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Hospitals Increase Language Assistance
Y.K. Lo, a 70-year-old San Jose resident who immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong in 1998, visits his homeland at least once a year for a health check-up. Although he can speak enough English to request an interpreter in a U.S. hospital, he says the process is irritating. Lo also could bring his son with him to the hospital to translate, but he chooses not to. MORE...
Movie Review: Transformers 7 out of 10
The special effects are all the reason you need to see "Transformers,"especially if you're an action movie junkie. The transformations are so realistic, they make it believable for a two-story-tallrobot to fit inside the body of an average sports car. MORE...
Don't Assume Anything From the Color of My Skin
I like polo shirts instead of Apple Bottom jeans;. I like Green Day instead of 50 Cent. I don't listen to hyphy music all the time. I don't listen to a lot of gospel music, and I have absolutely no talent when it comes to singing. I like to shop at a variety of places such as American Eagle, Hot Topic and J. Crew. My aunt, cousins and close friends have called me an "Oreo." MORE...
Religious Teens' Camaraderie Is Attractive, But Not Enough To Win Over A Skeptic
Technically, I'm Jewish, but I still haven't found a religion. My family is hardly religious. My mom is Jewish and my dad Christian, but neither one was knowledgeable or dedicated enough to teach my sister and me much. My parents settled on celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah as a bare bones way of giving us some sort of religious education. MORE...
Wearing Hijab, Abaya Draws Stares At The Mall
How is it that in the most diverse nation in the world, one can feel like an outcast? In my part of the country, everyone is put into five ethnic categories: white, black, Latino, Asian, or Asian Indian. You might not even have a single drop of any of these races, but with so much indifference and ignorance that so many people have, you are what they think you are. MORE...
Music collectors and DJs prove vinyl is a lasting revolution
For some music lovers, that tiny mp3 player just won't do. "The purest form of music is on vinyl," said Nate Leblanc, an employee at Streetlight Records in San Jose. "I probably have about 4,000-5,000 pieces of vinyl. It's what keeps me going." The LP has survived the introduction of 8-tracks, audiocassettes and CDs. And it's still here despite the massive success of digital music and portable media players. MORE...
Teens' Looks Attract Unfair, Incorrect Stereotypes
Everyone has experienced being stereotyped. Whether it's because of how you dress, your nationality, or who your friends are, people are constantly making judgments about you before they get to know you. We assume "gangsters" wreak havoc, "white people" are rich and preppy, and that "rockers" are emo. This is how these young people spotted at Eastridge Mall say they experience stereotypes. MORE...
Nightclub Scene Is Not For Us
On a tour of the nightclub district in downtown San Jose, 20 Mosaic students were stalked by a drunk man. He followed us down many streets, wobbling unsteadily and asking us if we were in the stock market. Not only did we attract an old drunk man, but wherever we walked, wolf-whistles and dirty remarks came our way. Young girls wearing skimpy clothing flooded the streets, and perverted men took notice. MORE...
Muslim girls weigh personal decision to wear Islamic scarf
As a Muslim teen, Sabrin Said had been thinking about wearing a hijab, the head scarf worn by women of her faith, when she had an epiphany during fajr, or early-morning prayer. She felt an uneasy shiver all over her body and wanted eagerly to read the Koran. She had never felt such fear and took it as a sign that it was time. But the 16-year-old student at Gunderson High School in San Jose also thought about how she would be perceived by her peers and faculty. MORE...
Transgender youth finding it easier to live in their skin
A week after she turned 20, Danielle stood in front of her family to tell her secret. She braced herself, waiting for their negative response as she told them she was transgendered. To her surprise, that response never occurred. "I thought it would be a really big deal," says Danielle, of Santa Rosa, "but my family was just open about it, and they seemed like they were expecting it. When I came out, it seemed like everyone knew before me." MORE...
New Vintage Stores Cheaper Than Ever
The second I walked into a thrift store, I flipped out my list: A knitted fabric, atop a canary-yellow long-sleeved dress; a navy blue polyester flower print tunic the attached sash loosely tied to the waist; a bright, lipstick-red leather purse; an ancient Elton John vinyl record that hasn't been played for decades; and a first edition of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. MORE...

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