Growing up, I forced myself to awkwardly laugh along with the “ching-chong” jokes kids made about my eyes. I shyly answered the rude questions kids would ask about the “weird looking” chicken adobo my mother packed me in my Hello Kitty thermos for lunch.
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“What kind of bread? What kind of sandwich? Would you like it toasted? What kind of sauces? Veggies? Salt, pepper, oil, or vinegar?” These are questions you’d typically hear in Subway. However, this isn’t the case when you walk into the 5070 B, Rocklin Rd. Subway. Here it’s easy to become a regular where they know your order and be greeted warmly by the Chauhan family. Continue Reading
In fall 2022, I traveled to three A-1 Comics locations to find out how the pandemic impacted workers and customers. I first met, Nick, a Sierra College student in his second year working at A-1 Comics, North Highlands location. In the photo above, he organizes and sorts comics.
Sacramento – the “City of Trees” and the capital of California. The city is known for its historical sites like Old Town Sacramento, Sutter’s Fort, and the Railroad Museum, but few are aware of the hidden street culture that keeps citizens entertained and involved. Pop-up shop events, such as reselling markets, small business fairs, and food festivals occur most weekends and are considered the “it” thing to do by locals. The plethora of events remained separate until the idea of a “Vintage Market” evolved. Here’s what to know about their origin and how they function before heading out to your first one.
At the edge of the lower American River, Lake Natomas is a staple in the community. The Sacramento State Aquatic Center is a great example of this. Community members come out to enjoy the lake with their families and athletes to train and compete there as well. In this 4-minute video, Sacramento State Aquatic Center employees and community members speak to student fellows, Aviana Loveall and Katelyn Vengersammy about the importance of having access to a clean and safe lake to recreate.
This video is one in a set of stories produced by a team of journalist fellows at Sierra College who were awarded grants from the California Humanities “Emerging Journalist” Fellowship. Read more about the team and their project here: “Bends and Banks: Communities, Water, and the American River.”
Produced and Anchored by Aviana Loveall | Reported by Aviana Loveall and Katelyn Vengersammy
January is a snowy month with numerous power outages sweeping across the city of Colfax. The month also signifies the beginning of the Spring semester at Sierra College and my entire being overflowing with excitement and a hint of dread. It’s been months since I’ve gone to school, having taken a break due to the ongoing pandemic, and want to reunite with the person I fell in love with.
Even before class started, my mind raced with ideas I wanted to write about: romance, video games. I even had a working title, Digital Love.
It has officially been two years since the start of the mask mandate in California and people, including students, still have strong opinions.
When you think of rivers, lakes and streams, you picture a euphoric sight. The sun shining, birds chirping and crisp, clean; clear water. The scenery draws you into a magical getaway of peace and solitude. But the harsh reality is that this is not always the case near some of Sacramento’s most prominent bodies of water.
Born and raised in Sacramento, Steven Bruegeman grew up with National Geographic on all the coffee tables and the kitchen counter. Almost everything in his life has been tied back to California ecology. After going back to school in retirement and getting a degree in Environmental Conservation, Bruegeman found Dolphin Scuba- the Sacramento scuba diving hub. Now a pro, Bruegeman takes on river clean-up dives and teaches kids scuba and Ecology Awareness. I interviewed him on May 11th at Dolphin Scuba. Continue Reading
A car that’s not that far away,
It’s just another sunny day,
Music in both ears and a spring in step
A walk that’s made with happy pep
Smile bright,
Step light,
No threat in sight,
No thought of flight,
A headline here,
A story there,
Reports made in fear,
Now we beware
A car that feels so far away,
Headlines, protests, every campaign,
The story of a friend made prey,
Of daily walks that end in pain
Smile bright turned smile tight,
Oh so polite,
Bodies close, feeling small,
Til even thin smile isn’t there at all
One state’s risks we learn and know,
From numbers in past years gone by,
Of one hundred thousand hopes to grow,
Three hundred voices will yearly cry
Look left, look right,
Ears free of any distraction,
Metal keys gripped tight,
Can we call it overreaction?
Attempts made, attacks started,
hear the news, gone cold-hearted
Smiles bright, still under twenty-five,
Tomorrow’s report has now gone live,
Cases in the news today,
Yesterday, yesteryear,
Three hundred yearly truths laid bare,
These next truths could be anywhere
Growing pressure on our smallest choices,
A question asked by many voices,
An experience on the weekly radar,
“Do you know what it feels like to hurry in the dark to your car?”
Smile bright a year before,
Smiling tight forever more,
Keys in hand and music off,
Headlines made that music stop
Written and Photographed by Olivia Walters
There are many ways to learn more about the earth, as well as how to save it. One way is through community events. In this 5-minute podcast, journalist fellows Katelyn Vengersammy and Aviana Loveall visited the Sierra College, Rocklin campus as they hosted an Earth Day event on April 28, 2022. This event lasted from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with vendors, student clubs, small businesses, nonprofits, and others that are local to the Sacramento area. Events ranged from nature walks, a rock-climbing wall, craft-making, and giveaways. Continue Reading
A hole
Black as the void
Bottomless as the night sky
Center of a man
Ripped out, left to die
A raging sea
Eroding the land
That makes the existence, of this weary man
As edges crumble, and walls fall away
He trudges ever onward, to face another day
An endless cycle
Stand up and lay down
Trying endlessly not to fall to the ground
Not to break, not to crack, not to scream or stamp
Trudging onward, ever onward
And resisting, always resisting, that void so black
Tiring to do, a job so bleak
Looking outwards and inwards, seeing nothing
Not even a peek
Of break, of rest, of shelter so sought
Nothing but a raging sea, a turmoil of endless thought
“I wrote this poem from my own experiences with depression, especially in the last half decade or so. When you are struggling with this formless thing it really can consume you, warping the way you see things or experience them. I tried to put these feelings into words by describing the way it felt, and the images I would see when I thought about myself.
Every person experiences depression differently, but I do hope this poem helps you understand a bit more about the experience of living through it the way I did. I hope it helps you verbalize your experience.
For too long there has been an unspoken stigma about these things, and the only way to break the silence is to normalize talking about it- and asking for help when you need it.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing depression, you can text the Crisis Line. Sierra College also has mental health resources available to students that include a list of local resources. And the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) offers information to support self-advocacy and educate the public.
Written by Malcolm McDougal | Photo by Milo McDowell, Unsplash
