The Fascinating Town of San Rafael
As a young child, I would visit my grandparents in Marin County often. My parents would pack my sister and me up in the car, and we would head north from San Francisco to the small town of Novato. The road to Novato took us through San Rafael, where I would always marvel at the one mile stretch of shopping mall that Highway 101 traversed. However, once we were into the hills of wine country and the shopping mall was a distant memory, so too became San Rafael. It wasn’t until I met Paul, my partner, that I learned the full story behind this fascinating town.
San Rafael is located on the wedge of land that divides the San Francisco Bay and the mighty Pacific Ocean. Lying just 10 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Rafael serves as a major shopping destination and is the gateway to Wine Country. Despite its apparent peacefulness, closer examination reveals some interesting contrasts in this suburb of San Francisco, both in the surrounding environment and in the actual inhabitants themselves.
Hills dominate much of San Rafael’s geographical profile. Partially located on a large rock quarry, San Rafael’s jagged edges provide stark contrast with its smooth, rolling hills and the nearby China Camp State Park, an almost unknown escape filled with lush greenery and forests. 10 years ago, both the state park and the surrounding hills were covered with oak trees. Recently however, the disease Sudden Oak Death has posed a serious threat to every oak tree in the area. Forestry officials have been forced to burn out any trees that have been infected with the disease, leaving the skeletons of these once mighty trees to dot the landscape. These reminders of nature’s tr...
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..., many use drugs as an escape from the expectations of their parents and the intense atmosphere at San Rafael’s several private college preparatory high schools. These schools have a long expectation of both academic and sporting excellence, and those unable to cope with these expectations sometimes see drugs as their only way out.
As illustrated here, San Rafael can be seen as a study in contrasts, within its environment, the political beliefs of its citizens, and in the racial and economic breakdown of these citizens. I learned from Paul that San Rafael was much more than I had originally thought. I quickly discovered that it was not, in fact, the pretty little town that existed solely to feed the two large malls it contained, but in fact has its own charms and dirty little secrets. Just like every town across America, it is not exactly what it seems.
Chavez Ravine was a self-sufficient and tight-knit community, a rare example of small town life within a large urban metropolis, but no matter how much the inhabitants loved thei...
Los Angeles is a place with a dynamic history. It has grown to be one of the most diverse cities in the world as a whole. Despite the diversity for which it is known for, the city has always had a striving conflict due to racial and class tension. The social stratification of its past continues to take its toll as dividing lines persist in contemporary Los Angeles. Furthermore, these dividing lines redefine place in Los Angeles, whether geographically or personally, to be subject to race and class. Fluidity has become evident recently however it is more common for the identity of people to be fixed in society. Through the novel Southland, by Nina Revoyr, and various means of academic sources, one is further able to explore the subject of race, place, and reinvention in Los Angeles.
California, what makes this state so wonderful? Well if you were to ask any one east from it they might say it’s a party state filled with surfers and celebrities; where no is poor and everyone drinks wine. However, if you were to pick up Mark Arax’s book West of the West you would find the contrary. Arax goes beyond the clichés that California is known for and shows you, well, what is beyond just the west. Showing the true nature of California and its people, if you are one to think that California is a happy go’ lucky state then this would be the book to read to see the real California.
In modern times Oakland is known as the main metropolitan city in the East Bay. The city possesses 3 professional sports teams, which have a population of just below 400,000. Oakland is also the 3rd largest metropolitan city in the Bay Area behind San Jose, and San Francisco.( Encyclopedia Britannica ) The city mayor is the ex Governor of California Jerry Brown. Located in Alameda County Oakland’s area consists of a total square mileage of 78.2 miles, of which 56.1 miles is land, and the latter consisting of water.( Encyclopedia Britannica ) Oakland also possesses the 3rd largest seaport on the west coast.
Sacks, David, and Peter Theil. "The Case Against Affirmative Action." Stanford Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014
Fryer, Roland G. Jr., and Glenn C. Loury. 2005. "Affirmative Action and Its Mythology." Journal
Gilded age San Francisco stood as a beacon for travelers bound for the western coast of the United States. The most prominent city in the developing west during the latter parts of the nineteenth century and the opening of the twentieth, San Francisco encompassed a range of conflicting identities. This time period marked a transitory stage in the development of San Francisco, evolving from a booming “frontier town” to a “civilized metropolis,” the emerging San Franciscan identity retained qualities from both poles of this spectrum. Chinatown, existing as a city within the city, shared this relationship of extremes with San Francisco. To travelers visiting San Francisco, Chinatown was a necessary stop. The writings in travelogues published during this period describe Chinatown through a mix of revulsion and curiosity, its inhabitants virtuous and sub-human. In short, within the developing city of San Francisco, an expedition into Chinatown remained a visceral exploration of a foreign and exciting environment.
Hondagneu-Sotelo, Pierrette. "Maid in L.A." California Dreams and Realities: Readings for Critical Thinkers and Writers. Ed. Sonia Maasik, and J F. Solomon. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's Press, 2001. 116-129. Print.
Rosenfeld, Michel. Affirmative Action and Justice: A Philosophical and Constitutional Inquiry. New Haven: Yale. 1991.
To get the answer to her question, she began to survey women of Smith College. Her findings lead to the writing of her first book, The Feminine Mystique. The book uses other women’s personal experiences along with her own experiences to describes the idea behind being a feminist. “At every step of the way, the feminists had to fight the conception that they were violating the God-given nature of woman… The image of the feminists as inhuman, fiery man-eater, whether expressed as an offense against God or in the modern terms of sexual perversion, is not unlike the stereotype of the Negro as a primitive animal or the union member as an anarchist” (86-87). That image of women that has been created by society and the same idea applies to race and how it is something that is so prone to society about things no one can change. Feminists were the ones who were able to fight for their rights even though some may believe that isn't what women are made to be but Betty Friedan did, which motivated her to fight for women’s rights in the second wave feminist movement. She was able to accomplish helping more women fight for their rights and set the ground for the women fighting
Betty Friedan wrote many books, however, “It Changed My Life”, “The Second Stage”, and “Beyond Gender” will be mentioned in my paper. Friedan fought for many things such as the perspective of the change in school, home, and workplace, women’s rights, and women’s right to choose whether it is how they want to live their life or how they take care of their bodies such as abortion. The mindsets of women from her novels between the1960s to the 1980s changed drastically, from the time of women having plenty of free time, to women not having enough free time. Many women during this era, did not want to be like their mothers, and Betty Friedan was one of them. Women play such an important role in our society that they should be given everything a
United States Federal Reserve. (February 11, 2014). Monetary Policy Report. Retrieved June 18, 2014, from http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/mpr_20140211_summary.htm
California saw many changes very fast. Most of these play part in shaping it into what it is today. From Hollywood to San Francisco, today’s lifestyles in California have roots in the Gold Rush. Because the failure rate was so high, it became common to come out to California lookin...
Feminine Mystique manifests Friedan’s thoughts on the compromise of women’s roles post-World War II and how it led to the detriment of feminism, the exposition of the unspoken and unnamed frustrations shared by a consensus of women, and the deficient system of gender-based functionalism and its setbacks. All of the strong condemnation and criticism on these various facets led to the gradual change of the way women viewed their roles and identities.
Illegal drugs are used by people as a way out when feeling down about themselves. As the effects of the drugs may stay the same throughout, causes show that there are a large number of reasons for use. Being lonely, isolated, and frustrated in life help start off the drive to escape. In many cases, using drugs is a coping mechanism, especially in teens. Emotions become numb as people try to escape the pain of reality. This is seen in the youth of today as they deal with everyday pressures.. Drug abuse can make people think they are re-creating their former negative self image. This rebellious action gives the attention that is desired. From trying to fit in to hiding from problems, people will always have a choice. In the end, the reality of drug use is damaging to the user's body, mind and relationships.