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Dec 3, 2024 | 
asamnews.com | Neha Gopal
On a United Airline bus in Los Angeles, a woman wearing a green striped shirt and sporting a bob haircut unleashed a torrent of racist remarks directed at photographer Pervez Taufiq and his family. “Your family is from India. You have no respect, you have no rules, and you think you can push everyone. Push, push, push, push,” she spat. Despite being filmed, she pressed on, adding comments about curry and calling Indians “gross.”According to The Scottish Sun, the incident occurred Nov.
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Nov 16, 2024 | 
oaklandnorth.net | Alana Minkler |Xavey Bzdek |Neha Gopal
Organizers and activists gathered Friday for a discussion on the election’s implications on justice and safety in Oakland. But despite certain results that horrified the crowd, the gathering focused on the opportunities for change. “When there’s a crisis or an emergency in our community, it’s an opportunity to come together and choose how we respond, and to learn,” John Jones III, the discussion host and director of programs at Urban Strategies Council, told the 40 of so people gathered.
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Nov 15, 2024 | 
oaklandnorth.net | Amy Jo Osborne |Xavey Bzdek |Neha Gopal |Ahamad Fuwad
The East Bay Regional Park District began during the height of the Great Depression with a ballot measure asking voters to institute a property tax for the purpose of creating a park system. Despite the hard economic times, voters overwhelmingly agreed to tax themselves so they could have more parks. Ninety years later, about 25 million people a year enjoy what has become the largest park district of its kind in the nation, a network essential to the active, outdoor East Bay lifestyle.
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Nov 14, 2024 | 
oaklandnorth.net | Xavey Bzdek |Neha Gopal |Ahamad Fuwad
Over 70 people gathered outside the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center near Lake Merritt Wednesday to celebrate the first anniversary of the creation of the Lakeshore LGBTQ Cultural District — bringing a moment of joy to many who felt discouraged by last week’s election of Donald Trump as president.
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Nov 13, 2024 | 
oaklandnorth.net | Neha Gopal |Ahamad Fuwad |Richard Grant |WanYu Yao
On a recent Friday night at All Out Comedy Theater in Uptown, comedians Wonder Dave and Kristee Ono wandered about the stage telling stories of troubled minds. The stories — and minds — were their own, and involved things that people usually hide behind the curtain: confrontations with demonic, pre-sober selves, nomadic journeys into family trauma, the slow burn of relentless overwork.
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Sep 6, 2023 | 
thebatt.com | Neha Gopal
The Downtown Bryan streets were filled with the pulsating sound of grungy guitar bass that reverberated through the Grand Stafford Theatre. The rustic wooden venue featured the hard rock band Hindsight under hazy, red smoke onstage. Rock and roll audiences trickled in, clamming close to one another and stirring in sync. The bar was littered with chilled Bud Lights and Michelob Ultras under cabana string lights.
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May 8, 2023 | 
thebatt.com | Neha Gopal
On April 29, at 5:30 p.m., the Agrilife Center glowed with nervous inertia. A cream runway, a teal-ribboned banquet table and boomerang lights from a high-raised ceiling set the stage for an innovative, vulnerable, bold show. The Sexual Assault Resource Center, or SARC, presented a fashion show answering the question, “What were you wearing?” during “Shatter: A Survivor Fashion” at the Shirley and Joe Swinbank ‘74 AgriLife Center.
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May 3, 2023 | 
thebatt.com | Neha Gopal
One musician you may see on Wednesday nights is Danny Smith, a Plano entertainer and piano player. “We play an all-request, sing-along show,” Smith said. “Because the crowd calls the songs, every week is a different show.”Along with the saloon-like atmosphere, The Tap is permeated with an Old West vibe accentuated by clinking glasses, dusty boots, scuffed plank floors and the pressurized flow of bubbly beer taps, making the place an even more inviting venue for Smith.
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Apr 19, 2023 | 
thebatt.com | Neha Gopal
Timothy had a million reasons to avoid church. As a man experiencing homelessness, he was dirty, bitter and lacking in spirit and faith. But what happens when he finds one reason to attend? Timothy’s story is told in “A Poor Man’s Spirit” by Bryan High School freshman Cameron Evans Liotta. Published in June 2022, the 29-page book conveys a message that reflects Cameron’s faith, family and story. “‘A Poor Man’s Spirit’ is about a homeless man invited to church by a kind woman,” Cameron said.
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Apr 12, 2023 | 
thebatt.com | Neha Gopal
As far as I can remember, I always gaped and awed at my father’s Aggie Ring. It was so tiny yet so grand. As a kid, I would try to pry it off my dad’s finger, usually with little success and always rewarded with quick scolding. I would roll the warm circular jewelry around my hand, feeling its texture, weight and shine. It’s easy to imagine the brown mousy me rolling this little ring between my even tinier fingers. I enrolled at A&M in 2020, which was ultimately the best decision.
