I have something very important to address with the 5C community, and it has to do with culture, specifically fishing culture. I know there is a negative stigma around individuals that partake in such activities. People assume that I am a trump supporter when I bring up my love for fishing, but I did not vote for him, I actually voted for my Mom because she always took care of me. Sadly she did not win even though I shouted her out on my Instagram story.
I recently had a traumatizing experience at the all-lesbians college: Scripps. Their dining hall has a seating area with a manmade fishing pond in the middle. Most of the time when I would fish there I would do so during non-dining hall hours. Personally I enjoy the peace and quiet. I stuck to catch and release except for one time when I was curious, It did not taste very good. One day when I was craving a good fishing session, it happened to be during a lunch period. When I arrived I got out my rod and bait, and casted, but strangely people started staring at me. I don’t mind an audience but these looks were not with kind eyes. It was only until I caught one of the fish that this girl came up and yelled at me. She told me that I couldn’t fish in what she referred to as the “coy pond.” Once I had released the fish I asked her how she knew about this policy. I wondered if maybe she was an undercover police officer because of her extensive knowledge about Californian wildlife regulations. When I asked her for her badge number I was met with curse words, which, as a Scientologist, made me very uncomfortable. In response I pulled out my official licence and asked her to show me the laws or potentially a sign reflecting her concern. She responded by calling me incompetent, which, after pulling out my phone and googling the definition of what I can only assume is a foreign term, I was deeply offended. As a deeply non-confrontational person I simply handed her a scientology recruitment card that I carry in my left sock, packed up my belongings, and exited the premises. After being called a foreign term that insulted my intelligence I have decided not to go back to the scripps fishing pond as it was no longer a safe space.
In addition to destigmatizing fishing culture, I strongly believe that the presidents of the 5C schools need to make fishing more accessible on the campuses. When I address the presidents directly I will be referring to them as Mx. Presidents, this is because inclusivity is important to me. Mx. Presidents, I have some suggestions. First, I noticed when I was trying to walk to 711 to buy three bananas and a green apple that there was a road block, I then noticed the giant mysterious hole that seems to be manmade. As I was looking at the hole, pondering about holes, and wondering about holes in general, I realized that it would make the perfect fishing spot. The hole is already dug so there is no need to spend money digging workers, It simply needs to be filled with water and stocked with fish. Another suggestion is weekly fishing trips to nearby rivers, you would just need to hire a bus driver.