Regular Blend: Trials, triumph and trivia about growing up in a multicultural community

See here: Regular Blend: Trials, triumph and trivia about growing up in a multicultural community.

This is a story from Cupertino, Calif., a slice of school life. I worked on it for my master’s thesis when I was studying journalism at Stanford and held on to it and didn’t really share it outside of school — I’m not totally sure why. Because I’m embarking on a journey to share more tales from Asian America, I’ll kick it out the door now.

The students featured in here have likely advanced, graduated from middle school or high school or college. Their parents may have retired, switched jobs, something else. I wonder what the community is like now?

In any case, the stories here were recorded in the spring of 2014. The Atlantic published an article called “The Silicon Valley Suicides” by Hanna Rosin last month, and because Cupertino is next door to Palo Alto, where her article is centered, I think it’s relevant to take another look at the various experiences of students in an area exceptional for its multicultural makeup and academic experience.

– Sara Hayden

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FOIA Reforms Approved!

Hey, this is groovy! The Freedom of Information Act has been reformed to make it easier for the public to access the government and its records.

FOIA states that generally “any person has a right…to access federal agency records.” Reform improvements include offering a one-stop shop-type portal where users can issue FOIA requests to all agencies, as well as encouraging agencies to be more open to disclosure, according to a press release.

Find out more about what the reform entails this  summary on the blog from the Society of Professional Journalists (of which I’m a member).

From SPJ: “The Society of Professional Journalists is the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior.”

– Sara Hayden