Looking Deeply at a Social Problem
housing
Beyond My Idyllic Bubble — The Other America
By Payton Montes
I was born and raised in Loomis, California. A small, rural, and culturally isolated community located just outside of Sacramento. Perhaps you have heard of people living and operating in “bubbles” of various forms. Such a phrase hits me close to home. The rolling green hills surrounding the idyllic town might as well been the edge of giant terrarium-like dome – one that sheltered itself from any semblance of understanding of reality outside of its borders. All my neighbors, my teachers, friends...quite literally every person one could have the chance of seeing across the town was the same color as me. Fair skin, straight hair, and blue eyes evaded any sense of regard. To make matters more acute – generally speaking – we all had money. I never knew a day of school with less than up-to-date furnishings, interiors, computers, an abundance of books, supplies and teachers who had ample attention and energy to help me with my math problems. For eighteen years, this was my reality. For thousands of others, it was for generations.
Housing Insecurity on Campus
By Amber Bancroft
Podcast on housing insecurity, presented by Amber with co-hosts Ethan Bancroft and Ronitah Hoff
Torn Apart
By Nicolas Navarro
Like my people who lived in Chavez Ravine before construction of Dodger Stadium, we are being forced out… Our families are being broken apart; as rent increases, the families can longer afford to live there, and businesses move in. With this happening, prices of the local economy are driven up and the people are forced out. This is how capitalism works in this scenario. ‘Entrepreneurs’ hoping to make capital go to areas with low property value and set up shop, a place for business. This creates a competition where local stores can’t compete and are eventually bought out. Having dominated the local competition, similar businesses come and increase the property value. The local community can’t keep up with the new demand and they start leaving the area, making room for those who can.
The Crisis of Student Housing
By Anonymous
The Chancellor of UCSD says that “we (the university) will align our efforts to be a student-centered, research-focused, service-oriented public university.” Yet many of us disregard the contradictions derived from the policies, practices, and norms of our universities: we are promised a student-centered education, yet we often experience conditions that push our health and happiness to the background. As someone who is an intercampus transfer at the University of California, I have been experiencing these contradictions.