Essay
Cynthia Cano
"Review of The Impact of Climate Change on the World's Marine Ecosystems"
The Impact of Climate Change on the World's Marine Ecosystems addresses the transformation that all marine ecosystems are undergoing as a result of anthropogenic climate change. The paper starts by discussing how the rates of change in ocean temperature, wind, and ocean current intensity, and pH have been influenced by human caused climate change. The writers assert that ocean temperature has risen since 1975 (resulting in more intense storm systems), and that ocean acidity has increased as a result of CO2 pollution. They stress that these factors have disastrous effects on marine ecosystems, including rising ocean levels, destruction of ocean habitats, disruption of food webs, biodiversity reduction, and species extinction.
Daniela Delgado
"Does Community Blur Borders?"
Two sisters are separated by a wall. While they are told to stay away and hate each other,
the sisters know they cannot survive without the other’s love and support. Calexico and Mexicali reside on opposite ends of a barbed-wire covered border that stretches two thousand miles starting from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. The greater area encompassing these two towns is referred to as the borderland s. Borderlands are defined as both geographic regions and zones of political influence. This paper argues that despite the intimidating wall erected separating the two countries, these border towns treat the barrier as invisible. A sense of shared community has the ability to erase borders, leaving behind any prejudices the government instills on the people.
Gina Gargano
"Human Rights Manifesto"
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a white man in possession of a good fortune, must be successful in America. Upon drafting the Constitution, the first thing the Founders did was assemble into a small, elite committee while regarding themselves a “Committee of the Whole,” drawing up a document that would theoretically satisfy a myriad of groups within the United States. Then, they gave themselves the powers of “improvisation and debate and flexibility of action” to decide what they sought from the new government, ignoring the dissenting opinions of the minority (Charles Beard). The fatal flaw in starting the Declaration of Independence with “the unanimous Declaration” becomes evident when contrasted with its Constitution.
Peter Kinney
"Descartes and the Infinite"
In his 3rd Meditation, Descartes argues for the existence of God and tries to escape metaphysical solipsism. Ultimately, Descartes thinks he succeeds in his endeavors through an argument he constructs from what he learns in an examination of the necessary conditions for his ideas. Critics of Descartes argue that he does not succeed in proving the existence of God and escaping metaphysical solipsism since Descartes should not be able to trust his reasoning, and one can only have a negated idea of the finite and not a positive idea of the infinite. Although Descartes’ argument fails within the context of his thought experiment’s extreme skepticism, it succeeds outside of this context since we can and must have a positive idea of the infinite. We must have a positive understanding of both the negation of the finite and the infinite to distinguish between the two. Furthermore, it seems more logical to argue that the finite is a negation of the infinite, not vice versa, indicating we have prior knowledge of the infinite to identify the finite.
Kim Linman
"Deadpool: A Revisionist in a Red Suit"
After a wealth of superhero movies in recent years, Tim Miller’s Deadpool (2016) stood out as a mastery of satire and irony within the genre. Ryan Reynolds performance as Wade Wilson/Deadpool shines, earning him a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor in a Comedy and international acclaim. The movie shattered box office records for R-rated films, and the film additionally earned a Critics Choice Movie Award for Best Comedy as well as the People's Choice Award for Favorite Action Movie in 2016. The movie inverts conventions of the medium to play with audience expectation, but stays within the realm of normalcy for the genre. Though the structure of the movie is like most other super-films, the character of Deadpool lends the film a distinctly revisionist tone, where the movie mocks similar films while maintaining much in common with them.
Miguel Lizarde
"The Effects of Greed and Self Interest on Cortes and Others"
Money. One object that defines success in this material world is wealth. Though many people strive to obtain wealth, some become consumed by the effort and it transforms into pure greed. In The Conquest of New Spain, Bernal Diaz tells his true history of the takeover of the Aztecs in Mexico. Using this memoir, Diaz explains how he took part in the conquest of Mexico under Hernando Cortes as a foot soldier and witnessed most main events first-hand. Diaz’s book demonstrates many aspects of human nature that one can find still affecting the world today. Throughout Diaz’s account we find the desire for gold and other valuables motivating men in ways that change history, for better or for worse. In this record and in general, we find greed often has unjust consequences for those on the bottom while those on top reap a majority of the benefits. It seems greed almost inevitably finds its way into society’s power structure, which still demonstrates itself today in American politics.
Aidan McIntyre
"Expressionism"
When reading about expressionism, my mind became very confused. The words, used to describe what these artists were trying to convey, seemed to only partially translate the essence of expressionism. This perhaps is the folly of language, and the users of language, which can only go so far in articulating what is clearly beyond the realm of descriptive words and emotive phrasing. Like speaking through a stain glass window, the meaning became muffled in words and the artist’s heart, so desperate to share what it felt, fell victim to the harsh constraints of human vocabulary. As I read, I was left with a feeling that there was more to be understood.
Noel Mora
"SYA: Youth Civic Engagement as a Strategy for Community Building"
A prevailing local sentiment amongst area youth, is that coming of age in Sacramento, signifies coming of age in mundane suburbia. In fact, the critically acclaimed and recently released film Lady Bird explores this exact occurrence, as the protagonist as well as the real-life director, Greta Gerwig, describes running away to New York City, in hopes of leading a more exciting and fulfilling life.[1] It mirrors the attitudes and actions of my own close friends and only sibling, who I think overlooked the richness in opportunity of this city and of its people. There is a thriving community of young intellectuals, activists, and innovators, here in this city, and I have had the pleasure of immersing into this world and working with many of them through such bodies as the Sacramento County Youth Commission, and more recently the Sacramento Youth Alliance (SYA). Indeed, a variety of communities have influenced me personally, culturally, and professionally, because like anyone else, I consist of intersecting identities. Yet, it is SYA that has given me the strongest sense of belonging I have ever known. It has motivated me to work alongside youth that are as passionate about moving their hometown forward, as I am. Ultimately, it is important for me to continue engaging and growing with this community, because progressing our youth, progresses our entire community.
Shannon Swanson
"1493"
As I spoke to my maternal grandmother—Agnes Lange McGlone—about our family and their journey to America, I found it hard to grasp the magnitude of even a single immigrant traveling on a ship to this country, let alone the millions whose posterity now inhabit our nation. Despite the overwhelming nature of immigration from all corners of the world to America, one truth resonated with me above the rest; the desire to seek out a better life for oneself and their family transcends not only cultural differences, but generations of individuals. In the late eighteen hundreds, as America was still tending to the wounds inflicted by the Civil War, Rudolph Lange—with no passport or legal documents of the sort—came to America on a German cargo ship. Completely alone and shockingly around the same age as myself (eighteen), Rudolph sailed into New York Harbor with almost nothing but certainty that he would never return to Germany, knowing a better life awaited him somewhere, here in America. Roughly a hundred years later, his granddaughter—Agnes Lange McGlone—found herself in a vastly different, yet surprisingly similar situation.
Yessica Vergara
"The Birth of an Identity"
With great power comes great responsibility, and the American constitution reflects that concept. Prior to that, the Declaration of Independence marked the beginning of a new identity for the American people. The birth of this new nation meant the construction of new values and ideals by “we the people,” a population of revolutionaries, risk takers, and civilized rebels. However, underneath the supposed progressive nature of these founding documents lies a hidden truth that exclusively upper middle class white men held the power of representation and legislation in government. Yet, white men alone did not control the history of America. Women and African Americans insisted on seeing themselves in “we the people” and dared to take risks and rebelled to ensure America lived up to its identity.
Abijah Williams
"Living Up to the American Identity"
America sells itself as a nation which provides equality for all. Yet inequality reveals the American identity in its true form. In the early stages of the nation the American identity appears through its rebellious citizens who fought for their entire nation, rather than individualistic ideas and equality, against power hungry individuals. The citizens of America used their education to build a nation where they fought against oppression in order to find some type of equality. One of the most defining lines in America’s history states that “all men are created equal,” but Thomas Jefferson wrote in between those lines, that the statement only applied to all white men who owned property and had ties to some type of wealth.[1] If one did not fit into that category, one could not have representation. Distinctions of race and gender made one a minority, unfit for representation. The rebels Benjamin Banneker, Prince Hall, Abigail Adams, and the patriots Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Malcom X, and Alicia Garza, Opal Tomati, and Patrisse Cullors, claimed and exercised their supposed rights to change a government that they saw as unresponsive to their citizen’s needs. They referred to America’s sacred works such as the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and several other documents in order to prove their fitness to be included in self-governance.