YOLO event: gummie bears as roofies warn of party dangers

by Nicole Funes

Mock party. Juice instead of scotch. Gummie bears surreptitiously dropped into drinks, like roofies (rohyphnol, a “date rape” drug that renders victims unconscious)

Another creative YOLO event.

About two dozen students participated in the mock party Wednesday after school, organized by Youth Organizing Leadership Opportunities (YOLO).

“The kids wanted to do a party and everything we do has to have a message so we decide to do a (mock tale) party to talk about the negative effects on drugs and alcohol at a party,” said youth organizer  Kharyshi Wiginton.

“This event was a success because many people came and they were all engaged,” she added.

Take Erin Nicholson, a senior and YOLO leader. She was sipping a cup of juice and when she set it on the table, someone slipped a gummy bear in her cup. She noticed only when she got to the bottom of her drink. “The lesson was that students don’t have to go to parties to get turned up and there are other ways to have fun,” she said.

The activity was the second in a series to counter violence in West Oakland. In October, several students marched to DeFremery Park to Life is Living Festival with signs  to promote peace.

“We also planned this event to encourage people to break the cycle of drugs violence and dysfunction,” added Wiginton.

What “Healthy Environment” Means to Mack Students

by Janiero Rodriguez

This week, two youth groups at Mack — YOLO and Real Hard — are promoting the idea of “healthy environment.”

I asked several students and a tutor to define “healthy environment.”

Kardel Howard (not photographed), a sophomore, said

“Water is clean. No trash on the street. The air is clean and smells like trees.”

Miles Mitchell, sophomore:

“A healthy environment to me is violence free environment and an environment that is very green.”

Daishawn Shannon, sophomore:

“Keep everything clean, not just your own neighborhood.”

Lavance Warren, sophomore:

“To keep your neighborhood streets clean.”

Tutor Amy Nickersen said:

“A healthy environment is an environment where you can thrive physically, emotionally and spiritually, physically — clean, safe, makes you feel good. Emotionally — inspiring environment, creative, where you can think productive thoughts.”

Gang Violence Rages Through the East, Affects Mack

OPINION

by Jacob Miles

Somehow, violence in the East always spills over into West Oakland.

March was an awful month. In East Oakland, another life was claimed over so little: a dispute over the theft of $200 worth of marijuana  prompted two shootings at an East Oakland house Sunday morning that left one man dead, another wounded and a lengthy standoff with police before the suspected gunman was arrested.

In the following days, two teenagers, whose names were not released by Oakland Police, were  shot on separate occasions : one teen, near Fremont High, running to football practice, was shot randomly. The other victim was a 13-year old boy who was on his way to school, also shot by accident.

The violence wears us down. “I feel sad because I have a friend and when he was 13-years old he was shot and it still traumatized him to this day. Also it is scandalous how some one could shoot an innocent 13-year old boy,” said  Janaya Andrews, a freshman.

East Oakland lives up to its acquired nickname: “little Iraq.” Residents caught in the cross fire lose their lives to gang wars.  Mayor Jean Quan promises that the violence will start to decrease in Oakland but the death toll keeps mounting.

That violence touches us all. “I feel safe, sometimes, but when going from West Oakland to East Oakland I never know what is going to happen because something can pop-off at any time so I just wait to hear or see something.” Khristan Antoine, junior, explains.

 The borders between East and West, between more dangerous and less  dangerous, between “them”:and “us” seem fluid and ill-defined. “Students shouldn’t have to worry about their lives and worry about which parts of Oakland they should go and which ones shouldn’t be crossed,” said Franklin Hysten, senior director of community programs for Alternatives In Action at McClymonds.

Some students are taking steps to counter the wave of violence in Oakland.

“Our action to this rise in crime in our city will start with our Chicago Peace Pledges, followed by our Peace Talk on May 15, and our Peace fest on June 8. We will release more information on those actions later,” said Kharyshi Wiginton, youth leadership coordinator of Youth Organizing & Leadership Opportunities.

West Oakland has had its share of recent shootings, but the most controversial took place downtown: an Oakland police officer shot McClymonds freshman, Frenswa Raynor, 16,  innocent, and unarmed, mistaken for a suspect in an earlier robbery at Le Cheval restaurant.

“Hopefully, we can get answers to why these murders and shootings keep occurring and what we can do to prevent them from happening to our students,” said Harold Pearson, executive director of Student  Program for   Academic and Athletic Transitioning.

“It Stops With Me” youths march from Mack to DeFremery for rally against violence

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Photos by macksmack staff

by Selena Williams

For Charlisse Coleman, it was an emotional moment. As the McClymonds junior took the stage slowly in DeFremery Park, she talked for the first time publicly about how her best friend was shot just as he was coming over to celebrate her 17th birthday.

“He was an innocent person and never did nothing to nobody,” said Coleman. The trauma of losing him — and the cycle of community violence that led to it –inspired Coleman to join Alternatives in Action’s YOLO, Youth Organizing & Leadership Opportunities, and to help organize a youth march from McClymonds High School to the park.

She and about 30 other students from West Oakland wore orange (for personal power) and blue (for truth)  T-shirts and carried signs that said, “Hug A Thug” “Is Taking A Life Worth It?” and “Stop the Dysfunction.” Some students chanted “YOLO” and others responded, “You know.” They marched along with school board member Jumoke Hinton-Hodge, city council candidate Lynette McElhaney, parents and community members. Several hundred people had gathered at the park for the “Life is Living” festival.

The leadership program began during the summer as an internship program in West Oakland. “Our campaign will help bring our community together to make a better place for the youth,” said Coleman. “We can’t do this by ourselves.”

Another speaker, Dominic Albert, who attended McClymonds, was the master of ceremony and did turf dancing. He told the crowd to “stop the negative cycles” of drugs, violence and dysfunctional households. “We want to erase [them] from our community,” he said.

The rally launched a week of activities for the “It Stops With Me” campaign, including a dinner with community leaders, a candlelight vigil for family members lost to violence and an election forum.

“It stops with me and soon it will stop with us,” chanted Coleman.