The following originally aired on KCBS

By: Lanaya Lewis

Why come and damage a city that is not your own?

Looking back on the last few weeks of Occupy protests in Oakland, I’m angry about the damage and violence. For weeks 14th and Broadway was filled with trash, which made downtown look dirty and gloomy.

According to Alameda County Sheriffs, 103 people were arrested during the November 3rd protest and more than half were from outside Oakland.

I believe those people who came to Oakland knew that they could do what they wanted because they wouldn’t have to deal with the mess they made. If the shoe was on the other foot they wouldn’t be too happy.

I think that some of the protestors were trying to prove that they were big and bad, but what they proved to me is they know how to make people’s lives harder.

Everyone has the right to protest and voice their opinion, but it should be respectful of the people around them. Protestors have a point that middle class and poor people aren’t being treated fairly, but I’m glad to see the encampments gone. My city shouldn’t be damaged by people who don’t call Oakland home.

By: Rasam Aminzadeh

For a lot of people moving to a country they are not familiar with can be difficult. That's what 17-years-old Alex Begzsuren found out after moving from Mongolia to the United States two years ago. Begzsuren moved to the United States for a better education. He is currently a senior in high school and wants to attend UC Davis because his family suggested him to go, and also one of his friends is going to that university. He wants to study computer technology and become a computer technician.

When he arrived to San Francisco, he thought it was going to be a lot better than his hometown in every way possible, but he was wrong. Being thousands of miles away from home, he found out just how much he missed his hometown of Ulaanbaatar. “I missed all of my friends, all the places I used to go in my hometown and hangout with my friends.” Begzsuren thinks nothing can compare to his hometown of Ulaanbaatar.

He thinks that no one would like another place more than their hometown because they have lived there more. People know more about their hometown, and they can communicate better with the people there. He sees no similarities between the two cities, “There are a lot of differences. Everything is different even the people,” Begzsuren said. He sees his country better than San Francisco in a lot of ways. He thinks the weather in his town is better because you can actually feel all four seasons opposed to San Francisco.  He loves his country, and he wants to go back to his hometown.

He loves to play soccer, but he says, “there aren’t too many public soccer fields to go. You have to have permission to play.” He also added, "There aren't a lot of soccer fields in Mongolia, but most of the ones I go to don't need any permission for playing in there."He is a good soccer player, but he doesn’t aspire to become a soccer player. He’d rather watch his favorite team, Barcelona and his favorite player Lionel Messi on TV.

Although he misses his hometown, he says that he's slowly getting more comfortable here in San Francisco and hopes to pursue his college dreams.

Cassandra describes what it’s like to raise her daughter, Savannah, by herself, since her baby’s father is in jail, and couldn’t even be there when Savannah was born.

(download mp3)

By Zahur McCoy

I have been home schooled for two years now through a program called Hickman. It’s very interesting, because of all the organized events can be counted as a class, I can get up late, and have access too my computer. My teacher is my mother which is good and can be bad. At times it’s bad because she can grade papers pretty harshly; good because she’s not afraid to admit that’s she’s wrong and can except critics from me. I have home school friend who come over and we all do work on certain subjects; like math and science. The good part about working with a group is that we can revise each others work and give feed back. The bad part is that some people in the group think they’re always right and won’t except that they can be wrong at times. Even with working in my group I like this system of learning because Hickman provides you with the recourses you need along with lists of extracurricular activities. To prove that you have done your work you must come in every 6 weeks and show your work to you educational coordinator. Educational coordinators are people you meet with every six weeks to review your work and set your goals for the year.

Before she was old enough to legally drink alcohol, Denise Tejada bought a house in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country. Her brother Wilmer bought his first house when he was 21 and now he’s planning to invest in a second property soon.

Watch the video to find out how they did it.

News Break:

THE TURF, THE VILLAGE
(Broadcast May 18, 2005 on National Public Radio's News and Notes with Ed Gordon)

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