When Genein Letford wanted to teach her third graders about architecture, she did not just flip open a textbook and copy information on a chalkboard. Instead, she rounded the children up and took them on a field trip to her alma mater, University of California, Los Angeles. It is this alternative approach that contributed to her recent Great American Teacher Award, presented by the Ron Clark Academy in Georgia. “My style of teaching is crazy, in a good way though,”… Read more

The CSUN women’s basketball team hopes that a game against an unfamiliar opponent doesn’t lead to a familiar result when it faces off against Washington for the first time in school history tonight at the Matadome. The Matadors (0-9) are looking to elude their tenth straight loss having started the year with nine consecutive ones and having yet to win a game almost a third into the season. While the coaching change and acquisition of Northridge first-year head coach Jason Flowers… Read more

By Quan Luong Most NBA fans are certainly not happy about the new technical foul rule in the league, especially if it’s going to affect the 2010-11 season. Fans who attend games or watch them live on television seem to be irritated with the NBA for expanding the rules this season. List of examples would be: 1. Players making aggressive gestures such as punching the air and clapping their hands loudly anywhere on the court, even if it’s not directly… Read more

The atmosphere in the Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks over Thanksgiving  weekend was fun and festive. I was at the mall to do some walking, not consuming. I had nothing but my car keys with me but that didn’t stop me from window shopping. I browsed The Pottery Barn, wishing for a world in which ivory sofas are practical, dashed into Macy’s to see what designers are doing with the same old fabrics this year, and then took a… Read more

The CSUN Alumni Association honored community members in November who have made profound contributions to the campus with the 2010 Volunteer Service Awards. Two honorees were Drs. James Syms and Sheryl Low for their efforts in developing a physical therapy doctorate degree program at CSUN.  It was through their hard work and perseverance that Assembly Bill 2382 was passed and signed into law by Gov. Schwarzenegger, allowing the physical therapy program at CSUN to move from a masters to a… Read more

For people who have taken public speaking classes, it’s easy to imagine the absolute terror one might feel when stepping up to a podium to speak in front of more than 400 peers. Yet for senior Farah Ballout, 21, the feeling is exhilarating. “It’s amazing,” said Ballout, political science major.  “I feel like that’s what I’m good at doing.” Ballout and nine other CSUN students were able to put their communication skills to the test when they attended a recent… Read more

One week after Neal Winn, 30, graduated from Connecticut College in 2002, he was employed with the Hartford Insurance Group.  It took Winn a year before he realized insurance was not his business and set out to find a more interesting field to lend his skills. Within a few months, Winn was working at the Gersh Talent Agency in New York City. When that was no longer fulfilling, he left to produce freelance projects and entered the real estate market… Read more

With a three-game losing streak and possibility of losing one of its top players, CSUN couldn’t have asked for an easier opponent to beat up on. After losing two road games in Colorado (Air Force, Denver), the Matadors will try to get back on track against Cal Lutheran, a team CSUN has dominated in past years, facing off tonight at the Matadome. Northridge’s second leading scorer, Rashuan McLemore, suffered a concussion in the opening minutes of the second half  Saturday… Read more