I have not been in his life for years. But I know I am a good role model, because whatever I do bad, he knows not to do that. He knows the consequences already.

But when I get out, I need to stay out, so I can do what a big brother has to do.
-Decoda
From The Beat: How long has it been since you have seen him? Not everyone has the opportunity to be a positive influence on others. Take advantage of it!

Setting Examples
What an older brother or sister should do is make sure the younger sibling knows right from wrong. When you’re the older one, they always look up to you. My little sister always listens to what I say, even when she pretends to ignore me.

One time she was exercising with me, and she asked me why I work out. I told her, “Look at mom, and look at me. Which one do you think will pass a health exam?”

Then she figured it out. She also laughed. Something I know pretty well is that little kids always look up to big kids, even if you’re not related and they just know you.

I wish other people would realize that even if you’re in a bad position of life, you could still be successful. Life sucks and it hurts sometimes, but you can’t let it get to you.

You just have to remember, sometimes we all feel pain, we all feel sorrow, but we all have someone to lean on. Even if we don’t, even if all is lost, you’re still alive and you can be thankful for that. Just keep your head up and look for a brighter day.
-Nicolas

From The Beat: This is a great outlook. Not only can we seek help, but we do have the ability to change for the better. We hope you can grow to not only be an example for your little sister, but also others that are younger.

Life
A perfect Valentine’s Day would be when me and my girl would go to the beach, walk the beach, and maybe pick up a few shells. And then it’s off to dinner, and not no dollar menu at McDonalds. Probably some restaurant, then to the movies.

It takes a lot to be a good brother. I have a little brother, and he’s a sponge!

He picks up on everything, but the things I would do for that kid. He’s the miracle baby. He died 24 times when he was born.

So to be that lucky deserves a good life without all its bad influences, but one positive influence “will” be ME!

I wish other people could see “life” the way I do! A lot of kids my age are out there acting hard, getting locked up, not caring about life. And it hurts, because life has much more to offer than three nasty meals a day.

Life is waking up in a good mood, smelling blueberry pancakes, watching your little brother ride his bike with excitement, because the training wheels are off; life is so much, so why disgrace it, embrace it!
-Joshua

From The Beat: You have a very positive attitude. We hope you can experience each of these things when you get out. Good luck on the outs and we hope you can keep yourself out of trouble.

My Position
What does it take to be a good brother? Well it takes a lot, because everything you do, they want to do. You have to set a good way for them.

I have a little brother and he is ten. I am not that good around him, but I’ve been thinking, so when I get out, I am going to show him better. He would do the same things I did when I was growing up, and I love him too much to let that happen.

So I am a better person now, for my brother and sister and baby girl, because I love them so much. So I am willing to give up everything bad to change my life around. That’s why I am going back to school, to be a bigger, better person, because I love my family.

-Dejuca

From The Beat: We wish you the best of luck with these future plans. Sometimes, we all need something that drives us to do better. A family is a perfect example.

Helping My Sister
To be a good brother for my only little sister is to do positive things around her, and not bring negative energy around her. What I mean by that is the things that are bad, that I do, are bringing negative energy to my house, and those are bad habits.

If you bring bad habits around your siblings, they will pick up those bad habits. That’s why I must set a good example for my little sister, and do bad stuff around her. I love my sister too much to be doing bad stuff like smoking or dropping out of school. It would break my heart.

That’s why I help her do her homework when she has it. That’s just one thing I do to continue being a good brother. I also tell her to do good in school. I walk her to school and pick her up from school. She sure knows her big bro has her back.

I also try, whenever there’s time, to play videogames or go take her to the park or the movies. I just do a lot of little and big things to show my little sister how much her big brother loves his little sister. That’s why me and my sister are close.

As much as I love my girl, my little sister will always have my heart. No girlfriend can ever have it.

-Mario

From The Beat: That is a very heartfelt message about your sister. We are glad to see that you have someone in your life that is so special. We hope you two continue to grow and build on your relationship.

Dedicated Sibling

It takes a lot of dedication and heart to be a good brother or sister. But if you’re the eldest, it also takes a lot of ups and downs in your life, so that you can gain experience from rights and wrongs, so you can pass along that experience.

Patience is also one thing that is extremely important, because if you don’t have the time to get better acquainted with your brother or sister, then how is that bond going to grow?

I set a good example to my little brother and sister by not doing any drugs, alcohol, or taking part in gang-related stuff.

Another aspect of being a good brother or sister is to spend time with your siblings and encourage them to do positive stuff. My relationship with my little brother is already pretty much rock solid, and can’t get any stronger, but I hope that it does.
-Alexander
From The Beat: It can be hard to be an older sibling, but the efforts don’t go unappreciated. We are glad to see that you are not involved in negative activity. We are sure that your relationship with your brother will grow if you keep out of trouble.

My Relationships
I have a little sister that is nine years old, and I have to be a good brother to her, and show her how to be good, and to not be like me, and to go to school.

I love my little sister a lot, because she is the little one. My brother is the oldest, and he is a good example for my little sister. My brother and me are already rock solid.

-Paul

From The Beat: You are lucky to have a strong relationship with your siblings. For many, being in the middle can be hard. We hope you continue to grow with your siblings.

Good Examples
I think to be a good sibling, you must set a good example, by not cussing or being disrespectful to your mom or dad, or whoever you live with.

If you smoke weed or drink, you should not do it in front of them, or if you’re high don’t go around them, cause they might think it’s okay to do it, or might try to be like you.

You should encourage them to do sports and get a good education, because an education is one of the most important things you can have.

-Thomas

From The Beat: These are some great examples on how to be a great sibling. Are there any other ways you can be a good example? We hope you can think of a few others and apply them to your life.

Different Minds
I wish other could see things the way I do. Then things could be for the better, because now they are not looking good at all. People are dying, and people don’t listen, so I am going to tell people to wake up and smell the grapes.

People don’t know what they can do, so we have to tell them what’s up. So now, when I get out, I’m going to go to them and start telling people about what’s out there for them, because we all have brains.

Some have great brains, some have slow brains, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do something that you never thought you could be.

So we are going to show you what to do, so you can go out and show people what you are made up, because it’s up to you!

-Andrew

From The Beat: We are glad to see that you have so much positivity! People are definitely capable of surprising others and even themselves. How do you plan on applying yourself? What plans do you have? We can’t wait to see what you do.

My Family
What it takes to be a good brother, it takes to show my little sisters the better, and help my 11 year old sister to stay in school and get good grades. I’ll tell her how hard it is to live on the streets, and how drugs could take over your life very easily.

I try to set a good example for my sisters, but I don’t all the time. They see me in and out of juvenile hall, but soon I’ll change it, cause I would not like to see my sisters in the kind of path I am in.

I want them to be strong and live a better life than I did. I love my little sisters…only God can give them the better life to live than the one I live.

-Henry

From The Beat: How can you be a better example? Do you think that YOU can be a better person so they can have a better life? These are a few things to think about. Sometimes, people are surprised by the results.

A Few Plans
A perfect Valentines Day would be me being out of JJC, and being with my girl. Not to argue at all. Take her out to eat, like to Japanese Kitchen. Then after we eat, I would take her to go get something special, but I would have a dozen roses waiting for her with a box of chocolates.

Then I would take her on a nice walk on the coast when the sun is setting. Then I would lay with her on the beach and let our toes get wet from the tide.

After that I would take her back to the momo and sit in the hot tub with rose petals floating, and watch a romantic movie together.

I would make sure my brothers and sisters go to school and don’t hang out with the wrong crowd. To make sure they don’t make the same mistakes I did. I would reward them for the good thing they do, and take my little sisters to the zoo or Storyland.

I would make sure they respect our parents, and stay in school. These are some of the things I would do.

I wish people could see things the way I do. But I wasn’t looking at life the right way for a while. But now I’ve realized my mistakes will always catch up to me.

Now I’m trying to get on the right track to be that role model for my bros and sis, that I didn’t have. So make good of the life that you have, and be thankful for what you’ve got.

-Brandon

From The Beat: These are some great responses to the questions we asked. How do you plan to do these things? They might take some work, but we know you can do them! It can be hard to be a good example, but a little bit of work can go a long way.

There are obviously three classifications in our society: The well-to-do families, the not-so-okay families, and the middle people. Both my parents work and according to their incomes added together, we are categorized as a middle-class family. People in the middle class live with a roof over their heads, sufficient food at home, and a little extra money to spare. It sounds like a decent way of life, but the children of these families do not get any benefits at all when it comes to school and education.

For example, I do not qualify for free OR reduced meals at school (that includes breakfast and lunch), fee waivers for AP tests (which are now $87 per test) and college applications, and now I’m afraid I won’t qualify for financial aid.

Why should I be concerned about any of these things? The reason is because my parents make enough to support the family at home, but not enough to pay for every single AP test I choose to take in high school. They can’t afford my entire college education either, I mean, it’s not like we’re rich!

I don’t think the system is as fair as it’s supposed to be and something needs to be changed. Lower class people get so many benefits and programs to help them and upper class people can actually afford expensive things, but middle class people are stuck in between. We’re automatically denied the benefits that we need and are expected to be able to pay for everything without any help.

I think that it would make more sense if we weren’t charged so much for things. I’ll use AP tests as an example. If a student qualifies for a fee waiver, which is based on their parents’ income and the household family size, he/she only has to pay $5 for each test. On the other hand, if he/she doesn’t qualify, the price for him/her is $87. It’s either/or, and there’s no middle option. I believe it would only be fair if according to the income, the students stuck in the middle would have to pay more than $5 but less than $87.

So in conclusion, “middle people” should get some sort of waiver to at least lessen the prices of whatever is being offered at school. This system is quite corrupt, and if this change was made, maybe it’d make things easier for us.

A demonstrator shows support for breast exams at a Planned Parenthood rally last year. Photo by Women's eNews. Creative Commons, some rights reserved.

For the past 5 years, the Susan G. Komen foundation (responsible for breast cancer research and awareness) has provided funding to Planned Parenthood. The funding provided breast examinations to low-income patients. But because of pressure from conservative groups, the foundations decided suddenly to cut the funding from Planned Parenthood, where many low-income and uninsured people go to for family planning, HIV testing, and other important services.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation has since reversed their decision to defund Planned Parenthood, but those in support of Planned Parenthood and the services they provide have not forgotten about the damage this has caused.

I believe that the foundation’s decision to pull their funding was purely politics, and they just had fallen victim to conservative guilt tactics in attempt to gain their support. I think it is wrong for conservatives to defund something that helps plenty of people who need it.

However, though the foundation only provided funding for breast examinations, they were probably seen by conservatives as a foundation that “supports” abortion (which is a service that Planned Parenthood provides), and may have completely overlooked the reason why they helped with funding in the first place.

With that said, I feel bad for the people in charge at the Susan G. Komen foundation, because they were not strong enough to stand up to politically and morally conservative groups, though they knew they were funding a good cause.

I would love to hear from the people who depend on these services and the communities they impact; in the end politics shouldn’t get in the way of people being helped.

I would love to have a fun and spontaneous Valentine’s Day. If my boyfriend was in town, I’d love for us to be a able to hang out for the rest of the day. I’d be homework-free, he’d be able to borrow his brother’s car, and then we could spend time with each other to make up for the time lost. Whether it’d be going to the movies, having a special dinner, or just driving around town, it would mean a lot to me just because of the fact that we’ve been apart for so long.
My boyfriend Shawn is in the Marines and because of our long distance relationship, my Valentine’s Day is different. Instead of doing things together physically such as hanging out and holding hands, we send each other the presents and wither chat online or webcam. Even so, I’m still happy to even just hear from him. I believe that’s what Valentine’s Day is really about: being able to have that someone special to call yours.

- Denise Yang

Valentine’s Day to me means sharing your day with the person or people you love and mean a lot to you. On this day I usually spend it with my boyfriend, who I have been with for almost 5 years. Before we would always go out and watch a movie and then have dinner, but now we send time with either my family or his. We don’t really spend a lot of money buying gifts for each other any more. The best part I love about Valentine’s Day is enjoying the chocolate and treats I get from friends and family. Just this past Sunday, my boyfriend and I decided to go out and watch Safe House instead of watching a romantic movie, like The Vow. I enjoyed our time together and also just being able to spend a little time celebrating Valentine’s Day.

- Bao Xiong

Many people are unaware of the importance of the English Learning (EL) programs and the way in which the special programs are made to guide students.

The EL programs provide students with the extra help they need in any class course they do not comprehend. They are guided by specific English Learning Development (ELD) teachers and counselors throughout their years in school. The students are given extra classes in any subject that is available to meet the school requirements.

Mai Zoua Vang, a senior at Edison High School, has been in a program similar to the English Learning program since her elementary years. She says the goal of the program is to provide students the assistance they need in furthering their education and future. “In elementary school, we went to summer school where they (taught) us the basic subject and to better our English speaking,” she says, “Then in middle school and up, they helped supply us with a binder, pencil, calculator, et cetera. They called us in and updated us with college stuff so we knew what to do for the future.”

Not only are these programs geared towards students, but there are also many programs like these for parents as well.

Pedro Vasquez, a counselor who has worked at Edison High School for almost four years, is one of the counselors who lead their parent English Learning program called the English Language Bilingual Advisory Committee (ELBAC).

The meetings are held on the first Wednesday of every other month in the evening. In this program, parents are not only taught specifically English, but how to help their child in school and how they can contribute to helping their children do well in their studies at home.

In addition, ELBAC provides resources for parents to help their students in furthering their education. “What we’re trying to do is establish a connection with the parents so they can feel that they are part of the school,” says Vasquez, “but also, they can increase their own knowledge and then hopefully better assist their own children and just the community in general.”

Parents are also given the opportunity to improve the education system by attending the Fresno Unified School District Board meetings and voicing their opinions or concerns of any kind during the ELBAC meeting.

Connie Cha, also a counselor at Edison High School, works with Hmong and Spanish-speaking students who are in the EL program. She has worked with EL students at Edison for about seven years.

“The EL students are a special targeted group here that we always try to make sure there are available support services,” says Cha. “We make sure the students know who their counselors are. We help explain why they have certain classes, and we also talk to them about their level of English proficiency, and how those classes will still help them towards meeting graduation requirements.”

Cha says that based on the California English Language Development Test, which is given to EL students at the end of every year to check their learning progress, counselors must give the students the appropriate classes to support their learning.

She says many of the students question why they have two of the same classes all the time and a big struggle for these students is the process of learning English and trying to comprehend it to the best of their ability. Cha recognizes the challenges and pushes the students to do their best in their studies.

“A common thing I see is every single one of them has the passion, dedication, motivation to try to learn English. They all want to do well so they can understand every bit of information that comes their way,” said Cha.

Both Vasquez and Cha say they believe there is always something that needs improvement in programs like these, especially in the area of parent involvement.

“It’s always difficult to get parents to come to the campus in the evenings around five o’clock,” says Vasquez, “When it starts to get darker outside, we get less parents. Sometimes we get a great turnout; sometimes we don’t get so good of a turnout. So parent involvement is the key here to awareness, but then again it depends on availability of the parents as well.”

In all programs, parents play a vital role in contributing to their child’s education. “I always feel that is an area that is always open to more improvement,” says Cha, “I don’t know what the magic formula is, but I would love to hope and strive for that one day, to get all the parents of our EL students to be active in their child’s education.”

She says that more parents need to voice their opinions and concerns, and be active in order to be heard. If they don’t, then changes cannot be made to implement programs to better serve their children. English Learning programs are essential for students who are behind in their English speaking, reading, and writing skills. Furthermore, programs like these can really help students succeed and continue their education after high school.

Literacy is essential to become successful in one’s education and career. For new immigrants and their families, having more of these types of programs will help them better adapt to a new community and to be successful overall.

Unarmed with any sort of weapon, he stumbled to the ground as a bullet pierced through his back. As soon as he fell to the ground, a pack of officers surrounded him and started yelling and kicking him. Meanwhile, police officers pressed his brother to the ground with a gun to his head. The officer’s reason for shooting Fernandez was that he was possibly armed and might commit a crime in the future. The officer said that Fernandez was going to R-N Market and would hold shoppers hostage in the store. However, witnesses saw that Fernandez was running in the opposite direction of the store.

So what was the real reason to shoot? Soon after the incident, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer spoke to the public about Fernandez being a violent Bulldog gang member and that he was wanted for carjacking and firing a weapon at someone.

Mike Rhodes, editor of the Community Alliance Newspaper, covered the Fernandez case. Rhodes states he has long been aware of police violence, but has only recently started to cover it in his own reporting. “It was significant because he did not die,” Rhodes stated, referring to the Fernandez case. “Usually when police shoot someone, they say that they feared for their lives and the suspect had a weapon.”

Rhodes says people are hurt by Fresno police every day. He also mentions an incident when police officers shot and killed a mentally ill woman when she was violently hitting cars with a bat. This incident, says Rhodes, shows that police officers should have had other weapons in their tool box to destabilize her.

Rhodes thinks that police do what they do because they can easily get away with it, and there is no one in the department who evaluates what they do. To make matters worse, the Internal Affairs Unit, which investigates complaints with the department, “never finds anything wrong.”

Lt. Donald Gross, administrative Lieutenant for the Fresno Police Department, has had twenty years of experience and says that police violence in our community is not a problem.

He interprets police violence as the use of excessive force, and states that in the second quarter of 2010, the department received over 100,000 calls and only used force 146 times – less than 0.2% of the time. In that quarter of 2010, 90 officers were assaulted; in the same time period in 2011, 125 officers were assaulted. When an officer is accused of using excessive force, the plaintiff or the victim takes a receipt of complaint and submits it to the Internal Affairs Unit. Most of the accusations are considered not valid by the unit.

Local resident David Vang, 17, has lived in Fresno all his life and does not think Fresno has a problem with police violence since he has never witnessed it. However, based on his own personal experience, he has noticed that police officers are rude and ignorant. Vang and his dad were trying to pick up a mattress that they already bought. An officer was nearby, and Vang stepped out to talk to him, who was doing nothing at all at the time. The officer rudely interrupted Vang and told him to go back into the car. It was as if there was something going on with the officer, but he was just standing there. It wasn’t a violent interaction, but it shaped Vang’s opinion of the police force.

The term “police violence” is usually used to describe officers’ assaulting citizens. However, police in Fresno have recently been victims of violence as well, showing how the situation has gotten retaliatory. In one case, on September 4, 2011, a police officer’s house was firebombed by someone that was obviously upset at the officer. But it didn’t stop there. The very next day they struck again, firebombing the officer’s house once more. The officer was responsible for shooting and killing a Fresno resident that rushed the officer with a knife.

In 2009, 32-year-old Steven Vargas was shot and killed by a Fresno police sergeant. Before the shooting occurred, Vargas was driving recklessly and rammed into a parked van. When officers arrived and told him to step out of the vehicle, he refused, and police claim he reached down in a motion that looked like he was getting a weapon. That was when he was shot seven times by the police. An investigation showed Vargas was unarmed and that he had a drug, PCP, in his system. According to a CBS news report on the Vargas’ wrongful death trial, Arturo Gonzales, the attorney for the Vargas family said, “There’s a pattern of practice in Fresno of using excessive force, including shooting people without cause and we’ve identified at least 15 other shootings, just in the last 5 years, that we think were improper.”

According to Gonzales, there has been a lot of police violence in Fresno, but on the other hand, there has been a lot of violence toward police officers too. Everyone has a different perspective on police violence. But which perspective is more valid? On one side, Mike Rhodes, the editor of the Community Alliance Newspaper, takes a different perspective from the police department. Lt. Gross states that police violence in Fresno is not a problem, but the cases of Angelo Fernandez and Steven Vargas tell otherwise.

On his professional blog, Daniel K. Martin, a criminal defense lawyer in Fresno, reacted to the firebombing of an officer’s home. “We also should support the majority of officers who are honest and serve to protect our communities. Without the honest police officers, crooked ones would rule and we would have no protection.” The bottom line, Martin says, is that “We should never resort to violence against our community because that makes us no better than a dirty cop.”

Borges, whose funeral was held this week, was a member of the LGBTQ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Questioning) community and consequently was bullied quite often for it. Later in life he worked to help people that might have to endure the hardships he had to face by doing things like becoming a member of the Trevor Project and making a video that encouraged others to be who they are and value themselves. Many people have found the inspiration they needed to be confident in who they are because of his “It Gets Better” video.

The fact is that his life of hardship and intolerance by others is something that many others have had to face. The persecution of individuals who don’t exactly fit the societal norm for sexual orientation is a far too common sight in our society. They are persecuted, quite possibly, throughout their lives.

We here at The kNOw feel that everyone has the right to live and be who they are. We also feel that sometimes not enough is done to prevent the bullying of these types of individuals. There are many who encounter this everyday and others who never see it, but regardless if whether or not you have been a witness of such an incident you should see that the persecution of any individual because of intolerance and lack of understanding is wrong. We believe that is the responsibility of everyone to help end this type of behavior.

Some people are willing to help but don’t because they don’t know how or they don’t see it as a big problem because they have never seen or experienced it. All we can say is get informed on how bullying is a serious issue.