Daily 49er, February 28, 2017

Page 1

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH

VOL. LXVIII, ISSUE 71 | FEBRUARY 28, 2017

OP-ED

Lead the way to clean water Recent reports cite institutional racism as reason for Flint water crisis. By Marilyn Isabel Ramirez Staff Writer

If you turn on your faucet or shower in Long Beach, there will be an unsurprising flow of usable, non-toxic water. The city’s water department notes on their site the treatment plans and tests that water undergoes annually in order to prove that what LB inhabitants are drinking is, well, drinkable. We’re fortunate. Having said that, our good fortune shrouds us from the water crisis occurring in Flint, Michigan — and we ignore the consequences of hiding behind our privilege. Since the city of Flint decided to tap into its namesake river as a main water source in 2014, the inhabitants have suffered from lead exposure due to major pipeline corrosion. According to the World Health Organization, it’s especially lethal for children and pregnant women, causing behavioral disorders, reduced IQ, and toxicity to the reproductive organs. The effects are believed to be irreversible. Lead poisoning is only the latest affliction caused by the contaminated water in Flint to be discovered after coliform bacteria, cancerous byproducts of disinfectants and Escherichia coli. Although I’d assume any logical person – perhaps a state governor –

POLITICS

More green for grams Measure M, which proposes regulating and taxing the sale of marijuana, has wide support.

FAST FACTS

MARIJUANA TAX

By Lola Olvera Staff Writer

For Los Angeles voters, the question is not whether or not to regulate marijuana, but how. On March 7, L. A. County voters will have two measures on the ballot to choose from – technically. Measures M and N, which come months after Proposition 64 legalized recreational marijuana statewide last November, involve how to regulate marijuana sales and who gets to do it. But one option, Measure N, has virtually no support-not even from its original creators. “It’s the right thing to do for the city,” said Zahur S. Lalji, Director of Best Service Ever Pre-Interim Control Ordinance Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles. He supports Measure M’s proposal to decide marijuana dispensary locations, saying it’s important to decide “per capita how

see FLINT, page 6

see M, page 2

• Measure M gross receipt tax rates for commercial cannabis activity, effective January 1, 2018 • Sales of cannabis and/or cannabis products $100 per each $1,000 • Sales of medical cannabis and/or medical cannabis products $50 per each $1,000 • Transport, testing or research of cannabis and/or cannabis products $10 per each $1,000 • Manufacture or cultivation of cannabis and/or cannabis product $20 per each $1,000 • Commercialization of cannabis and/or cannabis products not specifically taxed under the rates specified above $20 per each $1,000 Source: Ballotpedia

POLITICS

College students not ‘compelled’ to vote locally

By Ammi Ruiz Staff Writer

Data regarding young adult voter turnout in general elections can help predict the 18-35 year old demographic’s involvement in the upcoming Los Angeles County municipal election

on March 7. According to a US Census Bureau study of presidential elections held between 1964 to 2012, young adults ages 18 to 24 have consistently voted in lower rates than any other age group. A Pew Research Center study revealed that millennials, adults ages 18 to 35, hold a voting power of 69.2 million citizens as of April 2016; however, the same study also states the highest impact the group has had in election results was during the 2008 presidential election, when former President Barack Obama beat Republican candidate John McCain. But even then, the turnout for the group was 50 percent. If this data is any indication of

The upcoming LA County municipal election will not likely see a high voter turnout from millennials.

Older people vote more. Once you move to a place and have a stable address for a while, and you feel like you have a larger stake in election results, then you vote.

-Kevin Wallsten, CSULB associate political science professor

whether or not young people, more specifically, college students, will par-

ticipate in the smaller-scale election coming up on March 7, the forecast looks dry at the polling places. “If there’s one thing that’s true, it’s that young people don’t vote,” said Kevin Wallsten, associate political science professor at Cal State Long Beach. Walking around the CSULB campus, seldom is a conversation heard regarding the municipal elections. “I voted in November, but I’ve never actually voted in a municipal election,” said senior criminal justice major Kevin Ramirez. “I know what it is, but I’ve never felt compelled to vote.” So, what could compel young college students to vote in local elections? Wallsten is skeptical of changes in

young voter turnout trends, even with the current fervor of polarized political opinions many college students engage with daily. Instead, he believes that growing older and having more voting experience will ultimately have the biggest influence on a person’s inclination to vote. “Older people vote more. Once you move to a place and have a stable address for a while, and you feel like you have a larger stake in election results, then you vote. Once you vote, you never stop,” Wallsten said.

To read student reactions about voting locally, see page 2.


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