020 showing restaurants in 29 states in the U.S. that currently offer real or imitation shark fin soup. Of the 216 restaurants serving real or imitation shark fin soup, 71 are located in California alone. Nine out of the 71 are noted as serving imitation soup. In Orange County, there are 3 restaurants claiming to be serving imitation shark fin soup.

As reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “NOAA Fisheries first banned shark finning in the Atlantic Ocean in 1993 because of the role it played in overfishing. Congress extended the ban to any vessel in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone with the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 and Shark Conservation Act of 2010.”

While the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 outlawed both the possession of shark fins and finning of sharks in U.S. waters, the Conservation Act of 2010 helped reinforce conservation measures and required all sharks in the U.S. to be brought ashore with their fins still attached. The Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 2019 makes it illegal to possess, buy, or sell shark fins or any product containing shark fins, except for certain dogfish fins. The bill is currently awaiting approval in the Senate. Despite these acts in place, as of 2020, only 14 states have banned shark fin trading, with California being one of these states. The most troublesome issue to stopping shark finning relates mainly to the trade and sale of shark fins.

According to research conducted by members of the Shark Stewards organization, “Loopholes can lead to a misrepresentation of species captured, smuggling of fins, and more sharks killed than actually reported.”

Since the trade and business of fins are largely unregulated, the problem persists despite bans on trade being enforced in the U.S. and many other countries globally.

Shark Allies, an organization established in Hawaii and now located in California, is one of the hundreds of organizations fighting for sharks.

This organization, which raises awareness on issues sharks are facing, and campaigns against the fin trade, is hoping their efforts will eventually reach all states and many other countries.

The National Oceanic Service states that “The coral reef structure buffers shorelines against waves, storms, and floods, helping to prevent loss of life, property damage, and erosion.” Coral reef fish, which are fish that live in or close to coral reefs, play an important role in maintaining the health of reefs by consuming algae that grow on the bottom. Without sharks working to control populations of fish like the ones living near reefs, coral reefs will then in turn be affected.

Increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, higher extinction rates in ocean creatures, food shortages, entire ocean ecosystems collapsing, and more are consequences that will be faced globally should sharks become extinct, according to the IUCN. With populations for many fish like sharks decreasing, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a foundation that promotes the idea of a circular economy — an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources —, reported in 2017 that by the year 2050, “there could be more plastic than fish (by weight) in the ocean.”

How To Help

Mare Nostrum: Mare Nostrum is a foundation based in Ecuador

and its focus is on overfishing, marine pollution, and climate change.

Recently, they went on a trip to the Galapagos for a research expedition to better understand Whale Sharks. They have also added prepared letters to send to senators so we can officially end shark finning. Go to their website, joinmnf.org, to volunteer, or contact them at Email: info@joinmnf.org Phone: +593 98 391 3404

Shark Stewards: Shark Stewards is trying to make sure that sharks do not go extinct. They have a petition you can sign on their website, sharkstewards.org, to make sure the bill to ban shark finning reaches U.S. Senators. Adopt a shark or contact them on their website to get involved.

Shark allies: Shark Allies is aiming to stop the fin trade globally with a focus on Florida state legislation. They also have a campaign about sharks in Hollywood and how they are poorly portrayed in the media. Get involved by going to their website, sharkallies.com, and volunteer.

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Sugar & Likes& Everything Nice:

How a Candy Company was Transformed by TikTok It began as any regular quarantined summer day in California; the sun was shining, the Zooms were connecting, the coffee was whipping, and the TikToks were recording. However, for candy lover and current business owner Danielle Shaba, it was no ordinary day — rather, the first chapter of her journey in becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Shaba could hardly believe her eyes when she had awoken to millions of notifications from a TikTok she had posted of her very own custom candy bags. She had accomplished every small business owner’s dream — going viral.

By Carly De Girolomo

Viral marketing is Gen Z’s most effective method of advertisement, and it is responsible for success stories like that of Candy Boulevard.

TikTok has a mysterious algorithm that determines which videos appear on the “For You” page for each user. Influencers like @d_shaba do their best to navigate their engagements with careful manipulation of the algorithm by utilizing specific hashtags and sounds, and following trends that have proven popular on the app on that day.

“We blew up so fast, I have no idea how it happened. I thank God for it everyday,” admitted Shaba.

“I’ve worked so hard for this, and thanks to going viral on TikTok, I think that’s achievable and it’s something I’ll continue to strive for.”

Danielle Shaba is the owner of Candy Boulevard, a candy business that specializes in creating custom mixes of candy that are rarely found in stores. Shaba, 19, started her company with the mere love for candy, and the dream of becoming an influencer. She started her account by posting videos of herself making platters of different foods and candies before her company was created. She then realized the impact that TikTok has on the growth of small businesses, and made the decision to take steps toward making her dream come true.

Then, it dawned on her: if she was able to combine her knowledge of viral marketing along with her platform from the platter videos and incorporated her very own mix of candy, she’d be able to build the enterprise she sought after. Shaba pitched the idea to her family, who were immediately onboard, and thus began their journey into candy land.

“After extensive research, we found our vendors and started packaging our candy in our home office. It took less than a month and we totally outgrew it, so we purchased a bigger facility — and it’s already getting too small for all of our orders!” Shaba said.

“I started posting different types of videos of the candy to see which kind would engage a bigger audience,” explained Shaba.

After experimenting with different trends, such as packaging videos, mixing videos and haul videos, she was able to observe what worked and grow her company’s platform.

Shaba’s most viewed TikTok is a video of her dumping candy into a bucket for one of her signature mixes. It currently boasts 23.6 million views, and 3.3 million likes. “My audience multiplied daily. There was a point when each day I would wake up with another hundred thousand followers on my TikTok account,” she recounted. With her customer base increasing daily on TikTok due to her 2 million followers, Shaba’s orders had increased from 15 to 500 orders per day.

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Social media strategist Catherine Kennebeck reports that “TikTok saw a huge rise during the beginning of Covid and has become a fan favorite for short, consumable chunks of interactive information.

Videos tend to capture your audience quicker and easier.”

Since December of 2020, there have been 6 billion TikTok downloads internationally. The app has an annual revenue of $500 million, and with that comes the “$1 Billion Creator Fund” which means that not only can businesses that thrive off TikTok promotion get free advertisement, but they also can get paid depending on how much attention their videos get.

Kennebeck explains that “TikTok is giving viewers a unique behindthe-scenes view of businesses that we haven’t really seen before.

People are more likely to buy when they’re a part of the experience and feel connected to a brand. It’s hard to feel connected to a static photo whereas when you can see how a product is used or made, the experience it can provide you, or how a company was started — it creates a connection.”

Shaba’s TikTok account does just that. While keeping consistent content flowing, she creates a behind the scenes look of how her company functions, and the effort that goes into each purchase. This connection is what transforms her audience into customers.

Shaba described her hopes for the future of her business when she explained “In five years, I’m hoping for Candy Boulevard to have multiple locations and storefronts, and to be a household name. I’ve worked so hard for this, and thanks to going viral on TikTok, I think that’s achievable and it’s something I’ll continue to strive for.”

By Ashley Sosa In the last couple of years, we’ve seen many embrace gender fluidity and convey their gender expression through fashion, especially through mainstream media and social channels. These people range from artists, designers and everyday people interested in sharing their own experiences with their fashion identity.

This manner of dress is known as androgynous fashion, and is defined by sustainable fashion magazine WTVOX as “clothing and accessories designed to avoid creating a distinction between masculine and feminine physical characteristics and to express non-binary gender identity.”

One of the most recent cases of gender-bending fashion that went viral across multiple platforms was when singer Harry Styles was featured on the cover of American Vogue wearing a dress by emerging gender-fluid designer Harris Reed and kilts by Comme des Garçons and Wales Bonner. Many on social media expressed their displeasure at him breaking social gender norms by wearing clothing that society has deemed “made for women.” This opened up the discussion on whether he and others who live by the gender-fluid lifestyle were threatening masculinity and femininity.

Styles certainly isn’t the first to experiment with androgynous fashion. Throughout the years, we’ve seen stars like Prince, Janelle Monae, Ruby Rose, among others, express themselves through gender-bending fashion. In 2016, Jaden Smith landed a Louis Vuitton womenswear campaign in which he sported a skirt and instantly became a champion for breaking gender norms through style. Latin trap and reggaeton star, Bad Bunny, is also known for rocking eye-catching nail art, and rapper Lil Nas X is frequently seen on red carpets sporting colorful and patterned suits with flamboyant accessories.

Alongside these artists, Billy Porter of the Netflix series ‘Pose’ has made headlines for his gender-bending fashion choices at various public events. It was his 2020 Academy Awards look in which he and stylist Sam Ratelle collaborated on an elaborate black velvet tuxedo ball gown with CFDA member, Christian Siriano, that brought great joy to fashion blogs all over the globe. Siriano is known for defying societal norms by being inclusive of all sizes and collaborating with retailers to make his designs accessible at affordable prices.

Perhaps it’s due to the recent onslaught of individuals throwing gender expectations out the window that many are embracing their own fashion fluidity. Juliet Meth, a content creator, chronicles the androgynous lifestyle through a blog titled, Andremme Life, in which the desire is to create a space where others who share the lifestyle can read about those with similar experiences. The blog covers the staples within an androgynous wardrobe, adventures with drag and experiences within LGBTQ+ culture.

We’re also seeing emerging, sustainable and ethical fashion brands that cater to the gender-fluid market, along with historically established brands creating spaces in which their gender-neutral clients can have enjoyable shopping experiences. Androgynous Fox and VEEA are just two sustainable and ethical clothing brands that offer low-cost options to those seeking a gender-fluid wardrobe. Marc Jacobs has also recently launched “Heaven by Marc Jacobs” which is marketed towards “girls who are boys and boys who are girls and those who are neither.” Lastly, Alessandro Michele’s previously mentioned Gucci has launched “Gucci MX” where the pieces from the womenswear and menswear collections are presented together to create a new shopping experience.

“CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES DESIGNED TO AVOID CREATING A DISTINCTION BETWEEN MASCULINE AND FEMININE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND TO EXPRESS NON-BINARY GENDER IDENTITY.”

Social media has definitely cast a spotlight on those who experiment with gender-fluid fashion, and perhaps that’s why we’re seeing so much of it today, but androgynous fashion is a concept that has existed for years. The recent onslaught of mainstream attention around the topic has served to create important discussions. As Rebecca Robins, co-author of Meta-luxury: Brands and the Culture of Excellence, has stated, “Fashion has always been a really powerful lens through which to translate the big subjects.”

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By Emandra Garavito

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, people were forced to convert their daily lives into a remote environment. With the stress and anxiety that arose from quarantine, social media acted as an escape from the struggles that were felt around the world.

QUARANTINE REALLY GAVE US THE ABILITY TO RECONNECT WITH OUR SURROUNDINGS.

1. Showing off skating skills and stunts.

Roller skating videos filled everyone’s “For You” page on TikTok at the start of quarantine. People from all over the world were posting quick tutorials, showing off their tricks and flips, and even showing how to do things like roller skating dancing. This trend was so popular that there was a shortage of roller skates, according to Vogue. Even now, it is still difficult to get your hands on a pair of roller skates.

With all of us in lockdown, social media usage increased about 49%, according to The Harris Poll. With it, social media trends grabbed our attention and gave us something to do. In an interview with Instagram influencer Kiara Espericueta, she stated, “On apps like Instagram people have to actively look you up but on TikTok you’re constantly exposed to different types of content.” Here are six memorable trends from quarantine.

3. Finding sustainable solutions to better the environment.

2. Taking care of one’s skin to take care of one’s self.

YouTube and TikTok were at the forefront of the skincare trend as people researched the best products for their skin type while also trying to figure out what steps are needed to establish a skincare routine. Espericueta discussed the importance of skincare and how this was one of the top trends of the year. ”Skincare has become a huge part of my daily routine and I think quarantine has inspired so many people to give it a try.

It gives people a routine and everyone needed that type of stability because of the pandemic,” she says.

4. Watching and creating fitness tutorials.

5. Learning to deal with distance communication.

Fitness tutorials and fitness result videos also skyrocketed throughout quarantine with creators like Chloe Ting gaining thousands of followers and the #fitness tag on Instagram gaining millions of posts.

At-home gyms were all the rage, especially with TikToks and IGTV videos showing off what people’s workout routines and setups looked like.

Another trend that took social media by storm was the number of people finding ways to talk to their loved ones who had either been exposed to COVID-19 or who were trying to remain isolated. Some of the most popular ones were of elderly couples communicating through the glass of a nursing home, families setting up clear shower curtains to allow their kids to hug their grandparents, or simply setting up a Zoom call. This trend warmed the hearts of the nation.

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Despite the isolation, quarantine gave us some unexpected positive effects. One, in particular, was the fact that air pollution decreased and waterways were cleared of trash and other debris. On TikTok and Instagram, many people were displaying the best ways to be eco-friendly, such as using bamboo, metal, or paper straws.

Users also created tutorials showing people how to make their own reusable masks, and even doing DIY videos on how to make your own reusable paper.

6. Finding and appreciating hidden locations around us.

With people being stuck at home and not able to travel, users began to make videos of hidden locations in and around their own neighborhoods. They even highlighted small businesses, parks and important people in their communities.

This trend made us realize that we’re oftentimes too busy looking at outside locations that we sometimes overlook our own towns and cities. Quarantine really gave us the ability to reconnect with our surroundings.

Realism of Gen Z TV Realism of Gen Z TV

By Carly De Girolomo

It’s 6 a.m. on a Wednesday, you’re awoken to the painful sound of your alarm clock, and you immediately feel overcome with a heavy sense of dread for the day ahead of you. But, alas, you find a moment of peace and comfort when you remember—tonight is Riverdale night, and at 8 p.m. you will finally be able to relax and binge one of Gen Z’s favorite TV shows. After all day spent pondering the fate of protagonists Archie and Betty, the time comes to claim the couch and stream the CW. But when reaching for the remote, you find yourself in a tug-a-war with your older sister and she wants to watch… Friends?!

How incredibly boring!

professor Vic Phan dove deeper into this analysis when he explained “I think they’re showing brutal honesty. Teenagers today aren’t doing anything new that teenagers in the previous century weren’t doing,” admits Phan.

On the contrary, most shows prior to the 2000s weren’t as educational and honest with viewers on these subjects. Prime examples of some iconic series are Boy Meets World, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Everybody Loves Raymond and Full House. While these shows are timeless, they lack Generation Z’s most critical element: realism.

services such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus and YouTube; each with tens of millions of subscriptions to be renewed annually in the U.S. alone. These platforms have significantly changed the game for film and series lovers, and have generated a plethora of what the media have dubbed “cordcutters.” The uprising of these cinematic nuclei have led to the gradual demise of cable users worldwide. Simply put, in 2021, it is far more likely for the girl’s night showing of Legally Blonde to be streamed on Netflix than to be recorded on DVR. Professor Phan offered his professional opinion on the matter stating “Streaming platforms now allow

“Oh, how times have changed” Why does it seem as though you both have such vastly different preferences when it comes to entertainment? Perhaps it’s not a reflection of your personalities, but rather your contrasting generations that have influenced you on how you like to spend your Netflix nights.

Generation Z has taken the world by storm, in this past year especially. Many believe this is due to their strong sense of activism and brutal honesty when it comes to controversial topics. The age range for Gen Z is a birthday between 1997-2012.

In contrast, the Millennial generation is known to be less open than Gen Z about once-taboo topics, such as sex, sexual orientation, women’s rights, racism, abortion, discrimination, etc. Hence, these themes aren’t as prominent in TV shows and films made during their time. The millennial age range is a birthday between 1981-1996.

Due to entertainment audiences consisting heavily of Gen Z, screenwriters and producers have quickly begun to diversify casting choices, and integrate these usually sensitive topics that the younger generation has proven passionate about into their programs. It seems as though it is Gen Zs’ mission to rebel against these themes being perceived as taboo—so much so, that they have become the pinnacle of most new shows’ plots.

Popular TV shows like Euphoria, Riverdale, 13 Reasons Why, Orange is the New Black, Shameless and All American as each offer transparency in scenes that consist of sexual relations, drug use, racism, sexual assault, same-sex relationships and abortion. Cal State Fullerton’s screenwriting

If Millennial favorite One Tree Hill wasn’t explicit enough for Gen Z, imagine the outrage over a viewing of the 1930’s film From Here to Eternity that was heavily edited to avoid portraying or hinting at homosexuality. There was also the “foot popping” rule that states a woman must have one foot on the floor during kissing scenes to avoid any sexual connotation in a bed. Both of these examples were attributed to the Hays Code of 1934, that encompassed 36 “Do’s and Don’ts” for early Hollywood films—the don’ts, of course, including every single one of Gen Z’s favorite controversial themes.

The Hays Code was created to prove to Congress in the 1930s that Hollywood had “cleaned up its act” after the widespread backlash and public complaints brought upon by cinemas that exhibited themes of feminism, drug addiction, and sexuality in their films.

This set of laws was a heavy component in the prevention of experimentation with activism and free expression in past generations.

Oh, how times have changed. Thankfully, society is starting to embrace these lifestyles that were shamed for so long—and the media is now a direct reflection of this newfound respect and understanding. This normalization of gender identity and expression, intersectional identities, feminism, diversity and discrimination awareness can be widely accredited to the persistence of Generation Z. One of the most prominent changes from the Millennial generation progressing to Generation Z is the popularity of streaming

for content that wouldn’t be possible on the air by network standards and practices. So the content now can push the envelope a lot more than the content from the 90s, since the only distribution method back then was on the air and cable.”

Phan suggests the possibility of these streaming services being the missing ingredient for the Millennial generation’s notoriously traditional and “innocent” entertainment. Having less restrictive entertainment hubs have allowed the modern generation to become accustomed to enjoying motion pictures that embody real and relatable themes.

What is the outcome of this young generation’s habitual viewing of brutally honest sexual relations and drug use, you may ask? Well, I did, and here’s what he said: “I think it’s a double-edged sword.

It may inspire some to want to experiment with drugs and sexuality, but at the same time, it may deter others to try those activities since Euphoria [for example] also portrays the negative sides too,” Phan explained.

When considering this new perspective, it is possible to believe that maybe it’s not Generation Z that’s leading the world toward pandemonium in cinema, but rather encouraging the world to indulge in the viewing of televised stories through a much clearer lens.

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By Justin Glenn and Matt Covarrubias

Disneyland, the Anaheim-based beloved theme park, is reopening, and with that reopening comes a lot of change due to the pandemic.

The resort closed due to the spread of COVID-19 last March, and since January of this year, the grounds have been used as a vaccination site. The park will be open under new restrictions, including but not limited to guests being required to wear masks and to practice social distancing at all times.

For the time being, only California residents will be granted entry, all while operating at a limited capacity. Since Disneyland is not currently permitted to allow indoor dining, Disney is relying on their mobile ordering system via the Disneyland App. It’s no doubt that the experience for Disneyland fans will be different than prior to the pandemic, but this is not the first time that the Anaheim theme park has gone through periods of major change. Here is a brief history of significant moments of change throughout the lifespan of the Disneyland Resort.

Take the first addition to Disneyland: New Orleans Square. This was the first land to ever be added to the park, opening on July 24, 1966. This was a significant day in Disney history; not just because it was the first time a land was added to Disneyland, but it was also the last time Walt Disney had a major public appearance at the park before his death in December of that same year.

Decades of changes and attraction additions later, Disney aimed high, wanting more than just additions to their existing park. In February of 2001, on what used to be a Disneyland parking lot, a second theme park was imagined, designed, and built. Disney’s California Adventure (DCA), a park celebrating the history and culture of California, opened its doors to the public right next to Disneyland.

Radiator Springs Racers, the high-speed main attraction at Cars Land in Disney California Adventure. Photo by Matt Covarrubias

Imagineers (the engineers who dream up, design, and create Disney experiences at the parks, cruise lines, and resorts) to really transport guests to Carburetor Canyon. This was a massive success, and gave people a big reason to stay in DCA. But, Disneyland wasn’t about to be outshined by DCA. In 2019, Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge opened. This replaced an old unpopular area near Frontierland that had a petting zoo and a restaurant. The new land introduced immersive attractions with cutting edge technology, personalized experiences such as building a custom droid or lightsaber, and the idea of having everything— cast members, shops, dining—act like you really are in Star Wars. The cast members never break character, and this new concept coupled with the launch of one of Disney’s most critically acclaimed attractions—Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance—lead to Galaxy’s Edge becoming the industry leader in real-world storytelling in theme parks.

Back to DCA, Avengers Campus was set to open during July of 2020, as an effort by the Walt Disney Company to create what they called in their announcement “an Immersive Super Hero Universe.” This was delayed due to the pandemic, and Avengers Campus will host its grand opening later in 2021, promising Marvel thrills and more of Imagineer’s creative experiences designed to make you forget you are in a theme park.

Looking to the future, a brand new project titled Disneyland Forward was announced in March. This massive expansion will add to both the west and east ends of the resort, promising new attractions, dining, shopping, entertainment, and hotels. The Disneyland Resort appears as if it will be expanding for the foreseeable future. Walt Disney knew that the parks would face periods of growth, challenge and change, as he himself is quoted as saying: “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.”

Disneyland will never be completed.

It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.

At first, the park was heavily criticized for lacking the theming and quality of a Disney park. The new park also didn’t have a lot of nighttime entertainment, so most guests would return to Disneyland for the nightly firework shows.

Combined with the overall lack of things to do in DCA, this park was dubbed a “half-day park.” This changed over the next decade with the introduction of more nighttime attractions, such as “The Wonderful World of Color,” and also the reintroduction of Disney’s classic “Main Street Electrical Parade.”

But it wasn’t until 2012 that DCA would start to find its own identity. Twelve acres of land were added to California Adventure, introducing Cars Land, based on the wildly successful Pixar film Cars. With a budget of $1.1 billion, it is to date the costliest addition to the park. This was the company’s first attempt to make an all-immersive land in DCA, and it allowed

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The Millenium Falcon at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

This is the first ever full-scale model of the iconic spaceship. Photo by Matt Covarrubias.

OPINION:

By Matt Covarrubias

Star Wars has a diversity problem.

This problem is seen in its casting choices and in its storytelling.

For many, the Star Wars franchise conjures vivid images of a massive universe full of epic clashes between good and evil.

The Jedi heroically battling the evil Sith in iconic lightsaber duels, intense fights in space with instantly recognizable starfighters, and charming droids going on wild adventures are all images that come to mind.

But when Luke walked through the doors in the finale of “The Mandalorian” season 2, I had an extremely mixed reaction. On one hand, I was excited to see a childhood hero on screen again. On the other, I was let down because this show seemed like its own thing. Because when Luke walked in, everything changed. Suddenly this was connected to the same war and the same family that we have been following for more than 40 years now. Suddenly the universe shrank, the story of the Mandalorian became less unique and Star Wars once again focused on the white savior.

In a galaxy far, far away, anything should be possible.

This universe is huge. At least, we are told it is. According to the Star Wars fan wiki “Wookieepedia,” there are 3.2 billion habitable star systems with 20 million sentient species. In the entirety of this expansive universe full of different life, planets, and stories, the majority of the Star Wars films—and now TV shows—all go back to the same white space family. (Spoilers ahead for “The Mandalorian” season 2)

Diversity in characters In a universe that is supposedly vast, Star Wars should be more diverse than the leading family—the Skywalkers. And with recent media, it is clear that they are making an effort, just not a sufficient enough one. With the release of “The Force Awakens” in 2015, a study by Variety showed that the amount of dialogue spoken by female characters tripled from the amount that was in “A New Hope.” But that still just means that women spoke only 27.8% of the dialogue in “The Force Awakens,” despite having a female lead in Rey (Daisy Ridley).

That, however, is more than “Rogue One” (2016) can say. That film has only 18.1% of its dialogue spoken by women, again, despite having a female lead in Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones). Star Wars should have room for all kinds of diverse voices and characters, with representation from all corners of the galaxy.

And as far as racial diversity, Star Wars’ track record is not very good. The same Variety study also showed that in “A New Hope,” 100% of the dialogue was spoken by white people. “The Force Awakens” made strides to include more diverse voices, but still had 62% of its dialogue spoken by white people.

But Star Wars doesn’t just need diversity in its characters, it needs it in its subject matter and genre. This is a huge galaxy full of tremendous possibilities, with such a large canvas for incredible and diverse storytelling. Yet, so far it seems like we have explored such a small part of this universe.

Diversity in storytelling Diversity behind the camera matters just as much as in front of the camera.

With diverse voices creating new narratives, the stories that Star Wars can tell go far beyond the one white space family we’ve been focusing on for 40 plus years.

A series created by the franchise, “The Mandalorian” has more diversity both in front of and behind the camera. “The Mandalorian” is a good example of inclusiveness displaying an identity that stood on its own. It bended genres and explored things we haven’t seen in this franchise before. It was a fresh space western, though it still felt like it was a part of the larger universe.

The use of the Skywalkers over and over again in the movies shows not only a lack of racial diversity, but creative diversity, and shows that the showrunners still rely on what is safe and recognizable as a creative crutch rather than explore the unknown.

Anything can happen within this iconic franchise, so it would be beneficial to finally include more diverse roles and storytelling. Star Wars should not be limited to Luke Skywalker or lightsabers or X-Wings. Luke can embody some of what Star Wars is, but he alone isn’t the whole story. To me, Star Wars is characters the audience engages with emotionally in a deep and engrossing galaxy that feels lived in and that’s full of adventurous heroes and compelling villains, all scored by John William’s excellent soaring orchestral soundtrack that pushes the journey along. More than anything, Star Wars is a feeling. That feeling, that emotional core, means this franchise should extend to the far reaches of the galaxy that we haven’t seen yet, to genres and subject matters more unique that still capture that magic.

It isn’t safe. It isn’t a guaranteed success. It’s a creative and financial risk, because lightsabers, Skywalkers and X-Wings sell. But it is a risk worth taking.

Because in a galaxy far, far away, anything should be possible.

The use of the Skywalkers over and over again in the movies shows not only a lack of racial diversity, but creative diversity 39

Simply Vegan: Recipes for Tasty Dishes

By Ashley Sosa The last couple of months have served as a time of self-reflection and many have taken advantage of the break in routine to make changes to their dietary lifestyle. Therefore, many have decided to follow a vegan nutrition plan.

Ahead you will find multiple vegan recipes consisting of a main dish, dessert and snack that provide both savory and sweet options that even the most inexperienced cooks can prepare.

A vegan diet, not to be confused with a vegetarian one, consists of only eating plant-based foods and avoiding all animal products like eggs, dairy and meat. A vegan diet is rich in beans, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

These are rich in nutrients like Fiber, Vitamins A and C, as well as highly rich in antioxidants.

Vegan Mixed Berry Brownies

Vegan Mushroom Garlic Fried Rice

Vegan Oatmeal Bowl

Cooking Time: 45 minutes Servings: 9

Cooking Time: 10 minutes Servings: 2

Cooking Time: 7 minutes Servings: 1

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup oats

1 cup sugar

1 cup cooked white rice

1 ½ cups non-dairy milk

1/3

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp instant espresso powder

¼ onion, minced

1 pinch of salt

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp sesame oil

½ banana

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp ground flaxseed

½ cup non-dairy milk of choice

1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (tamari for gluten-free) 1 handful of spinach, roughly chopped

¼ tsp cinnamon

½ cup melted vegan butter

½ cup frozen peas

2 tsp instant espresso powder

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp pure maple syrup, optional

½ cup mixed berries

Handful of mixed nuts or mixed berries, optional

cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions: Step 1: Mix all of the wet ingredients together and all of the dry ingredients together in separate bowls, then bring these two together until all ingredients are combined.

Step 2: Place batter in a Parchment paper lined 8x8 baking pan, top with frozen berries and bake in at 350ºF in theoven for 45 minutes. If brownies still have a wet center, bake longer until the toothpick comes out clean.

Instructions: Step 1: Heat a skillet with one tbsp. of vegetable oil, and cook mushrooms until slightly tender.

Then add the spinach, onion and garlic to the skillet.

Step 2: Add rice and let fry for a bit until the grains of rice pop in the skillet.

Step 3: Add soy sauce and sesame oil. Stir until everything is coated in soy sauce and serve. *Per your choice, can be topped off with sesame seedsor tofu scramble.

Instructions: Step 1: Combine oats, milk, vanilla and salt in microwave safe bowl.

Step 2: Microwave for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir every 50 seconds to prevent oats from boiling over.

Step 2: Let cool for a few minutes and add fruit and other toppings.

*Instant espresso can be subbed out with strongly brewed coffee, adjust nondairy milk to ¼ cup non-dairy milk and ¼ cup of strongly brewed coffee.

Vegan Vegetable Stir Fry Cooking time: 15 minutes Servings: 2 Ingredients:

Stir Fry Sauce Ingredients:

½ onion, cubed

1 tsp brown sugar

3 garlic cloves, minced

½ tsp cornstarch

½ inch of garlic, minced

½ carrot, cubed

¼ tsp vinegar, white or rice

½ red bell pepper, cubed

½ zucchini, cubed

1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (tamari for gluten-free)

2 tbsp peanuts

1 ½ tbsp water

1 tbsp veget able oil

A few drops of sesame oil

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Instructions: Step 1: Mix all sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Step 2: Heat up vegetable oil in a pan on medium/high heat.

Step 3: Toss vegetables along with garlic and ginger into the pan.

Step 4: Stir vegetables to prevent burning until sauce has thickened.

Step 5: Add peanuts to vegetables and serve alongside mushroom garlic fried rice.

By Margaret Trejo

Sabotage: How to Get Out of Your Own Way - Emma Gannon

This pocket-sized book is for my fellow self-saboteurs. You think to yourself, “What if I’m not as smart as everyone thinks I am and they find out I’m a fraud?” Emma Gannon, the author of the book, had similar thoughts as well, but realized she was holding herself back. We create bigger issues out of minor setbacks. Sometimes, we have a bad day, but we don’t need to make the next one worse. This book is the perfect starting point on your way to happiness and success. Gannon gives us a brief analysis on everything you would read in much larger self-help books.

The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter And How to Make the Most of Them Now

- Dr. Meg Jay The Defining Decade is written by licensed psychiatrist, Dr. Meg Jay. She provides examples of challenges you may face in your twenties in the form of her real-life patients that have been renamed. They go through everything from academic, relationship and work challenges. The book is portrayed as being everything you need to know when entering your 20s. However, upon reading, I found myself more worried for the future than ever. While there is some merit in what she writes, Jay comes off as preachy. If you are a relatively put together person, this book may help you overcome challenges that you didn’t even realize were a problem. However, if you are searching for a miracle book that will solve your problems, this might just create more.

Walking on Sunshine: 52 Small Steps to Happiness - Rachel Kelly

This short book is the perfect read for when you have nothing to do and need some time to wind down. Let’s face it, most of us know that we need to have a healthier, stress-free lifestyle, but if we don’t have a road map on how to do this, we fall back into the same taxing schedule. The book is divided into seasons and each section has steps that fit with what you would be doing during that season. However, this doesn’t mean you have to only follow these rules during the noted season. Don’t think that these rules will require you to be perfect, either. Some of my favorite steps include the “wallow” and “60%.” Sometimes, it’s okay to wallow, and if you fully let yourself experience your feelings, then you’ll get over them much faster. The 60% rule states that your friendships, worklife and relationships only need to be 60% right. Perfection is impossible and overrated. If you need a little happiness in your life, then I highly recommend this book.

The Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion

Joan Didion is an acclaimed writer, but this might be her best piece of work to date. While it’s not specifically marketed as a self-help book, Didion helps you cope with loss anyway. She starts off by describing her day, which seemed like any other. There were no signs that anything bad would happen. Then, her world came crumbling down. Her husband, John, died. To make matters worse, her daughter, Quintana, was in and out of the hospital. Her whole world came crashing down in a second. This book feels even more powerful after you lose someone, because it allows you to empathize with her and share those feelings of pain. You may continue to wallow in your sadness for a little while longer, but this title will help you remember the good times you once had and that you are not alone.

perfection is impossible and overrated 41

HOW MINIMALISM CAN DECLUTTER YOUR LIFE

By Emandra Garavito Sometimes life circumstances can be overwhelming, and when that’s the case, it’s easy to feel unmotivated, unproductive and mentally unavailable. For most, this can be triggered by something as simple as having too many files downloaded on their computer or something a bit larger, like having a disorganized house or work space.

Despite the culture of multitasking, the human mind is incapable of focusing on multiple things at once. The more we ignore these situations, the more they start to affect us both physically and mentally, which inevitably causes us to shut down.

How do we fix this? The answer for many is minimalism.

“Holding onto things is fear-based because if we get rid of things that have nostalgia we’re afraid we’ll lose the memory. If we get rid of things we might need later, we fear that we’re going to regret our decisions,” Brisson says. “A lot of the times we see our stuff as a reflection of us and so we don’t want to lose part of ourselves.”

“It’s better to choose timeless pieces instead of buying things and throwing them away in a continuous cycle.”

Minimalism is the idea that things should be simple and have purpose; whether it be design, art, or other forms or media or objects. Marie Kondo, a famous Japanese organizing consultant, describes this technique as “sparking joy,” which means thinking thoroughly about whether an item is truly valuable to that person. If the person is unable to find joy in that item, then they “thank” it for its service and set it free – meaning, getting rid of it. This unique process allows people to go through their belongings, memories and other aspects of their lives to help declutter their spaces and make people feel more in control of who they are.

Adriana Currie, the Interior Design Department Coordinator at Fullerton College, discussed minimalism and its appeal. “When you get down to it, people want more organization and control in their lives. They equate getting rid of things with minimalism. The idea of having less translates to adapting the minimalist ‘look’ since people downsize, declutter and organize. The minimalist look is very sparse but every item has an intention for being there,” she said.

For individuals who suffer from mental health issues, minimalism can help calm and even reduce their symptoms. This practice allows individuals to filter through the things that bother them or make them feel a certain way, evaluate how it affects them and then make a decision on whether or not that thing is valuable to them. The process of doing this has been seen as therapeutic.

But minimalism has other benefits, as it can also help be sustainable for the planet, if practiced correctly.

Oftentimes, items that an individual doesn’t want are either donated or sold to be repurposed. It also means that minimalists think more practically about space and purpose, leading them to consume less.

A good example of this is buying a pair of good quality sneakers, even if the price is higher, instead of buying three pairs of cheaper shoes. The more expensive pair will likely last longer than the cheaper ones, while also reducing excess waste and space. Not only will this way of thinking benefit the planet, but it will also benefit your wallet by halting all of those impulsive purchases.

Currie also added that minimalist interior designs can also be unsustainable if certain design aspects are missing. “Drapery is something you hardly ever see in minimalist spaces, which is very important because it helps with energy efficiency by regulating room temperatures.

It’s also important to think ‘I can afford this, but do I need it?’” she said.

“Minimalism is a trend that comes and goes so it’s better to choose timeless pieces instead of buying things and throwing them away in a continuous cycle.”

Although it seems as though minimalism may take some time to adapt to, taking small steps to try and make more decisive choices is an easy way to start.

How to make minimalist choices: 1. Declutter Your Spaces

Go through those clothes that you keep telling yourself you’ll wear, or that junk drawer full of pens and pencils, or that space underneath your bed. Think about how many times you use those items or if they still suit your needs.

Zachary Brisson, who is pursuing his doctorate in Clinical Psychology and has completed a master’s in the same field, commented on the positive aspects of decluttering and minimalism by stating, “Decluttering a space is considered to be a simplified behavior. When people practice simplified behaviors they typically experience higher levels of gratification, autonomy, and competency. This is why decluttering a space can reduce anxiety and help you feel organized and in control of your environment.”

2. Rethink Purchasing Decisions

Minimalism may not work for everyone, as Brisson also mentions the effects of the cultural conditioning we’ve experienced by associating physical items with our own self worth. This association has given us an excuse to only collect more in order for ourselves to feel more valuable. This can cause minimalism to be difficult for individuals who suffer from anxiety or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, since both disorders are fear-based.

Reduce the amount of impulse purchases you make, reuse or redecorate certain items so they can be used in different spaces or serve a different purpose, and recycle or donate whatever you don’t want anymore.

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Are you just buying this shirt because it’s currently in style? Why not purchase something that’ll withstand the trend? Think about how you can use something throughout multiple situations or occasions. Also think in terms of quality, not quantity.

3. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

4. Value experiences instead of physical items Minimalism is all about living more without having more. Instead of buying items, buy experiences that will create memories to last a lifetime. For birthdays and holidays, give someone a whale watching excursion or a trip to the zoo, it’ll last longer than a video game or pack of socks.

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