OPINION: Support SB79 to begin addressing California housing, transportation crises

California continues to experience a chronic housing shortage, the root cause of an ever-increasing unhoused population. A glimmer of hope in tackling the issue is presented by the current deliberation over bill SB79, which would require California cities to allow the construction of dense, multi-family housing within short walking distances of major public transit infrastructure. Decades of long-term policy failure has led to an absence of infrastructural evolution needed in order to properly sustain California’s continued population growth. “The only real way to reduce housing inequity in California is to move away from our illusory notion of ‘local control’ over land use,” Nicholas Steinman CMC’28 writes. Steinman argues that constituent advocacy for the passage of SB79 is essential in order to finally address the housing crisis in California.

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OPINION: Accessibility at the 5Cs requires more than just good intentions

Although the 5Cs promote values of equity and diversity, students with physical disabilities face broken elevators, apathetic and unreliable emergency support and inaccessible dorms. Jackie Kostyuchenko PZ ’28, who uses a mobility device, has experienced these failures firsthand. Alongside Zena Almeida-Warwin PO ’28, the two document how institutional negligence affects the daily lives of students with disabilities. They call for concrete reforms: improved infrastructure, better emergency protocols and a 5C-wide reporting system.

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