Spring break has always been a time for students to get crazy and let loose. They can run around and act wreckless because they are young and free. But this year things are changing for some students around CSUN.

‘I am probably going to spend my break looking for an internship and working,’ said Jordan-Alicia Machado, a 22-year-old biology major. ‘I have bills to pay so I can’t really go anywhere this year.’

With the economy continuing its downward slope, people have to change the way they celebrate their week off. Instead of their normal antics, they have to cut back a little.

‘Most of my friends are staying home for the break,’ said Machado about her friends choices compared to previous spring breaks.

She has also had to give up on trips she has taken in the past.

‘Last year I went to Europe,’ said Machado. ‘I went with my family to the (United Kingdom) and it was so much fun.’

There are also things going on south of the border that have caused some people to change their plans. Actually on this campus, an entire organization had to change their plans.

Tony Espinoza, a 20-year-old theatre major, is a part of S.W.A.T., Summer Winter Action Tour, a group that plans large events for college students over their breaks. This year S.W.AT. planned on going to Ensenada, Mexico but things changed.

‘Parents didn’t want their kids going there because they didn’t feel it was safe,’ said Espinoza. ‘We’ve had to move the trip to Palm Springs.’

Palm Springs?

Not really the greatest spring break spot, said Karen Fraggi, a 22-year-old psychology major.

‘Spring break has always been a big thing for me,’ said Fraggi. ‘Cancun, Miami, Lake Havasu, Vegas or San Diego, those are real trips. Palm Springs is so dry and it’s for old people.’

Not to mention the fact that it is a major down grade. Machado said she would be upset if she had to deal with that kind of change.

‘You have all this anticipation and then you have to go somewhere like that,’ said Machado. ‘I’m from the Riverside area so it would definitely be a big disappointment.’

Even if they were to continue with the Mexico trip one student doesn’t think he would go.

‘It seems like a total tool fest,’ said Alex Samovitz, an 18-year-old CTVA major. ‘I would much rather go somewhere with friends.’

Samovitz plans to do his own little trip, not Palm Springs but something still close by.

‘I’m going to SLO (San Louis Obispo) to meet up with some old friends,’ said Samovitz. ‘I’m going to enjoy my time surfing and I’ll head home to Bakersfield for a couple of days.’

Even with people backing out of big trips like Mexico, S.W.A.T. found ways to make the ‘old people’ place fun, said Espinoza.

‘S.W.A.T. plans different events with all types of performers like Three 6 Mafia and Living Legends,’ said Espinoza. ‘It’s like something you see on T.V.’

He said the trip is a once in a lifetime experience that people shouldn’t miss out on.

But compared to previous years, people are starting to miss out.

‘With the way the economy is we have lost a lot of people that have gone in previous years,’ said Espinoza. ‘We were looking for around 180, and we’re still short, and it starts next week.’

So with the economy going down and Mexico not the safest bet, local spots are the next best option.

‘The interesting thing about L.A. is people come here to vacation,’ said Fraggi. ‘At least you still get the option to hang out with people from different areas while staying home.’

Home is a comfortable place but comfort shouldn’t be the first thing that comes to mind for the mid-semester break. Students should be running wild, going on trips like the one S.W.A.T. planned. But money has become more important than fun.

‘A lot of my friends are going to spend time finding jobs,’ said Fraggi. ‘They have to make a sacrifice and since a lot of them are losing their jobs it’s difficult to get away.’

Maybe it’s part of growing up that leaves students without the means of having a vacation, or maybe there are other things holding people back from being too adventurous. Whatever the reason, spring break should be about having fun.
‘

We spend a large portion of our lives in some form of an educational instituion. Many high school students indifferently sit through countless math and history classes they didn’t understand or appreciate. They are forced to take physical education classes and participate in exercise games like ‘over the line’ they don’t like. If ever there was a type of approved torture that would be it.

When going to college, there is a misconception the forced learning, also known as educational requirements, will go away. Students expect to find themselves immersed in their topic of choice and upon arrival come to find the educational requirements that were set in place in high school never really went away.

College calls them general education (GE) classes and everyone is expected to take them. Math classes, history classes and science classes are required of everyone who attempts to get their bachelor’s degree. As if that isn’t enough, you have to take both upper and lower division GE classes. Classes you don’t want at varying levels of difficulty? The torture just gets worse.

The realistic matter in all of these extra classes is they are actually helpful. It may seem like a complete waste of time to take classes that have nothing to do with your major, but in all honesty its probably helpful. These classes help to expand your mind. They allow for other ways of thinking that your specific major might not offer. The thought process that goes into a math class is not the same for an English class. You don’t write an English paper and a science paper the same way.

Although they seem useless and annoying, the University creates these requirements to allow for well-rounded students. It’s nice for students who have yet to declare their major to see what opportunities are out there for them and see if there is a subject they enjoy. It also allows for exploration. Then if people are not content with their major of choice they have options of subjects they have studied they could switch to if they desire.

It is the same logic as to why journalism majors are required to have a collateral. The department doesn’t want its students to be focused on only journalism, which can be considered an insecure job market to go into at the moment, and encourages growth in other areas. By having knowledge of other skills it can work in many college graduate’s favor especially with the current economic crisis, lack of job security and uncertainty of landing your dream job fresh out of college. At some point all of the information that we learned in other classes can help.

Although it may be aggravating to have to sit through classes that don’t really pertain to your major or your passion, but in the end they are for your benefit. We may sit in a math class and wonder when we are ever going to use the formulas they teach us, but they come into play in the everyday situations of life.

I was recently having a conversation with my cousin about how jealous women can be towards each other.

She said every woman is in competition with another woman at some point in their life.

When I heard this, I thought that must be the explanation for the jealousy ocurring between women.

Competition is the key word here. We have all witnessed it. Women putting each other down to make them self feel or look better.

But the question arises as to why they do it.

As I turned on the TV, to do research on this topic I changed the channel to VH1 and there it was, reality dating at its finest. I came across the show ‘For the Love of Ray J.” Bingo.

Anyone can see the theme surrounding most of these pathetic excuses for reality TV dating, is women competing against one another to win the heart of one man.

Other examples would be ‘The Bachelor,’ or for you rockers out there, ‘Rock of Love.’

Can anyone see the big picture here? Women plus women equals competition.

Where does this innate sense of competition come from?

All women have the same biological make-up. Sure some may be fuller than others or better at certain things, but is that the excuse for making someone else feel so uncomfortable that they wish they were invisible sometimes?

Men don’t seem to have this problem. Why is it women seem to have such a major affect on each other? According to Cheryl Dellasega, a psychologist and author of ‘Girl Wars: Twelve Strategies that Will End Female Bullying,’ at an early age girls manifest an orientation on relationships that continues throughout life. Women view the world through the lens of relationships, and solve problems by figuring out how both they and those around them will be affected. Adolescent girls discover who they are through those they know.

Rachel Simmons, best-selling author of the book ‘Odd Girl Out’ said when girls are faced with this type of out-casting, they shut down and become quiet and depressed.

Simmons said in an article for ‘Sugar and Spice’ published by the National Education Association, psychologists are now labeling this as a form of bullying known as social or relational aggression. It could be looked at as a sort of ‘psychological warfare’ among school-aged girls.

This form of bullying she is referring to damages a girl’s self-esteem and ultimately their social status.

Simmons further mentions that a girl views the world through her relationships with others. In other words, a girl’s behavior towards other girls is a result of the types of relationships she has developed throughout her life.

Even amongst my own friends and I that are now in our 20s, I notice if one of us is harsh on a woman or group of women, because of the relationships we have developed, our friends act harshly towards them.

To tie all this information, let’s go back to the shows I mentioned on VH1. As a society we are putting women in situations that create the jealousy and animosity between women because it provides entertainment and produces ratings. Like Simmons mentions, it feeds off that aggression and ultimately hinders the wealth and growth of women.

In other words, it places women in second place on the race track we call life and holds them there, never allowing any kind of upward mobility.

Teen and tween advocate, author and creator of the Web site ‘Smart Girls Know,’ Deborah Reber said jealousy comes in all forms, shapes and sizes.

However, what is so amazing about Reber is she puts it into terms that we can understand. Your jealous feelings aren’t about somebody else. They are about you.

She is basically saying that all the cattiness needs to stop. Women need to take the time to really ask themselves if they are feeling this way because there is something about themselves they are unhappy with. I know it must sound more like a Dr. Phil clich’eacute;, but this needs to happen.

Women need to celebrate how different we are rather than waste time on thinking about how to make ourselves look better for others because, in the end, the only one that looks bad is you.

While Abel Pacheco and Conor Lansdale of the Students for Change slate received about 500 more votes than Andrew Collard and Arthur Keukazian of the A-Team, they must still face off next week for the run-off elections.

In order to secure the presidential and vice presidential seat the slate must receive 50 percent of the votes plus one vote. When this fails to occur a run-off is held.

The runoff elections will also include the candidates for the Arts, Media and Communication senate seat after one of the candidates, Julio Palacol, was left out of the ballot.

The run-offs will take place on April 1 and 2.

1223 ‘- Abel Pacheco and Conor Lansdale’ (Students for Change)

730 ‘- Andrew Collard and Arthur Keukazian (A-Team)

Upper Division Senator ‘- Austin Ysais (Students for Change)
Senator At-Large ‘- Mariel Reyes and Devin O’Neal (Students for Change)
Graduate Senator – Dan Monteleone (Independent)
Senator of the College of Business and Economics ‘- Domingo Gonzalez (Students for Change)
Lower Division ‘- Stephanie Vajda (A-Team)
Engineering and Computer Science ‘- Stephen Li (Students for Change)
Health and Human Development ‘- Eboni Blanche (Students for Change)
Science and Math ‘- Yasmin Nadershahi (Students for Change)
Humanities – Claudia Lopez (C.S.U.N.)
Social and Behavioral Science ‘- Tonantzin Oble (Students for Change)
USU ‘- Luis Carbajo, Andrew Collard, Abel Pacheco, Allison Kent and Megan Dominguez
‘

One day last semester, Michael Powelson, a part-time lecturer at CSUN, was scheduled to give a midterm exam to a class he was teaching at California State Channel Islands in Camarillo. The exam was scheduled at 4 p.m. He left his home in Van Nuys in the morning to ride public transportation to his final destination. He never made it to his midterm.

His normal Metrolink trip was disrupted by the Porter Ranch fire and the train was stalled at the Chatsworth station. He decided to ride his bike from the station to the Warner Center to catch a bus to Ventura. There was no bus, so he rode about half way to Thousand Oaks where there was no bike lane, and drivers were yelling and honking at him. He made it to the transit center at about 2:30 p.m., when yet again there was no bus heading in his direction. He peddled until getting a flat tire. After riding for almost five hours and 40 miles, Powelson gave up. He called the secretary to postpone his midterm.

Getting home was another mission. Instead of paying $80 for a shuttle to take him back to Van Nuys, he waited for two hours for a local bus to take him back to Thousand Oaks, where his sister picked him up. He got home at 9 p.m. that night.’ ‘

‘That was a six to eight hour commute,’ said Powelson, who sticks to driving his 1993 Toyota pickup to Camarillo. ‘If I take the public transportation, I’ll be commuting far longer than I’m in class teaching’.

Getting around on time is one of the dilemmas Powelson faces as a part time lecturer; aside from teaching three history courses at CSUN and three at Channel Islands, he also teaches a class at Los Angeles Valley College. He is the epitome of a freeway professor.

‘Since I live in Van Nuys, the logical thing would be to teach here but I’m a ‘part-time instructor’ even though I work well over 40 hours a week,’ said Powelson, who has two sons. ‘The reason I do it so much is to pay the bills.’

Despite having three jobs, Powelson understands that he has little job security, due to the current CSU budget cuts and economic crisis.’

‘The university cut down on summer teaching, so in addition to the seven classes a semester that I teach, that’s 14 over a year, I also taught two summer classes which means 16 classes a year, but now that the summer classes have been cut in half, tenured faculty have priority,’ explained Powelson, who will not be teaching classes this summer. ‘My income has been reduced at least by one eighth. I’m a non tenure track instructor, so I would be more vulnerable than anyone else because I don’t have any leverage.’

Theresa Monta’ntilde;o, associate professor of Chicano/a studies and co-president of the California Faculty Association (CFA) at CSUN sympathizes with the plight of the part-time lecturers because they have to look for work elsewhere in order to make ends meet.’ ‘

‘(Lectures) don’t get benefits unless they work a certain amount of hours, their stability is never assured, they work from semester to semester, from college to college not knowing what’s gonna be happening to their salary next year,’ said Monta’ntilde;o.

‘I do empathize with people who do have to find additional employment to make ends meet, you don’t make a lot as a full time professor, you definitely don’t make a lot as a lecturer,’ said Montano.’ ‘And when you have a family to support, and a mortgage to play, you’re going to look for whatever you can find out there.’

Since part-timers have to wait to be given classes for the following semester, those who commute have to make sure their schedules at other schools don’t conflict, which might affect whether or not they can teach, said Ernesto Rojas, a part-time instructor in the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures department at CSUN.

‘Sometimes you have to look for other institutes where you can teach ‘hellip; we always have this dilemma of how we’re going to do it,’ said Rojas, who also teaches a class at Pierce College, and taught one at Moorpark College last semester. He even substituted at a college in Inglewood for a month.’
Although he teaches the bulk of his classes at CSUN, he is unsure of his future at the university.

‘The university has cut classes which means we are teaching less, and if I want to teach more, I have to travel more because I would have to teach at different institutions, which means using your car a lot and spending more money,’ said Rojas. ‘I have no way of knowing if I will teach next semester, and that is understandable.’

Still, Rojas admitted to feeling anguished at the thought of having to find another job if he is left without a teaching position.

Although Rojas would like to acquire a higher degree to be more competitive in his job market and possibly become a full time professor, it will be hard for him to be a student and a teacher simultaneously.

‘I’d like to take classes at UCLA, but it would be impossible because I’d have to quit working and dedicate myself completely to studying,’ said Rojas.

Like Powelson, Rojas said it would be ideal to teach only at CSUN, not only because he would be able to use public transportation from his home in Winnetka, but also to be able to dedicate more time to his students.

Celia Simonds, an adjunct professor of Central American studies at CSUN and Ethnic studies at Glendale Community College (GCC) also feels her commuting affects her relationship with the students.

‘What bothers me about having to rush from one place to the other is that quite often you pack at the end of the class, and students hang around, they ask you questions you walk together with them’hellip; I can’t do that,’ said Simonds who also teaches at GCC on Tuesdays and Thursdays. ‘I think that hurts the students, that part of not being able to be there for five extra minutes, because otherwise I wouldn’t make it on time (to my other class).’

Despite her hectic schedule, Simonds still finds time to focus on her students, said Nancy Menjivar, a junior psychology and Central American studies major.

‘I think it’s amazing how hard she works and she still has time for us, she gives feedback even through emails and she is very devoted to her students,’ noted Menjivar who is taking a CAS 102 class with Simonds this semester. ‘She has to pay to work, ironically, but that just shows how devoted she is.’

Besides parking, one of the costs Menjivar referred to is the price of gas, which was at a peak last semester, when Simonds had to drive back and forth between her two jobs twice on a given day. She said she was paying $50 to fill up her 1999 Toyota Corolla and like the other professors, didn’t have an option of public transportation for her home in La Crescenta.

Although her schedule is more manageable this semester, Simonds says her situation is still precarious.

‘We’re living in hard times, and there’s a lot of uncertainty in our everyday lives, I’m very thankful that I have a job and that my husband has a job, but if either of us looses our job, we won’t even have a home,’ noted Simonds. ‘If anything were to happen our house of cards will crumble.’

In these troubled times, it is necessary for lecturers to know their rights and benefits, said Monta’ntilde;o, the CSUN CFA co-president.

‘Lecturers need to know that we will protect them and we will represent them at CFA and assure them of what their rights are, not only during bad economic time, but for all the time,’ she said.’ ‘This includes whether or not you’re entitled to unemployment benefits, which a lot of folks don’t know’hellip;things they need to know in case (you get fired) resting assured that we’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn’t happen.” ‘ ‘

Monta’ntilde;o emphasized the importance of part time professors that, although the university relies on them, they do not receive the
same benefits of full-time professors and are more at risk of losing their job.

‘So it makes you wonder, why aren’t we converting some of those positions into full-time faculty, making them less vulnerable and making us stronger?’ said Montano.

Although Powelson asked himself the same question, he makes best of his situation and understands it is a reality he lives with.

‘It doesn’t make any sense from a practical perspective, but it does make sense when you’re talking about the bottom line.’

This is a friendly message from the CSUN Athletics department:

Fans, friends, the community, the student body and supporters of Cal State Northridge men¹s basketball are cordially invited to an evening pep rally to congratulate the team on their amazing 2008-09 season.

On Thursday (March 26) from 7-8 p.m. at The Matadome, a pep rally will feature the players on this year¹s championship basketball team, the coaches and other distinguished guests.

The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the event will start at 7 p.m.

Concessions will be on site to sell food, drinks and snacks.

During the 2008-09 campaign, Cal State Northridge captured the hearts of the university and the community with a winning season, the Big West regular season title, the Big West tournament crown, and a trip to the prestigious NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history.

Cal State Northridge captured the nation¹s hearts after their dramatic effort against powerful Memphis during first round action at the NCAA Tournament.

Come out to The Matadome, wear red, and show your support for a great 2008-09 men¹s basketball season.

Thumbs up.

Now in its fifth season, ‘Lost’ has held us all in its grips for years, eagerly waiting for the next episode to answer our questions while simultaneously posing even more. But ‘Lost’ represents more than just a time vampire. It is the embodiment of the modern sci-fi thriller, a great departure from the science fiction of the past.

‘Lost’ is undeniably an entertaining and thoughtful television show, but it is difficult to deny that its plot is a massive, tangled mess (albeit an engaging, wonderful mess). In fact, ABC has even made captioned webisodes available to explain each new episode in the context of past episodes to either aid newcomers to the series or refresh the memories of confounded veterans. Plotlines containing mad scientists, teleporting landmasses and time-traveling characters who can logically be simultaneously alive and dead tend to warrant such treatment.

The Sci-Fi Channel’s hit remake of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ continues the trend, and while the plot may not be quite as labyrinthine, newcomers to the series are likely to find themselves struggling to understand what’s happening and why.

This style of storytelling not only allows greater interpersonal conflict, a must for any modern television series, but it also allows plotlines to delve into much greater complexity. With Internet access viewers can often avoid the ‘television-by-appointment’ approach, which means they can see every episode in order on their own time without missing anything.

But despite all these wonderful improvements to the genre, I find myself looking back with a bit of nostalgia at the sci-fi genre of old. That of self-contained episodes presenting a single, ponderous issue, then exposing every facet of that issue’s glorious depth. The original ‘Star Trek’ series and ‘The Twilight Zone’ are the best examples of this lost art.

Modern television can improve the old formula, but doesn’t. ‘Lost’ presents many sci-fi themes within each episode, but tends to wrap them around one another and interweave them rather than overtly explore them.

It will be interesting to see how these storytelling techniques progress. While I welcome new forms, I certainly hope their predecessors won’t be forgotten or ignored.

If you were to ask any student on campus to name a Grammy award-winning artist they would probably be able to tell you that the album of the year was awarded to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, and winner of Best New Artist was Adele. Chances are you wouldn’t hear about the two-time Grammy Award winning a cappella group known as Ladysmith Black Mambazo; but they are worth taking a listen. On Friday, March 20 Ladysmith Black Mambazo brought their show to the Northridge stage and gave an entertaining and enlightening performance.

Based out of South Africa, Ladysmith Black Mambazo performs a style of music called Isicathamiya, which was created by the mineworkers in South Africa. Singing in their native tongue or even sometimes singing in English, their music tells stories of hardship, history and hope. The distinctive harmonies and call-and-response styling transport the audience to a land far away. Their vocal capabilities were astonishing. Without the use of any instruments they created a full resonating sound. Some members of the group could even mimic the sounds of birds singing. The song leader told the story of each song.

We the audience sometimes forgot that these songs had been born out of apartheid because of their dynamic and entertaining nature. The stories brought the audience back to reality and provided a deeper appreciation of the composers. It was obvious they had to overcome dangerous obstacles in order to even sing.

Another unique quality of Ladysmith’s performance was their incorporation of dance. High kicks and synchronized steps accompanied the songs while a song leader introduced the next line and gesture.
After watching their performance it is no wonder the group has been nominated for more than 11 Grammys and the recipient of two. This tight-knit group of eight is more like a family than a music group. Their onstage camaraderie and dynamic personalities make for a fun and enjoyable show. Ladysmith Black Mambazo introduced the Northridge audience to the unique styling of South African music and continues to do so all over the world.

The Department of Deaf Studies, Department of Chicano/a Studies, and Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literature are proudly presenting the play ‘Tamales de Puerco.’

‘Tamales de Puerco’ tells the tale of a Mexican tamale vendor who learns that her son is deaf. She also must fight against her abusive husband and her own personal self-imposed handicaps to reach her goals for her and her son. The play was written by Mercedes Floresislas who is the mother of a deaf child and works as a substitute teacher.

The trilingual play incorporates American Sign Language, English, Spanish and even some Spanglish.

Floresislas said, ‘It is the only play of its kind.’

With the disparity of Latino actors, particularly deaf characters, in TV and film it was only a matter of time before ‘Tamales de Puerco’ came about. Floresislas said we all work with issues regardless of who we are or what background we come from.

In addition to being the playwright, Floresislas will also be starring in the play, which will also feature CSUN students Jessica Wells, Sarah Hogeland and others.

With ‘Tamales de Puerco’ Floresislas hopes to both educate and inform the audience while also entertain.

She said, ‘At the very least you will learn some bad words in sign language, and that is priceless.’