Category: Opinion

From the ashes of many great fights against injustices often rises a savior figure that brings justice back to the people and the underrepresented.

Since the shooting of the unarmed Stephon Clark by local police officers this past March, Sacramento has been on edge, uncertain about the fate of the two police officers and if the charges will ever go through.

But through this devastating tragedy comes a possibility, a chance, for real change to be made. On November 19th, Stevante Clark, the older brother of the deceased Stephon Clark, filed paperwork tied to his mayoral bid for the 2020 election, according to The Sacramento Bee.

“I don’t have the most experience, I’m not the smartest guy. At the same time, I’m from the city of Sacramento and if there’s anybody who’s going to listen to the people of Sacramento and who knows the problems of Sacramento, it’s me. Even though I did decide to run for mayor after the death of my brother, I’m not making this about me in retribution and revenge.”

Clark said if he is elected, his goals center around mental health advocacy and the reformation of the police department and officer training. He wants to implement reforms that would hire more people of color as officers who are familiar with more “urban” and “underdeveloped” areas.

Clark has made it very clear that he wants to address mental health issues in the Sacramento community. “Mental health is one of the biggest things I want to combat.”

While Clark claimed his campaign isn’t about getting revenge, and I believe his motives to be mayor are just, I don’t know if when I vote for the first time in 2020 my vote will be cast for Clark.

I agree that there are many changes that need to be made in terms of mental health awareness and treatment, and that the death of Stephon Clark shook Sacramento, and made the national problem of police brutality, and by extension the normalcy of institutional racism, a very close and personal thing to the people of Sacramento, myself included, but I still can’t pledge my loyalty to Stevante Clark.

I remember being downtown during the protest led by the Black Lives Matter movement that closed Interstate 5. I remember feeling the pain and raw emotion while hearing the protesters chant. I remember seeing the sadness and anger in the people around me, screaming and pleading for change.

I think we all love a good redemption story, but I don’t know if politics and direct redemption mix well. Although, maybe it does, as long as plans of political action are well thought out and planned. Clark’s reform and focuses do seem very pertinent and play along the lines of my personal political interests and changes I want to see in my city, state, and country, and seems to appeal to others’ as well.

While I’m skeptical of Clark’s success in 2020, I wish I wasn’t. I want this to be a happy ending, but I’m not the biggest fan of non-politicians running for office. I don’t think it ever works out (just look at  our current presidential office and standings.) I don’t think Sacramento is ready for Clark; I don’t think we’re ready for such a change, but we need it.

Minorities dominated this year’s Midterms. There were many astonishing and groundbreaking achievements made by the winning candidates.

Many of the winning candidates were Democrats, people of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ+  community. They were able to defeat Republicans for congressional seats in the House of Representatives allowing the Democratic party to win back the House by having the majority of the seats.

Aside from the many minorities being elected into Congress, an historic amount of women were elected into the Senate and House of Representatives. There were also a record number of female candidates running for governor, according to Time Magazine. Some of the  notable winning candidates include Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest person ever to be elected into Congress, and Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland are the first Native American women elected into congress. Davids is also the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected into congress from Kansas.

Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar are the first Muslim women elected to congress and Omar is the first Somali-American elected as well. Colorado Democratic Rep. Jared Polis became the first openly gay man to be elected governor while Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema became the first woman and openly bisexual senator from Arizona.

Although not all of the winning candidates that made history are listed, it comes to show the impact many of these newly elected representatives and senators will have moving forward.

By having a diverse group of people representing citizens from different backgrounds within our government, it will allow for a better and more accurate fulfillment of the needs and representation needed for everyone within America instead for solely a select group of people.

This will also help prevent certain laws that are discriminatory and unjust that are targeted toward certain group of people and will enable underrepresented citizens to finally have a voice within their own government. The more diverse set of voices we have, the better it will be to help build a “greater” America.

Over the course of the last 10 years there has been a dramatic shift in young people towards more political involvement and activism. After the election of President Donald Trump and a massive increase in mass shootings, many young people have either pre-registered to vote or are planning to vote in the next election.

Controversial issues such as DACA, the Second Amendment, separations of immigrant families, abortion, and the travel ban have emerged as issues that the GOP have not been able to convince other political parties, nor US citizens to all agree on. These controversial topics have sparked motivation for America’s youth to hit the polls or pre-register to vote in the next 2020 election or the upcoming midterms.

The amount of teens pre-registering to vote has increased dramatically in the past three years. According to the Los Angeles Times, over 90,000 citizens and residents have pre-registered to vote since September 2016,   and the numbers continue to increase. California Governor Jerry Brown, has also passed a law that pre-registers anyone when they receive their driver’s license or a state identification card. This law will come into effect until early 2019.

Students at C.K. McClatchy have been very vocal in the past year in addressing a number of controversial issues. Walkouts in protest of gun violence and the mishandling and failure to address sexual assault by the school’s administration are primary examples of student’s political involvement. There’s no doubt that many students at C.K. McClatchy will continue to use their voice in order to speak out about the lack of government action against serious issues such as these in the future.  

Annabella Kliman (‘20), said, “Yes, of course I’ll vote. My eighth grade teacher constantly emphasized the importance of voting. It’s the only real life situation where you are guaranteed the ability to make a difference. When I was younger I always mentioned how I’ll get to vote in a presidential election the year I turn 18. With all of the political chaos happening right now, knowing that I’ll be able to vote so soon makes me more comfortable knowing that things can change soon, and that I’ll have a voice this time.”

Katia Kasower (‘20), said,“I feel that it is very important to vote, hence why it is a right and privilege that Americans have. As Americans, we should take advantage of this freedom and let our opinions be known. Voters are important aspects of shaping the government. The country’s future is in voters’ hands. I think pre-registering is a good idea because young people should be interested in our government and how and who it’s being run by.”

The best thing citizens of this country can do in order to produce change, even if they believe their vote will not make a difference, is to vote. I think many people are under the false perception that whether or not they vote doesn’t change anything, but in reality it makes all the difference. By having more people vote, especially minorities within this country, people will have more control over what occurs within their communities and cities. Campaigns such as the Vota campaign have succeeded in spreading awareness toward youth within the Latinx community about the importance of voting and civic participation in order to bring change within their community.

Overall, when something bothers us that is occuring within our country, whether it be by the government or by our own school. We should not be afraid to be more vocal about it nor feel as if our vote will not make a difference.

In today’s mainstream gaming culture centered around trends and cash grabs, there’s one series which dared to venture for greatness in its personality and difference: Persona 5, a Playstation 3 and 4 video game that was released in 2016. While a great addition to a great series, it was only the gateway into mainstream media for Persona.

Persona 5 has garnered a lot of attention after its release, quickly reaching critical acclaim among reviewers. While it is undoubtedly an amazing addition to the Persona series, the best modern Persona game is arguably Persona 3 FES for the Playstation 2. Persona 3 FES (P3FES) is a Japanese Role Playing Game (JRPG) that features a blue-haired Japanese highschool transfer student as the main protagonist. The protagonist brings relevance to P3FES due to his nature of being a teenager getting through high school.

P3FES seems at first like some weird, edgy, weeb game, but the experience you get from playing every last feature out of it is incredible. The atmosphere P3FES creates is perfectly dark with the unnatural situations the characters are put in, but with a sense of wonder and comfort through your group of friends.

The story the game tells is beautiful once the pieces fall into place. It’s a real masterpiece that deserves more attention than it currently has. The graphics of the game are a little dated, but good graphics has never meant good gameplay. It’s also a little slow in the beginning, but it really starts picking up speed once you play for a bit. Persona 3 FES is a really enjoyable and emotional game, and shouldn’t be something to miss out on.

It can be purchased on the Playstation Store for the Playstation 3 for $9.99 which is a great price for the quality of the game compared to triple A titles of today. Do yourself a favor, and check out this game. I think you’ll relate to a few of these characters.