Recently, I was helping a fellow student on a paper regarding the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and I started to mentally compare the activism that was present then to the activism that is present now. Back then, people used to be horribly beaten and even murdered for their beliefs. Individuals participated in well-organized movements that managed to attract attention worldwide. Looking around at my peers, many of which attempt to voice and formulate opinions on subjects they know nothing about, I can't help but wonder what the hell happened?

For example, consider the current protests regarding the Long-Range Development Plan (LRDP). Apparently, UCSC is planning on constructing a bio-medical facility near what students refer to as "Science Hill" as well as a new college to accommodate the insane amount of students that keep being admitted. To oppose this, a number of individuals, some from this campus and some not, have decided to literally camp out in a clump of trees next to the road. Furthermore, on the day that these people first climbed the trees, protesters entered a number of the nearby buildings and pulled the fire alarms, causing some chaos and creating a nuisance for innocent bystanders. As a result, the parking lot in which these trees stand is being cornered off and a number of classes have been moved (including 2 of mine...). Although this protest has affected virtually all of the students at UCSC, no one, with the exception of these protesters, has really said or done anything.

Apparently I am no longer one of few Americans concerned with the state of children's television and its close ties to modern advertising. As previously posted by LLFCC, several groups of public interest advocates have begun to call children's educational programming into question.

Currently, the FCC only requires broadcasters to show a mere 3 hours of education television per WEEK. The fact that stations are finding it difficult to comply with such a pitiful minimum is, in itself, unbelievable. Furthermore, the shows that are being used to allegedly promote the education of our youth along with the shows that are specifically designed to appeal to children under the age of 16 are horrible in that they provide no intellectual material whatsoever and, in some cases, subtly promote malicious ideals. Among these shows being specifically targeted by the FCC are the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and the Winx Club.

I'll confess that I, as a child, used to be a fan of Power Rangers. What child of the late 1980s or early 1990s wasn't? However, in retrospect, I now recognize that the show provided me with absolutely no beneficial material. There was no promotion of moral values, no useful facts or educational material to promote my growth as a child... nothing. I simply spent hours glued to the television watching the masked good guys beating up the bad guys, over and over again. I've even heard several arguments (admittedly from my peers) that, as outrageous as they are, claim that the show is actually racist. I believe that one individual's exact words were, "Dude, are you kidding? Power Rangers was like the most racist show ever when we were growing up. The black ranger was black, the yellow ranger was Asian, and the nerd had blue balls!" Like the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and their theme of "good vs. evil," the Winx Club provides a completely different legacy: biased gender roles.