Editor’s Note

2022 marks two years of living in what we never imagined to be our new normal. Two years of lingering uncertainty for what's to come next with COVID cases hitting the highest highs and lowest lows. 730 days spent attempting to convince our communities the efficacy and importance of vaccines to ease hospitalization rates. It took us two years to finally come to where we are today – some sort of purgatory stuck between what used to be normal and our newest form of normal. If the last two years taught us anything, it was the art of adaptability.

As of late, there has been a shift in our day to day. California eased mask mandates for most public places. A fourth COVID booster was approved to further keep us safe from recent coronavirus strains. In this time, we are learning how to rebuild from the ashes of what was the last two years. Beyond the masks and vaccines, COVID exacerbated pre-existing social issues and introduced new ones. Remote office work attracted employees from the Bay and SoCal to relocate to Fresno, which shrunk housing availability in our quaint town in a time where rent is skyrocketing. Minimum wages are increasing in our state, but minimum wage still does not ensure a livable wage with the aforementioned rent prices. Youth and adults alike are still reeling from mental health crises that social isolation and new social reemergence has caused.

The scattered building blocks from the last two years are starting to look like structures again. As we find our footing through the chaos, we shift away from what we've been doing these last two years and start looking forward to a new future. There were even shifts at The kNOw as stepped in as the newest Program Coordinator and Johnsen Del Rosario became our Program Manager. I'm excited to carry on traditions within this program and publication while giving my own flare to editorial meetings. By the way. Can you tell our theme for this year's publication is shift?

*Janis Ian voice* Say "shift" again. Shift.

- Daniel Gonzalez

Index

04. Environmental Racism & Its Impact On Our Society

05. After 5 Years, I Went Back To Where I Was Born

06. Conservatorships: Who Gets One & Who Doesn’t

07. Peace For Distant Countries

08. New District Lines, New Problems

09. Minimum Wage Is Not A Livable Wage

10. How Stress And Exhaustion Tie Into Mental Health

11. Vaccinate, It’s Not Too Late

12. No Teachers, No Subs: Addressing The Teacher Shortage In California

13. We’ve All Experienced It — The Trauma

14. The Effects of the Pandemic On Children

15. A Youth Perspective On Fresno’s Rising Rent Costs

16. The Ugly Truth: Zero Social Skills Afer COVID-19

18. Nationwide Truck Driver COVID-19 Vaccine Protest

19. Education Gap: The Effects of Online Learning

PROGRAM MANAGER Johnsen Del Rosario (he/him/his) jdelrosario@yli.org

PROGRAM COORDINATOR Daniel Gonzalez (they/them/theirs) dgonzalez@yli.org

A special thank you to our Fresno State Service Learning Volunteers from Dr. Jenny Krichevsky's English Class: Jackie Casillas, Ashley Dean, Sarahi Garcia, Aimee Locke, Esmeralda Luna, Nakee Mayes, Karen Olivares, Ashley Parker, Alexis Rios, Teresa Rosas, Ivan Villanueva | Cover Art: Nancy Aguilar-Aquino | Translations: Julia Prieto, Ivan Villanueva | Layout & Design: Kody Stoebig