After over two years of construction, the much-publicized Valley Performing Arts Center will celebrate its Grand Opening Gala on Saturday Jan. 29. Vance Peterson, CSUN vice president for University Advancement said the black-tie event was “a historic occasion for Los Angeles and certainly the Valley.” The invitation sent to the public called the $125 million project “a dream turned reality.” Peterson listed and detailed the evening’s phases, which will allow attendees to mingle and enjoy live performances. The gala will… Read more

CSUN has opened enrollment and granted admission to transfer students as a result of additional funding and the opening of new classes. According to the CSUN Institutional Research website, 715 new transfer students will start their first semester at CSUN this spring as of January 13. Dr. Bettina Huber, director of Institutional Research, said, “It wasn’t clear for a while whether we would accept applications from transfer students for this semester.” But ultimately, she said CSUN decided to accept applications… Read more

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is conducting a count of all the homeless people in the county this week. An estimated 29,000 people were recorded as homeless in the area, according to a 2009 factsheet provided by LAHSA.  It said the Metropolitan Los Angeles area has the highest density of homeless, with nearly one in 100 people without a home.  Alternatively, the San Fernando/Santa Clarita Valley recorded the lowest number of homeless people in the area. According to LAHSA,… Read more

Even with a new defense-first mentality, Cal State Northridge still hasn’t managed to record a road victory. After a 2-2 homestand, the Matadors will play their next three games on the road, starting with UC Irvine on Thursday and UC Santa Barbara on Saturday in Big West play. “Two tough games, two opportunities (to win a road game),” said CSUN head coach Bobby Braswell about his Matadors, who are 0-7 on the road this season. “We are not looking at… Read more

Head coach Jeff Campbell has very specific goals he wants to accomplish this week as the Matadors prepare for back-to-back matches that start Friday at the Matadome. Campbell pounded the CSUN men’s volleyball team in practice, working on defense, defense and more defense. The blocking and serving wasn’t there either, he said. The Matadors were in very bad shape following a straight-set loss to UC Santa Barbara on Friday. “Okay, right now we are focusing on defense, we are focusing… Read more

With only 11 games left in the season, the Matadors look to finish the season strong to make a final push toward making the Big West Conference tournament, starting with UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara. Women’s basketball head coach Jason Flowers still believes his team will have a shot to make the conference playoffs with seven more games at home. “I will rely on my seniors to lead the Matadors and step up through the finish of the season,”… Read more

Amid scrutiny and speculation of improper conduct as head coach of USC’s football program, Pete Carroll decided to give the National Football League another try. Last January marked the time Carroll returned to the NFL, signing a five-year contract with the Seattle Seahawks as head coach and vice president of operations. Several questions hovered around enthusiastic coach. Was Carroll ready to leave the collegiate level behind and work with a roster of 53 grown men with various personalities? Could Carroll… Read more

The Associated Students reflected on prominent news that occurred over winter break and related it to CSUN’s future during their first meeting of the semester Tuesday in the Grand Salon. The shooting in Arizona and the arrest of a former CSUN student in possession of explosives on campus were connected as relevant lessons to be learned by the senate. “CSUN is a very lucky campus, indeed,” said Tom Piernik, AS university advisor.  “This brings the discomfort of Arizona right to… Read more

Legislators in Arizona, Florida and Texas are proposing a law that would allow community college and university instructors to arm themselves with concealed weapons. Currently, only Utah allows concealed weapons on college campuses and they are banned in 24 other states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But in searching for solutions to gun violence on campuses, adding more guns to the equation is not the answer. Admittedly, sitting in class, there are days where I have looked… Read more