One by one, students rise from their seats and stand on their desks. As their new teacher shouts at them to sit, they turn to their departing teacher, Mr. Keating, their faces glowing in admiration. A few say warmly, “O captain, my captain.” This is the final scene of Dead Poets Society. (Sorry if that […]
For many young people—and for those who’ve embraced their true selves later in life—fashion becomes a powerful form of self-expression. Before we even speak to someone, we often notice how they present themselves, and while appearances aren’t everything, they can play a meaningful role in how we connect and find community. From glamorous drag looks
The true troubles that LGBTQ community endures are not what so many of its critics think it is. Those on the right, for example, claim that what ails them is their mental health. It had been a longstanding argument against gay people and now is common to be heard against transgender individuals. The right essentially
In modern America, the lines between security and suppression have begun to blur. Across the country, scenes once confined to dystopian films like Red Dawn now play out in real life not under foreign banners, but under the Stars and Stripes. When the National Guard rolls into U.S. cities during protests, or when ICE conducts
The FBI has been investigating the NBA for years now and have come forth to the public with damning details. Two separate indictments are at play. The one that revolves around players providing insider information to others to help them win their bets is particularly interesting. Not because it is more gripping—the other might deserve
For decades, the Fresno County Fairgrounds have stood at the center of public controversy. In 1942, the site served as an assembly center where more than 5,000 Japanese Americans were detained before being sent to internment camps, according to Central Valley News (Rodriguez, 2022). In 2005, a two-year-old girl contracted a severe E. coli infection
Charlie Kirk built his career spreading hate against LGBTQ people, people of color, and others. While I condemn his murder, I won’t pretend to mourn him. Grief isn’t owed to someone who spent his life causing harm, and honesty means refusing to sanctify a harmful legacy.
The ability for Fresno County departments to celebrate cultural, LGBTQ+, and community heritage events may soon be sharply curtailed, after a 3 to 2 vote Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors moved forward a policy that will stifle inclusivity and silence underrepresented voices. The proposed changes would require department heads to seek advance approval –
My first experiences in LGBTQ activism and advocacy go back to the Prop 8 campaign that successfully outlawed same sex marriage in California back in 2008. Here in California, Prop 8 was one of the defining political and social questions of that decade. I was in my mid-twenties and had only recently come out when
Three Fresno Republican officials—Supervisors Nathan Magsig and Garry Bredefeld, and Sheriff John Zanoni—are aligning with Trump’s rhetoric while avoiding the full weight of his controversial policies. Trump’s hardline stances on immigration and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) may not play well in the diverse Central Valley, but these officials are adopting his divisive language and
