With the onslaught of news this summer dealing with the budget crisis, it was a somber gathering at the annual convocation address to faculty and staff on Aug. 20. President Jolene Koester spoke of the challenges facing CSUN. “We have no file on how to do furloughs,” Koester said. “The only positive of furloughs is that they protect jobs, health care benefits and are more humane.” Koester also encouraged everyone to resist the urge to blame, calling it “easy but… Read more

CSUN held freshman orientations starting Tuesday, Aug. 11 as part of welcoming new students for the Fall 2009 semester. The New Student Orientation (NSO) helps students become familiar with and obtain important information about the campus. The NSO also helps students get involved with clubs and organizations. The orientation sessions were all-day events and lasted for two weeks. The new students were divided into groups, each group consisting of about 20 students. Each day was designated for a particular college,… Read more

At the start of this summer we faced the worst stage of our financial crisis.  News was saturated with continuous Wall Street woes, business’ crumbling and storefronts becoming vacant.  Jobs were lost every Friday, as it became the worst day of the week rather than the one people looked forward to. Jobs were scarce, the news scarier. If that wasn’t enough to stomach, celebrities were dying off in droves.  The myth that celebrities die in threes was rewritten this summer. … Read more

Summer has always been associated with fun, relaxation, and a time to escape the stress as a student. Well, at least that’s what most of us are accustomed to. It couldn’t be any further from the truth for California State University students. Going into my fifth year and what was intended to be my last semester, I now have to plan out a full year due to the Cal State budget cuts and fee increases. Not only does this impede… Read more

There are countless Mexican restaurants in the San Fernando Valley, but Los Toros in Chatsworth stands out with its friendly atmosphere, authentic Mexican food and the best margaritas in town. For someone who is not a fan of Mexican dishes, I give Los Toros 9.2 stars.  The Los Toros Sampler is perfect for a group of four people or more. The sampler comes with taquitos, nachos, quesadillas, flauntas and carnitas served with sour cream, guacamole and their own special sauce…. Read more

She’s home. Esha Momeni, a CSUN mass communications graduate student who was imprisoned and later under a travel ban in Iran, returned to the United States on Aug. 11. As she sat in CSUN’s Valley View News studio Aug. 13 awaiting the start of her first interview since arriving in Los Angeles, the conversation revolved around her plans to see the latest Harry Potter movie. It was as if she had never left. As tape rolled and the producer said,… Read more

CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed did not attend an event on education hosted by CSUN where students planned to protest tuition hikes and furloughs. Reed had been scheduled to attend the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, held at the Orange Grove Bistro; the event was attended by a diverse audience of about 135 people expecting him to be there. Instead, the community conversation was led by the initiative’s Executive Director Juan Sepulveda and CSUN President Jolene… Read more

Yes, the Republicans have the right idea…this isn’t something I find myself saying very often, but here goes… I just read an editorial from Paul Krugman (Nobel Prize Winning Economist, Writer for the New York Times) about the health care debates going on in the country: There’s a famous Norman Rockwell painting titled “Freedom of Speech,” depicting an idealized American town meeting. The painting, part of a series illustrating F.D.R.’s “Four Freedoms,” shows an ordinary citizen expressing an unpopular opinion…That’s… Read more