Letter to the Editor: UC, city are one

Filed Under Central Valley, Letter to the Editor, UC Merced | Leave a Comment

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/opinion/story/13133053p-13779716c.html

Editor: At UC Merced, Fall 2006 has been both a challenging and rewarding semester.

It has been challenging because students are experiencing what it means to be a UC Merced student: more reading, more researching and more responsibility. One vital responsibility that students have is to serve the public.

Much has been said about the relationship between students and the community this semester.

People who continue to erect boundaries between students and the community further propagate an “us versus them” mentality; however, I write to say that we are truly one and the same.

Students eat, shop, and live in the same restaurants, stores and neighborhoods as members of the community. Community members work, pay taxes and enjoy their weekends just as students do.

We drive on the same roads, we breathe the same air, we love this Valley, we read the Merced Sun-Star, and we each desire to make a difference in this world in the short time we have in it.

We each contribute to the vitality of this planet, whether it’s planting crops, mowing lawns, cleaning toilets, serving food, trading stocks, attending city council meetings, writing our representatives, e-mailing our professors, researching alternative energies, discovering cures for aliments or contemplating the future.

And while some semblance of division will always exist because few people will always feel unappreciated or unwelcome, such should not deter us from making our community what it must be: an inspiring beacon of perpetual hope.

Students value Merced, and this region, for the opportunities it offers and responsibility of serving the public it bestows upon us and we share this responsibility with the community.

Therefore, I conclude with a heartfelt “Thank you” to the people of the city of Merced for giving students the opportunity to learn about, live in and love the Valley!

JOSH FRANCO
UC Merced Student Body President

Oct

7

Letter to the editor: Take part in valley effort

Filed Under Central Valley, Letter to the Editor | Leave a Comment

I wrote a Letter to the Editor of the Merced Sun-Star about the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley and it was published today!

Editor:

I write to the people of the San Joaquin Valley about the future of the region.

Over the past year, I have closely observed the progress of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley.

The partnership was established to engage the public, formulate recommendations and spark action to further improve the economic, social and environmental well being of the Valley.

From Bakersfield to Stockton, the 26-member partnership has engaged the public about the future of the San Joaquin Valley. Agricultural, business, community, educational, environmental, government, and student leaders from across the San Joaquin Valley have participated in the public forums and shared their vision for the future of the region.

Now, the partnership has published the draft Strategic Action Proposal and it is available online at http://www.great valley.org/sjpartnership/index.aspx.

I write to energetically encourage the public to download the proposal and share their thoughts about the proposal and the future of the San Joaquin Valley.

Young or old, native or transplant, rich or poor, the future of the San Joaquin Valley belongs to everyone for the Valley is California’s 21st Century Opportunity!

JOSH FRANCO

President, UC Merced student government

URL: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/opinion/story/12849523p-13532814c.html

Jul

29

“UC Merced defended”

Filed Under Letter to the Editor, UC Merced | Leave a Comment

Below is my letter to the San Francisco Chronicle editor in reply to the article title “Some students at brand-new UC say they want out.”

UC Merced defended

Editor — The July 17 article, “Some students at brand-new UC campus say they want out,” mentioned that UC Merced is “the wrong campus in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

To contend that UC Merced is the “wrong campus in the wrong place at the wrong time” is to ignore reality.

UC Merced was built to serve the people of the San Joaquin Valley. The reality is that region has some of the lowest political participation rates, highest unemployment rates, lowest college attendance rates, poorest air quality and highest infant mortality rates in the state.

Luckily, some people do not ignore reality and some people are more hopeful than others.

The majority of UC Merced students are hopeful in the future of the campus and the San Joaquin Valley. No comment can ever destroy our hope.

Therefore, I unequivocally and adamantly believe that UC Merced is the right campus in the right place at the right time.

JOSH FRANCO
Student Body President
UC Merced

Dec

10

“Tax measure badly needed”

Filed Under City of Merced, Letter to the Editor | Leave a Comment

I wrote the following letter to the Merced Sun-Star Editor on 12/7 and it appeared in today’s (12/10) newspaper.

Editor: I was pleased to read in the Wednesday edition of the Merced Sun-Star that the Merced County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to put the Transportation Sales Tax plan, a half-cent sales tax measure, on the June 2006 ballot.

Specifically, I have come to better understand and recognize the vast need for the measure by attending Merced County Association of Governments meetings, reading reports in the Merced Sun-Star regarding transportation, personally driving on the roads and highways, and talking with people who feel something must be done to improve the transportation infrastructure of the county.

Even though transportation is not the only issue facing residents, it’s an important one and it’s vital for people to support the measure.

I encourage people to visit http://www.mcag.cog.ca.us/measure.htm to learn more about the measure and read how it will directly affect them and their community.

Seeing individuals and organizations taking proactive steps to solve tomorrow’s problems today, I am inspired to do the same.

Looking forward to the future of the county and the Central Valley, I am excited. This place is undergoing an amazing metamorphosis and I am grateful to the people for their hospitality and genuine effort in making me, and other students, feel at home. Simply put, it’s great to be here!

I have filed this post under the new “Letter to the Editor” category.