 Image c/o Suzette Leg Anthony/ Shutterstock By Edith Cuevas Visiting Opinion Columnist The commute from the East Bay to San Francisco is one no one enjoys. Idling in hours of traffic, paying for expensive gas every week, and on top of that an expensive toll. Thanks to Senate Bill 1, $5.4 billion of our tax dollars are invested in infrastructure projects such as road repair, bridges, reducing traffic delays (freeway expansions), freeway repairs each year. Expanding the freeways is not going to aid congestion at all if that was true I-680 and Highway 4 would be clear commutes. Only $350 million of the funding from Senate Bill 1 goes to additional funding for public transit fleet improvements.
Public transit then becomes the solution. Instead of investing in expansions, we should be investing in the purchase of more trains and in the funding of more staff across all BART stations. We should make it more accessible by building more stations. Expanding the freeways is something we have tried to do, but has not worked, so it is time to move onto a solution that will work. In cities such as London, the underground is accessible all throughout the city, is relatively cheap and very safe to use. There is no excuse as to why California can’t do the same. Being the 4th largest economy in the world, the Bay Area has the highest GDP output of the entire state. Our infrastructure should reflect that. A better public transit system would also ease the amount of emissions being emitted into our atmosphere. The typical person in the United States emits about 16,000 tons of emissions into the atmosphere per year. Riding in an electric train would cut this average significantly. Another issue that must be addressed to attract more riders is the issue of safety. BART has been implementing a new policy that would bring in community ambassadors and officers to BART trains, and they should keep implementing this policy so that it is widespread to all stations. Of course, that would require more funding, which would be possible if we revert some of the infrastructure budget directly to public transit. Contra Costa County has been a big advocate for commuting on BART. The county offers a program called 511 Contra Costa for students attending a school within county borders (St. Mary’s included), residents, and anyone who works in the county to receive a free $20 clipper card or a free $20 bikelink card. The county also offers a reimbursement on e-bikes for residents, ranging from $150-500, depending on the city of residence. So no, we don’t need any more freeway expansions, what we need is a better public transit system that is accessible to all and is efficient and enticing for riders. Convenience is important for Californians; our public transit system must be able to keep up with this need.
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How influencer culture is leading to overconsumption and becoming a major issue in the US.  Image c/o Your Stuff Made By Madison Sciba Editor-in-Chief First it was Hydro Flask, then it was Yeti, then it was Stanley, and now it is Owala. What is the point of reusable water bottles when society is going through them so quickly?
Personally, I am going to the grave with my emotional support Hydro Flask that I have had since 2020. One of my friends cycles through using a Hydro Flask, two Stanleys, and an Owala. That is roughly $173 worth of reusable water bottles. She is just another example of how people are being easily influenced to purchase items to keep up with trends. The problem with these trends is that they are quickly leading to overconsumption. Perhaps you have seen the TikToks of people showing off their collections of Stanley tumblers, Drunk Elephant skin care products, Amazon “finds,” and Shein “hauls.” The whole point of influencers is to convince audiences to spend money on things they don't really need. Brands pay these TikTokers and Instagrammers to influence followers to buy their products. Mega Corporations and brands which are notorious for profiting off this influencer culture and promotion of overconsumption are Amazon and Shein. Organization, home, and cooking influencers will promote Amazon “finds,” some random gadgets that have a niche use. An easily influenced person, will run to Amazon and purchase an item that will probably be used once and will take up space for a while before it eventually gets thrown out. Fashion influencers will show off their Shein “hauls,” showing off the dozens of cheaply and arguably unethically made products that they received. They convince followers to go purchase the same items off the site because they are so affordable, ignoring the impact that fast fashion has on our environment and the ethics surrounding the production of fast fashion. People who are against this trend of overconsumption and influencers are being called de-influencers. These people will stitch and duet the videos of influencers and give reasons as to why the watcher does not need the product. They will tell the audience that they do not need a special plastic egg container off Amazon for their fridge, since the cardboard carton from the store works just as well. Companies trying to convince consumers to buy products they do not need is not a new occurrence. Advertisements have been around for over 100 years and celebrity endorsements going all the way back to Victorian England when Queen Victoria herself endorsed Cadbury chocolate. What has changed in recent years is the accessibility of consumers to companies. Instead of relying on people watching TV ads or reading the newspaper, the internet gives companies the opportunity to have advertisements in the consumer’s hand. With TikTok, you may follow someone because they make cute videos of their golden retriever. Next thing you know, all their videos are no longer centered around the lovable dog but are trying to convince you to spend your money on some expensive kind of dog food. Nowadays it seems as though every other video on my for you page contains some kind of ad or sponsorship. It's virtually impossible to go on TikTok or even the internet in general without someone trying to sell you a product. This is a dangerous trend as it has been made obvious that some people cannot help but be influenced. No one needs a $10 Touchland hand sanitizer, but people buy them because they see so many of their favorite influencers using it online. It is clear that the only way to prevent overconsumption is to stop being so influenced. Take some advice from de-influencers. Think before you buy, do you really need that? Will you actually use that? Is it worth the cost? Is it actually a good product or are influencers just talking about it because they are being paid? Don’t be an easily influenced consumer, make smart decisions, and don’t let strangers on the internet convince you how to spend your money. |
STAFFMadison Sciba '24, Archives
May 2024
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