Navigating Your Twenties in the ’20s
Growing up is the phenomenon every adult warns you about. “Cherish your childhood.” “You’ll miss it once it’s over.” Now, in your twenties, with the rose-colored glasses of childhood removed, you realize why adults are stressed all the time. Instead of eating candy and swinging…
Despite a Lack of News Coverage, Anti-Chinese Racism is Getting Worse
少出门, 小心, 多注意. Stay home. Be careful. Be more mindful. This simple message began floating around Chinese social media sites and in family group chats as people across China reached out to their loved ones at home and abroad while COVID-19 cases skyrocketed. Soon after,…
Lawsuit Against Santa Cruz Volunteer-Run Needle Exchange is Misguided at Best, Malicious at Worst
Shuttering the Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC) of Santa Cruz County’s syringe exchange program would increase the incidence of needle litter in the county and tie up invaluable public health resources needed to fight the spread of COVID-19 — and, what’s more, it would cost lives. …
Aging in Reverse
Does anyone else remember their sophomore year of high school? If you’re anything like me, I’ll sum it up for you — your classes are more confusing than you thought, you’re not driving anywhere other than the grocery store, and you’re spending way too much…
Student-Workers Demand Pay for Labor Done Through This Summer’s Fires
This summer, fires ravaged Santa Cruz County, destroying nearly 1,000 homes, with tens of thousands of residents either evacuated or put on evacuation notice. As the fires raged on, classes were not cancelled at UCSC, nor were finals postponed – even as the UCSC campus…
Life or Death: Mental Health and CAPS in the Time of the Coronavirus
Content warning: This piece contains reference to suicide and mental health struggles. The first time I called UC Santa Cruz Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) crisis line with the intent to kill myself, they dropped the call. It was around 10 a.m. on an empty,…
Indigenous voices Fallen on Greedy Ears: Protect the Tongass National Forest
In its announcement to strip protections of the Tongass National Forest, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) continues to hit its stride on endangering indigenous lives. Nestled within the Alaskan panhandle, the Tongass is home to the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples. A temperate rainforest…
Santa Cruz Community Fridges Multiply Across Santa Cruz: My Experience With Mutual Aid
The first time I volunteered with the Santa Cruz chapter of Food Not Bombs three years ago, we scrutinized each piece of donated produce to make sure it was clean and unspoiled, before preparing all-vegan meals for the hungry. The amount of care put into…
Scrolling Around Campus: A Survey of Zoom University
Before freshman year, Santa Cruz was the “Murder Capital of the World” to me. Tucked in the upper corner of the Monterey Bay, its redwoods are foreboding, its boardwalk dense with character. My first impressions of Santa Cruz, influenced by movies and TV shows like…
Resources, Not Bullets
It has been 165 days since George Floyd was murdered, sparking national protests calling for defunding the police and reallocating funds to community resources, yet Black people continue to die at the hands of police. On Oct. 26, Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old man with…