When I first agreed to write about my summer, I thought it would be easy. But when I tried writing it, the thoughts wouldn’t come, and the blank screen stared me down with so much intensity that I had to close my laptop to prevent a minor anxiety attack. It’s not that I don’t think [...]
It only took 30 seconds for the blond-haired bombshell ready for her night on the town to go from batting her mascaraed eyelashes to looking like she was going to rip someone’s head off. On a Wednesday night around 11:30 p.m., Dan*, a part-time bouncer at club Motiv on Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz, is [...]
Daniel “Nane” Alejandrez does not pretend to be perfect. Thirty-three years after founding the now nationwide nonprofit Barrios Unidos, Alejandrez speaks openly and frankly about his own battles with violence and addiction. He bears the scars and tattoos of a former gang member and a former drug addict, and the roomy fit of his dark [...]
Homeless advocates began a protest July 4 in front of the county court house, against the Santa Cruz city ordinance known as the sleeping ban, which prohibits camping outside between 11 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. “It is absurd to cite people for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go,” said Christopher Doyon, organizer [...]
While continuing to cut back across academic divisions, UCSC has approved a B.A. program in Jewish studies as the newest addition to the humanities division. The Jewish studies program has offered a minor in the study of Jewish culture at UCSC since 2000. Now interested undergraduates will be able to choose a major in Jewish [...]
I never realized how much I would miss home-cooked meals and my mother’s good-intentioned nagging during my first quarter in Santa Cruz. After graduating from high school, I found myself devoting less time to family as I longed for the freedom that college would bring. Constantly rushing off to spend the majority of my summer [...]
I didn’t really come to notice how strongly college had affected me until I returned home. My personality, my body and everything that was distinctly “me” did not so much change as it did adapt. These adaptations had been subtle until brought under the stark light of home. I went home, expecting nothing to have [...]
It’s often said that good journalism is, essentially, good storytelling. That’s why a news piece is often called a story — it’s important to report the facts accurately, but it also takes skill to shape these facts, make sense of them and present them in an interesting and appealing way. While turning news into stories [...]
She is everywhere. Her music dominates the radio and music videos. To quote Vanity Fair, she is the biggest pop star in the world. But that doesn’t even begin to cover it. Conspiracy theories have shadowed Lady Gaga from the very beginning of her rise to international fame. The theories run the gamut from the [...]
For someone who has worked with highly-touted collegiate and professional athletes from every sport imaginable, Jerry Lynch may be the most inconspicuous figure at UC Santa Cruz. His eminence and name recognition in the realm of sports psychology earn him instant recognition in locker rooms and playing fields across the country, but on campus he [...]