Not many students can say this Saturday they will help more than 600,000 people in Los Angeles, but members of CSUN’s Save the Planet Club can.

This Saturday the club will be heading to the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank to sort and package food.

LA Regional Foodbank Volunteer Coordinator, Michael Espe said club members will be joining 10 other volunteer groups to help sort and package roughly 5,000 tons of donated food.

‘They will be on quality control duty,’ said Espe.

Espe said once packaged, the food is shipped to almost 1,000 organizations that will then distribute care packages to more than 600,000 low-income families and senior citizens in Los Angeles.

Due to the current economic crisis, Espe said there has been an increased pressure on organizations to provide food for those in need. He said Save the Planet’s help could not have come at a better time.

Espe said this will be the second time the club has volunteered at the Foodbank.

Save the Planet President Leandra Hernandez, said the club tries to do a least one event per month.

Last month, it participated in a beach cleanup in conjunction with Heal the Bay.

Since its formation in spring 2008, Hernandez said the club has raised money to build a well in Africa and also held a book drive on campus for the Invisible Children’s Schools for Schools Program through Better World Books, an organization supporting global literacy and reducing waste in landfills.

‘Save the Planet is a social justice club that aims to bring awareness to its members and the CSUN community,’ said Hernandez, a senior liberal studies student. ‘We just want to make a difference.’

For club member Scott Schneider, this Saturday will be his first trip to the LA Foodbank.

Schneider, a junior psychology major, has always been interested in social justice issues and participated in the Venice beach cleanup last month.

‘I had no idea how much trash was on the beach. We picked up around 100 cigarette butts and around 100 pieces of plastic,’ he said.

Schneider was also interested in the social aspect the club membership offered.

‘After the beach cleanup we explored Venice a bit, it was a really fun day,’ said Schneider.

While Save the Planet’s community service projects are global and local, Hernandez said this semester the club will be focusing on local issues.

Hernandez said the groups aim is to not only be active, but also educate members.

‘At our meetings we discuss the poverty levels in Los Angeles and then we go and do something about it,’ said Hernandez.

For more information Save the Planet is listed on CSUN’s clubs and organizations Webpage at http://www.csun.edu/getinvolved/.

A 10 percent increase and budget cuts sent some CSUN students marching while the school geared up for their 11th annual Grad Fest commencement events week.

Members for Students for Quality Education marched through campus chanting ‘What do we want? Accessible Education! When do we want it? Now!’ and ‘CSUN unite! Don’t stand and look’mdash;Come join the fight!’

SQE is a student coalition devoted to the fighting for quality education. CSUN is one out of 23 Cal State campuses that is involved in the fight against the increase and budget cuts.
SQE member Alejandro Hernandez, Chicano Studies and graphic design major said they are marching to bring awareness to the community about fee hikes and how much it is affecting students at Cal States.

‘The reasons were all here is because we’re tired and sick were not gonna take it anymore,’ he said. ‘The cuts, the fee hikes’mdash;I wanna graduate in four years not five or six, so were here to take a stand and show that we care about our education and we’re not gonna let this keep happening.’

The march comes as a result of another 10 percent fee hike for the 2009-2010 year and if adopted will be the seventh fee hike in eight years, adding up to a cumulative fee hike of 135 percent for undergraduates and 175 percent for graduate students since 2002, according to a California Faculty Association letter sent to Governor Schwarzenegger and California Legislative Leaders.

Dave Ballard, co-president of CFA at CSUN and associate professor in sociology at the school said it was important for faculty to support the students as well as vice versa.

‘Faculty and students are the ones in the classroom,’ he said. ‘They are intertwined and it is important that both get the support they need to make a better working and learning environment.’

Lilia Tejeda, a sophomore psychology major, said when she first started at CSUN she had all the help she needed but now with the fee hikes she is unsure how she is going to pay for her education.

‘When I started here financial aid helped me a whole lot,’ she said. ‘But now, it is harder for me because financial aid got cut I had no money for my books or the dorms.’

Tejeda said the importance of education is what made her come out and show support.

‘My family taught me that the way to succeed is through education so that is why I am here today, to fight for my education to not be cut.’

Decreasing the number of uninsured Californians is a top priority for health educators at CSUN.

The College of Health and Human Development at CSUN informs students about affordable health care through an outreach project called Student Health Outreach to the Uninsured Teens, Twenties and Thirty Somethings (S.H.O.U.T.). It informs students about healthcare plans that are available and what to look for based on individual needs.

Dr. Wanda Carole Shepherd, part-time lecturer in’ the department of health sciences, proposed the project last summer along with the Health Program Director and Assistant Professor of health science, Dr. Louis Rubino.

‘We wanted to educate students that there is affordable health insurance out there and where to find it,’ Shepherd said.

Shepherd along with Rubino took two of the health science classes, 412 and 413, and combined them into one made up of what she called the ‘leaders’ and the ‘members.’ Students in both classes were visited by four health care professionals varying from a health care insurance broker to a CSUN health educator, who taught students about different insurances in California and how each one functions.

Students in return go to different classrooms throughout the semester and give presentations to their fellow peers on what they learned.

‘The leaders and members put on the presentation then blog about their experiences, how the presentation went and what they can do to improve the next one,’ Shepherd said.

Shepherd said the largest groups of uninsured people are within the 19 to 24 age group.

Frankie Augustin, professor of health science leadership and direction and health administration (413), said she felt the project helps students from the community and outside do their part in informing California residents of the many affordable health insurance.

‘We are doing our part in helping the community fix of the problem,’ Augustin said. ‘We might help to decrease the number of students that don’t have access to health care.’

California has the highest proportion of uninsured people, according to Augustin.

‘About 47 million people are uninsured in this country,’ Augustin said. ‘By word of mouth, we hope it help the campus community and the community at large.’

Augustin mentioned students blog about their experiences on WebCT as well as on their own personal blogs.

‘They are honest and appreciate the exposure,’ Augustin said. ‘In these presentations they are able to administrate health information as students to students.’

Mary Ann Yezadzhyan, a leadership student in the HSCI 413 class and health administration major, said in an e-mail, ‘The project is extremely beneficial for students, faculty, and family because we are trying to raise awareness within the CSUN community.

‘The main idea is to get students involved and understand the importance of insurance, both for everyday and in case of a catastrophic emergency,’ Yezadzhyan said in the same e-mail. ‘The students in the HSCI 412 class present the different options to get their fellow classmates insured, as well as teach them about the variety of options available to them on and off campus.”

Sharon Aronoff, a health educator at CSUN’s Klotz Student Center, said students are lucky to have a health center available and urges students to take advantage of the low cost facility.

‘We are a benefit program that provides currently enrolled students get the care they need at a low cost or sometimes free of charge,’ Aronoff said.

Some of the health care services provided by the center are sexual and reproductive health including, annual exams such as pap smears, instruction for breast self-exams, testicular self-exams, birth control options, and testing for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Men’s and women’s health specialists are also available as well as alcohol and substance abuse counseling.

Dental and optometry services including X-rays and examinations, glasses and contact fitting are available as well at the center.

Aronoff said the center works with two clinics, the UCLA dental association and UC Berkeley’s optometry clinic.

‘Our hope is to teach students to take care of themselves and be wise health care consumers,’ said Aronoff.

Accusations flew as the candidates for president and vice president for Associated Students discussed issues such as campus security, school spirit and director stipends during Tuesdays debate.

It came as a surprise for the audience when Malik Basurto, who?is running for?president,?stated early in the debate he had to leave due to his conflicting class schedule, in which he blamed the elections committee for not inquiring about his schedule and working around it. ?

During Basurto’s short stay, his main statement was’ A.S. caters to few students and?doesn’t aim to provide awareness about all resources on campus. When asked about the current administrations plan goal for a five-year plan, Basurto knew ‘nothing about it,’ and didn’t know about issues facing senate compensation.

Basurto concluded his stay by stating that as A.S. president he would ‘fulfill all his obligations that he is required to’ and provide more awareness.

A.S. stipends for senators was the next highly disagreed subject. Currently A.S. senators are paid a weekly stipend of $50 dollars.

‘They should be able to keep their current stipend,’ said Andrew Collard who is running for president on the A-Team slate. ‘I am a student servant and this is not a form of payment, but more of compensation for their time spent.’

Carbajo proposed a 50 percent stipend increase, but with more accountability and transparency,?making?it clear that if a senator failed to meet their requirements for the week they would not get paid.

During this discussion,?Carbajo called out Abel Pacheco,’ running for president on the Students for Change slate, for lack of attendance in the senate, to which he replied that it was due to his car accident.

Carbajo also proposed to raise the amount of funding for clubs and organizations by $40,000 by reallocating money from A.S. event planning. Collard disagreed.

? ‘The money we use goes to get students involved. We are here to advocate fair funding; there are a lot of different ways on campus to get funding. A.S. is not the only one responsible to fund everyone. The campus needs to step up and start funding as well.’

While debating over campus safety, Pacheco offered a different idea to make campus more secure.

‘We need to work with administration and put more security cameras in the parking lot,’ said Pacheco.

When discussing what the hopeful vice-president will try to accomplish during their administration, there were many different view points about what was needed to be done, but the increase of school spirit was important.

‘I would make food and beverage changes, have more options that are not so expensive. People should have a choice to get food at a flat rate,’ said Connor Landsdale, a current A.S. senator, who is running along with Pacheco for vice president.

One subject that the presidential candidates did agree on was the need for more involvement with student athletics and the efforts that should be made to bring more support for those athletes.

Jose Tribaldo never liked school, skipping classes all through elementary until high school, but today, at the age of 21, he works at different schools teaching art to troubled youth.

Five years ago he was a student at Jack London Continuation School in Van Nuys. Now as a maturing artist, Tribaldo works as a Volunteer in Service to America for CSUN’s MOSAIC program, which stands for Mentoring to Overcome Struggles and Inspire Courage.’

‘Honestly I can say I wouldn’t be right here right now if it wasn’t for the MOSAIC mentors and program,’ said Tribaldo, who was once arrested for practicing his art. ‘I don’t know where I would be.’

MOSAIC is a service learning program that hires CSUN students to work as mentors, tutors and role models to at-risk and gang involved youth via after school programs at four neighboring sites. MOSAIC was founded in 2004 when it was awarded a grant by Learn and Serve America, a federal program that promotes national and community service.

‘The idea with MOSAIC was to get a program together that was so much more in depth and helping our target population: youth that don’t usually get mentors, young people that are mostly left behind and are considered throw away youth,’ said Jennifer Roman, founder and director of MOSAIC. ‘What we did with MOSAIC was put it on steroids, to kick it up a notch. We also found that, in general, our population was not being served because, for whatever reason, people were afraid to work with these young people.’

Roman, who graduated with a bachelors in social welfare in 2003, admits that although it is hard to work with troubled youth, eventually they come around and allow others to help them. For this reason, a former mentor brought up a quote that perfectly summed up their sentiments:

‘People put up walls not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.”

Both Roman and Teresa Madden, a full-time lecturer in the sociology department conducted a study starting in 2006 which showed that people who went through the MOSAIC program showed an increase in civic engagement and participation. Furthermore, 82 percent of the youth involved in the program fulfilled at least half of their goals identified in their action plans.

MOSAIC is connected to a class in the sociology department, where issues of trust and building relationships with mentees are discussed. Sociology 496 is designed as a year course taught by Madden on Tuesdays. The class of 30-35 mentors meets to discuss real life situations they might encounter with their mentees and set shot term goals for themselves. Thursdays are meant for the mentors to meet with their mentees at one of the partnership sites. According to Roman, mentors get paid, through work study, for their hours out on the field.’

‘It’s designed to teach theory in the class and they take those ideas out into the field and bring them to life,’ said Madden, who has been working with MOSAIC for four years. The class is a mix of newcomers and veterans, who have been with the program for more than a year.’

In order to break down those walls built between a mentor and mentee, Madden advises her students to ‘use all the tools in their tool box,’ and to find their own talents.

Many of the mentors and mentees enjoy painting and doing graffiti art something MOSAIC uses that as a mentoring tool. Even if the mentors aren’t artists, they can use art to work together and build a bond.

One of the incentives for the youth involved in MOSAIC is an annual art show that the program puts on, in which the students exhibit their art at the CSUN art galleries.

‘Usually (the art show) is a huge motivating factor for them,’ said Roman. ‘The kids are shocked at people wanting to buy their art, that whole process helps them to see themselves as artists and we try to push them to the next level of art.’

Tribaldo agrees the art shows help the mentees develop a feeling of self worth.

‘Most of the time these kids all they hear is that they’re good for nothing and when they see that people actually like their artwork, I’m pretty sure it gives them a sense of accomplishment,’ he said.

Edwin Cruz, who has been with MOSAIC since the beginning of the semester, said that using art can also work as an educational experience.

‘We try to make the students realize that they have artistic talents and it can be used more than just an illegal way’hellip;and try to open their mind and change their views to other paths in their lives,’ said Cruz, a senior criminal justice major.’

That is precisely the reason Jocelyn, 17, a student at Evergreen Continuation School continues to participate in MOSAIC.

‘(I come) to get support for my education, and be expressive through my education and through art,’ she said.

Art is only one avenue through which strong relationships and bonds are built between mentors and mentees, mostly because the two are so close in age.’ ‘

‘What we definitely find is that the young age really helps them to make that connection, there is just some kind of magic there,’ said Roman of the bond between the two entities. ‘It’s an undervalued skill to reach this population.’

Yescenia, 17, also a student at Evergreen, can attest to that.

‘They’re young so they know what’s going on,’ she said. ‘You can’t really talk to them the way you would talk to adults.’

Aside from working at the sites, mentors and mentees go on field trips from everywhere to Knott’s Scary Farm to CSUN, something that is effective in encouraging the youth to think about college.’

‘Most of our youth do not connect with the idea of going to college, they’ve been to the Northridge mall, but they don’t know anything about Cal State Northridge,’ said Roman. ‘That is part of the mentors job to say, ‘if I can do it then you can do it too.”

As for CSUN students that went through the MOSAIC program, Madden says that they both grow and have numerous opportunities available to them upon graduation.

‘What keeps me going is the growth that I see in my students. Their growth astounds me ‘hellip; and I have so much respect for them,’ she noted.’ ‘If you go through a program like MOSAIC you have a boost of confidence, you leave saying ‘I can do more and I want to do more.”

She added that her students go on to graduate school and various careers like social workers and probation officers.’

Alex Ojeda, a recent liberal studies graduate who worked with MOSAIC throughout his undergraduate studies at CSUN, came back to continue helping and learning from the program.

‘(MOSAIC) broadened my horizons in my education all together and I was able to learn more about the public school system and how they are dismissing a lot of the important aspects of education,’ said Ojeda, who is now working on his master’s in Chicana/o studies.

‘This is an experience that stays with them for a long time, I think that this is a life changing experience,’ said Madden.

This is the case with Tribaldo, who now gets hired to paint murals. ‘If you were to talk to me about MOSAIC five years ago, when I was a mentee, I would never have thought about all the stuff I’ve done with them’hellip; I guess it’s like their goal to get me to become a successful artist.’

With new jerseys and a new look, the Matadors women’s basketball team showed the Big West Conference why they deserved the eighth spot in its tournament, beating the fifth-seeded Aggies, 64-56, on Wednesday at the Anaheim Convention Center. CSUN advanced to the quarterfinals and face No. 3 Cal Poly today at noon.

With the new look came a new star in sophomore Analee Viena-Lota, who scored a game-high 21 points.

What went unnoticed, though, was the way in which she disrupted UC Davis in the back court as the Matadors slowed down the Aggies with full-court press defense.

‘Viena-Lota is a big guard,’ said UC Davis point guard Genevieve Costello said of the Matador, who’s actually listed as a forward. ‘She is long and she didn’t really allow us to get the ball back to the inbounder.’

Her performance took the game away from UC Davis.

‘We went with a smaller lineup so that we could make the game ours,’ Matadors Head Coach Staci Schulz said. ‘By pressuring them in the back court, we were able to make them speed up their Princeton offense.’

The Princeton offense, based on running and cutting, takes time to execute. With the defensive pressure, UC Davis could not carry it out effectively.

Slowing down the Aggie offense was one thing, but stopping forward Paige Mintun was a bigger accomplishment.

The 6-foot-2 sophomore was the Aggies’ top scorer and ranked sixth in the Big West in total points.

In the two regular-season match-ups against CSUN, Mintun scored 18 and 25 points. On Wednesday, she had 13 in one half, but went scoreless the rest of the way.

Mintun said the Matadors were aware of her at every moment and didn’t allow her to get the basketball. CSUN forward Katrina Thompson was in charge of defending her. Thompson also had 18 points and six rebounds.

‘We call her ‘train,” Schulz said of Thompson. ‘She was our engine, not the caboose. She is savvy and a smart ball player.’

Thompson gave much of the credit to the team’s extra practice members, who are males.

‘I give big ups to our practice players,’ Thompson said. ‘They really helped us prepare for the game.’

The game’s top rebounder was Northridge point guard Tonicia Tademy. She had seven rebounds as well as seven assists. The Matadors grabbed 40 rebounds in the game compared to Davis’ 37. Even though the margin wasn’t large, it was a sigh of relief. In the teams’ previous meeting, the Aggies had outrebounded Northridge 40-27.

There were a few statistics that seemed unreal ‘- like the rebounding – but what seemed the most unreal was the win itself. CSUN had barely snuck into the tournament with a win on its last regular-season game.

‘The bottom line is a lot of pride goes out to my team,’ Schulz said. ‘We were tenacious and we have prevailed in the last two games.’

UC Davis Head Coach Sandy Simpson didn’t want to use formalities, but said he respected what Northridge was able to do.

‘They have dealt with so much adversity and have been able to assimilate,’ Simpson said. ‘My hat goes off to them and now their season gets to continue.’

In their assimilation, the Matadors were able to score inside the paint more, something they had difficulty with in the teams’ prior meeting.

‘The change wasn’t in what we saw in the film, but what they saw,’ Schulz said. ‘They knew that they needed to get out there to guard us and we were successful when ‘Train’ was able to get the ball at the top of the key.’

In the end, CSUN was able to keep the ball away from Davis and, with a couple of ‘back breaking’ threes, the Matadors pulled off the victory, Schulz said.

And now it’s on to try for a second consecutive upset, against Cal Poly. The Mustangs are another team the Matadors have played close this season. In their last match-up, the Matadors had the game in their hands, but a few mental mistakes gave up the game. CSUN lost 70-60.

With the team’s versatility, the ability to match up well against anyone, the Matadors have a shot at playing three more games in the tournament, Schulz said.

After winning the first set with ease, the No. 1 Matadors men’s volleyball team (17-2, 12-2 MPSF) struggled over the next three, but ultimately beat No. 11 UCLA, 3-1, Wednesday night at the Matadome.

‘We came out pumped for UCLA, but not like we should have,’ CSUN sophomore Tanner Nua said. ‘That is what kept us from sweeping them tonight.’

Five serving errors by the Matadors early on kept the Bruins (8-12, 4-9) in the first set. After UCLA’ got within 11-10,’ CSUN took control of the frame thanks to an 8-2 run that seemed to take any hope the Bruins had of pulling out the set. CSUN sophomore outside hitter Mike Gaudino led the charge in the set with five kills. The Matadors never let up in the set offensively and got out to a comfortable nine-point lead. Northridge finished the set strong, winning 30-20.

‘I always get hypde for UCLA,’ Gaudino said. ‘I got a couple of buddies on their team that I played with on clubs and in high school, so i came out a little amped.’

The second set was the total opposite from the first as the teams went back and forth early in the frame. Tied at 16, CSUN used a 3-0 spurt to briefly separate itself from the Bruins. The Matadors would go up by as many as four (23-19) before UCLA rallied to tie the score at 24. The Bruins continued their great play after tying it and outscored CSUN 6-2 to take the second set, 30-26.

The back-and-forth action continued in the third frame until the Matadors were able to take a 12-10 advantage after a Gaudino kill. The Matadors were able to hold on to their two-point cushion until the Bruins tied the score at 19 after an service ace from Bruin junior Garrett Muagututia. The score stayed tied until the 21st point, when the Matadors went on a 4-1 run to take a 25-22 lead. UCLA didn’t go away easily and crawled back to get within one at 28-27. A pair of kills from Vance finally put the Bruins away for good in the frame.

The Bruins were able to get to an early 6-3 lead in the fourth set before the Matadors rallied to tie the game at eight. Up 9-8, a great save from junior libero Ali’i Keohohou sparked a 7-2 run to put the Matadors up six (16-10). The Bruins responded with an 11-5 run to tie the score at 21. CSUN did not fold after the Bruin run, calmly building a 27-24 advantage. UCLA’s last ditch effort was not enough as the Matadors finished the set and won, 30-28.

‘I was praying that I could get to the ball so another teammate could play it,’ Keohohou said.

The Matadors get set for a showdown against No. 2 UC Irvine on Friday. The winner will be on top of the conference.

Up next:

No. 1 Matadors vs. No. 2 UC Irvine

Date: Friday’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘

Place: The Matadome, Northridge

Time: 7 p.m.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘

Last meeting: CSUN 3 @ UCI 1, Jan. 16

After dropping set one of the first meeting against UC Irvine this season, the Matadors were able to take command of the match, winning the next three sets. Leading the way for CSUN was All-American Eric Vance with 25 kills while sophomore Tanner Nua and junior Jacek Ratajczak combined for 22. Friday’s match-up will not only be for the top spot in the nation, but it also a tiebreaker for the conference’s lead.

Not too long ago I was driving on the freeway with a close male friend in the passenger’s seat. The conversation inevitably turned to politics and the recent election, which then quickly morphed into an argument about Hillary Clinton.

My friend, who is one of the most intelligent and compassionate people I know, became exasperated rather quickly. According to him, my refusal to ‘let things go’ and insistence on discussing what I felt was the election’s reawakening of the sexism that lies dormant in our society, was misguided. He then proceeded to make the most frustrating of arguments, not because of the content, but because of the implied intent.

Countering my complaints of the continued trivialization, inequality, oppression and objectification of women in society, my friend simply pointed to ‘how far things have come.’

How could I say sexism still existed and that feminism is needed now more than ever when we have a female Secretary of State and Speaker of the House? Rather easily.

What makes modern day sexism so insidious is in most cases it is not the overtly obvious display of it. Instead, everywhere we look, women are constantly being told how ‘far’ we’ve really come. What we are being told, essentially, is to be happy with the pathetically slow progression and any woman who points this fact out is labeled ‘radical.’ When did demanding equal rights for women, also known as humanism, become a radical idea? And most critically, when did our generation of women and men become so complacent with the idea that some progress is enough progress?

Here at CSUN, all of the candidates for Associated Students (A.S.) president and vice president are male, which is sadly endemic of local, state, national and international politics.

The candidacy of Hillary Clinton revealed a lot about our society and the role of women in politics. It unearthed some disturbing truths, from young men yelling ‘Iron my shirt’ at her rallies to ‘distinguished’ men commenting on television about her hair and clothes.

It also began a national dialogue on the state of the women’s movement. During the heightened interest in women’s voices and experts, it was no longer novel to see multiple female participants on news shows and in newspapers across the country. Unfortunately, that dialogue often included only the mainstream, upper class, white and heterosexual voices. But at least there was a conversation being had.

Now that the mainstream media no longer has an interest in this, the dialogue has become stagnant. Therein lies the irony and frustration that I feel. Many would argue that with our country in economic collapse and at war there are more ‘important’ issues to address than women’s continued struggle for equality. The exact opposite is true.

Women make up more than half the population, yet continue to have the highest unemployment numbers and are more likely to live in poverty. If we spend time and concentrated effort at addressing these problems, we increase the productivity and efficiency of our economy and ultimately of our society. The question then becomes how to go about addressing this issue in a coherent and intelligent way.

WomenCount, a political action committee focused on the advancement of women’s issues, has launched a campaign to support a presidential commission on women during the first 100 days of Obama’s presidency.

They want to reintroduce the conversation about the role of women in society and how to improve the conditions in which they exist. Their slogan sums it up, ‘WomenCount, It’s Our Time!’

As great as a commission would be, it is not enough and more must be asked of everyday men and women. We must also demand more from our elected officials. At her senate confirmation hearings, Secretary of State Clinton spoke at length about her plans to address the national and international issues women face. We have yet to see her incorporate that into her diplomatic agenda. First Lady Michelle Obama, a highly accomplished and intelligent individual in her own right, must also use her public platform to help advocate for women.

Most importantly, however, young women and men must be unafraid to challenge what they see as unacceptable and be able to find their respective voices. That voice might often be hard to vocalize, since the backlash in society remains palpable, but it must be heard.

Remember a time when anything was possible. When you didn’t have to think seriously about careers or money ‘-’ only what adventures the day held. Lost in the world of Never Never Land or happily ever after, as children we were free to imagine a different world. Then, one day ‘- triggered by an event or a parental conversation ‘- we slowly began to give up this childhood fantasy and focus on understanding the real world. ‘Phoebe in Wonderland’ is about a child’s involuntary pull into this reality, through the eyes of nine-year old Phoebe Lichten (Elle Fanning).
‘ ‘ ‘

Adolescence may be the most awkward period in one’s life. We are forced to learn the rules of an adult world that we’re excluded from until a certain age. Children are initiated in all the conventions we take for granted in adulthood ‘- etiquette, daily routines and social expectation. A certain amount of anxiety occurs during this transition. Incorporating aspects of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ ‘- a misbehaving child, unclear rules/expectations, fear of authority and confusion ‘- writer/director Daniel Barnz does a wonderful job of showing the angst felt in a young girl’s search for not only understanding in the real world, but for ‘hope.’

Elle Fanning delivers a phenomenal portrayal of the disillusionment and fear that comes when a child’s safe, imaginary universe is shattered by a world where nothing makes sense. Deviating from the inspired fairytale, it is Phoebe’s real existence that causes bewilderment. As a coming-of-age tale, she and her parents (Felicity Huffman and Bill Pullman) must discover the reasons behind Phoebe’s inability to behave properly and why she is compelled, much like Alice, to act out against standard social conventions.

However, the film does not simply offer a fairytale conclusion. It questions our assumptions and rules regarding the adult world and a child’s treatment during this transition. Patricia Clarkson, Phoebe’s drama teacher, complicates the coming-of-age story by asserting a constant need for childhood imagination. Yet, can this type of imagination survive in our society beyond the confines of a film? The audience is left to decide.