8 OPINION 2.27.19
CAMPUS VOICES Gisella Luna | Reporter gluna@therampageonline.com
What are your thoughts on Fresno City College?
Emilio Aldana Theater Major
I like the feel that everyone can be themselves and have their own type of thing.”
Daryl Ilagan
therampageonline.com
Check Your Mental Health Before You Wreck Yourself Hannah Lanier | Reporter hlanierww@therampageonline.com
It is that time of the semester-the make it or break it point. It is time to decide if that extra class is really worth the lack of sleep, no social life, and overall misery. Well, if any of these describes you, it is time to check in with your mental health. Yes, mental health, and the constant struggle with it, is a widespread epidemic on college campuses-and it is time to normalize the conversation about it. College is a time to discover and develop independence -who do you want to be, who have you been thus far? The inevitably bumpy journey of self-declaration comes with many failures, broken hearts, and discouragements. During this era of hardship, priorities tend to shift in unpredictable directions, and everything that you once knew is now different. I have lived this experience, and it felt inescapable. Along with being a full-time student, working a part-time job and
doing an internship, I am also writing for the Rampage. I began to feel so overwhelmed to the point of having little to no motivation to partake in anything that I previously enjoyed and loved. In a very short time, I became a person that I did not recognize. My life became messy and disorganized, both mentally and physically. I soon realized that the environment that I was allowing myself to be in was also playing a role in the state of my mental health. Instead of questioning everything that was going onwho I had become and why I felt nothing-I just passed it off as an unfortunate side effect of growing up and change. I was wrong. The lack of drive, carelessness, and overall disinterest in almost everything were all glaring red flags reflecting my struggling mental health. I had no history, nor has anyone ever modeled the need to check on one’s mental health. In fact, when I was growing up, mental health was to be considered nothing other than in
relation to someone with a diagnosed mental illness. That was wrong. Mental health includes the condition of a person’s emotional and mental well-being. Think of it as tending to a sprained ankle. While the injury may not be publicly noticeable, you know that you tripped over that step and that the pain is very real. There is a stigma around mental health, in which the entire month of May is dedicated to breaking with the #breakthestigma. Nevertheless, mental health, and the staggering reality of people who struggle with it and do not understand it, cannot be reduced to a month of catch phrases followed by a hashtag. While this hashtag that represents awareness of the topic is appreciated for its notable work, it is time to have the conversation in an everyday setting. Check up on each other, friends and strangers. Ask someone how they are doing. Ask if they are checking in with themselves. Checking in on mental
health can be anything from discussing your mental state with a professional to catching up with a friend over a cup of coffee. Struggling with mental health is nothing to be afraid of or to worry about. The struggle with mental health happens in the most severe situations, as well as a result of a minimal action. There are no specific guidelines to taking care of your mental health. All a person can be expected to do is be aware of their mental state: what affects their mood, are they developing healthy relationships, are they in an encouraging environment, and so on. Most importantly, how you feel matters. So if you feel like you are not doing okay, and you happen to get lost in this especially busy point in the semester, look around because you are not alone. It is a reality for everyone and what better place to connect with someone who is on the verge of a breakdown than the most stressful place itself: college.
Criminology Major
“I don’t like the use of marijuana on campus, but I like the affordablity of the tution.”
The YouTube Algorithm Supports Sexist and Racist Geek Channels Ramon Castanos | Reporter rcastanos@therampageonline.com
Addylene Garcia
Liberal Studies Major
“I feel like this school is a really good school where people can come and start their higher education”
Pedro Gonzales Business Major
“The parking here is horrible but I can’t complain much about it because I don’t park inside the school I park on the outskirts.”
Youtube is the most popular video sharing site used, and it is one of the factors that made geek culture popular. However, Youtube continues to suggest videos that promotes racism and sexism to the the geek community--attaching incendiary ideas to popular properties like “Star Wars,” Marvel, DC and other nerd culture related topics. Many of those videos support gatekeeping, which is to exclude minorities and women to be part of geek culture. Geek channels of this type complain that women and minorities are ruining the nostalgic properties of their childhood. Another complaint of theirs is how Disney or Hollywood is shoving feminist propaganda down their throats, and even that these major corporations support white genocide--a neo nazi conspiracy theory. Many of these types don’t realize that Hollywood doesn’t have any political agenda. They have many directors and actors who are conservatives that are still working with Hollywood like Clint Eastwood, Bradley
Cooper, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell and many more. Hollywood’s main purpose when making films is to make money and try to get as many people as possible into the movie theaters. Those channels target the people who enjoy female-led and minority-led films regardless of their quality. When “Black Panther” or “Wonder Woman” came out certain YouTubers tried to put down the films’ cultural importance, and why certain people feel important to them. One of their other complaints was that “Black Panther” supports White genocide. Those Youtubers miss the point when T’Challa condemns Killmonger’s actions twice in the movie. The reason why “Black Panther” is culturally important is because it shows Black culture in a positive light. It’s the first Afrofuturism movie many mainstream viewers will be exposed to. Ryan Coogler was the first Black director to helm a Marvel movie. It is a huge opportunity for Black Americans. The problem with gatekeep-
ing YouTube channels is that they encourage the behavior to harass people who work on the movie. A Youtuber, named Dishonoured Wolf, encouraged his fans to harass the actress who played Rose in “The Last Jedi” because she is a “fat Asian bitch.” The actress left social media because of all the harassment that she deals with from the fandom, according to Variety. Youtube still allowed Dishonored Wolf and other similar channels on the platform. The reason those types pop up on your home page is because of the Youtube algorithm, which has two ways of processing. The first is Youtube’s Candidate Generator which has millions of videos but will select a few based on what the viewer watches the most. The second is Ranking Filler, which narrows the number of how many videos that you possibly like, and then it will be recommended on your homepage, according to Mat Pat, who hosts the popular YouTube channel Game Theory. This is the reason terrible videos are recommend on our YouTube homepage.
Those gatekeeping channels exploit the Youtube algorithm. Many young people who watch these videos or similar types will believe that what they are saying is the truth about feminism and minorities ruining movies. Those YouTubers help indoctrinate viewers into extremist views of women and minorities, potentially radicalizing young people. Many of those gatekeeping channels fit what YouTube wants because they support channels that make longer videos, and videos about topics that are currently trending, which is why they don’t plan to get rid of controversial YouTubers anytime soon. The only thing I can say is not to put down other people that like a movie because it has a woman or minority lead. I highly recommend trying to understand other cultures around you, and why this movie is culturally important to those groups of people. The audiences should educate themselves about how the film industry works and how movies are made.
2.27.19 OPINION 9
therampageonline.com
Open Letter to OnceHailed Wesson Prosecutor: Your Bias is Showing Tamika Rey | News Editor trey@therampageonline.com
Most residents from the Fresno and surrounding areas remember the high profile case of Marcus Wesson. Wesson, the mass murderer who was convicted of nine counts of first degree murder in 2005, because jurors concluded although he hadn’t fired any shots, he had convinced his children to enter into a murder-suicide pact. These children died. All nine of his children. Among these children were grandchildren he had also fathered. Gaining him 14 counts of rape and molestation. Gross. Let me reveal to you something more gross. The then Chief Deputy District Attorney, Lisa Gamoian was for the People of Fresno County. Gamoian is currently sitting behind a judge's desk, judging people. But do we want Gamoian judging us? In the Wesson trial, it was found that he fathered a number of his grandchildren with his own children, again with the incest. Barf. Gamoian questioned Wesson’s wife, Elizabeth Wesson while on the stand as to whether or not she knew of the incest. As I read through transcripts, I imagined the scene in my head. Elizabeth on the stand and Gamoian yelling at her as Elizabeth cries. I've been there, but as Gamoian sat at her bench. Gamoian seems to ignore certain elements of her cases. “I feel like she didn’t take both sides into consideration,” says James Lollis, a former FCC student. “She didn’t even question all of the witnesses I had,” said Lollis. She didn’t question my witnesses either. She ignored their official credentials as a mandated reporter and said she wouldn’t hear her testimony. I’ve felt the same degree of scrutiny from Gamoian, as she would bark things at me from her bench such as, “I’m solely focused on you,” and, “there is no trial,” during my proceedings.
Gamoian has since left family law, and now sits unbecomingly and judgingly behind another department bench. Well in the fine words of Guillermo Diaz, an actor from The Chappelle Show, “Wrap that gavel up, B.” Gamoian grilled Wesson’s wife while she was on the stand, but when I presented her with undeniable evidence she, “wouldn’t hear me
committed with me as a child. If this weren’t her true intentions, why did we get punished for telling? And why did she make the comments, “If dad doesn’t want you to talk about it, don’t talk about it.” Talk about what? Child molestation and how much it makes me justifiably angry? But wait. Is it premature to assume Gamoian is pushing an agenda set
“
in the fine words of Guillermo Diaz, an actor from The Chappelle Show, ‘Wrap that gavel up, B.” on those matters.” What does that mean? I’m assuming, “What she just said.” Because she sure as h-e double hockey sticks didn’t hear much I had to say. When I explained to her why I had become so angry that my kids’ dad had knowingly taken our children around my abusive mother, she sent me and my children bawlng all the way to a creepy visiting agency. No we weren’t hitting three pointers, we were crying uncontrollably. Gamoian had victim blamed me for exposing my mother when I revealed the heinous actions she had
on grooming me into a society that adopts the abuse of children as status quo, when she so intently wanted to know why Elizabeth Wesson didn’t report what was going on with her own children? No, it’s not premature to assume. I gave her CPS reports, visiting agency reports, police reports, failed drug tests from the other party, multiple certificates and completed self-initiated programs from myself, prescriptions for meds for the children from doctors that dad had refused to keep handy at their schools, and so on and so forth.
And yet the other party in my case has completed not one single court-ordered program or self-initiated program, otherwise. Children haven’t taken lightly to Gamoian’s actions either, exclaiming at the supervised agency, “Yay! I’m glad your mom is dead for what she did to you,” and “this is why we have to come here.” That, and they are also under the impression I, “took too long to sign up,” referring to why it had taken months from the time I last seen Gamoian peering at me behind her bench, to even see my children at that creep-place agency. I’ll assume that idea was something suggested to them by their dad, kind of like a murder-suicide pact. Gamoian also seems very adamant about that particular agency. No matter how hard my children and I fought to stay at one agency, something even suggested by a Fresno County Behavioral Health Counselor because children need stability even in their physical surroundings, she forced us to go to that particular one. But I’m no weirdo extreme. I’ll never believe it’s all right to rape, molest or murder children. But most importantly, I in no way feel it is the best interest of a judicial figure to ignore the fact that it should be common knowledge that you should never blame the victim. No child ever sits around provoking anyone to harm them. People who victim blame focus on the victim and bark at them grudgingly and unapologetically, highlighting their strong bias that the victim somehow should have tried to “get out.” Would you blame the Wesson child for her horrific diary entries? I wouldn’t blame her ever. Well Gamoian, if people are telling you something, whether you want to listen or not, sometimes you have to hear from all sides. I’m going to make sure someone hears us.