The CSUN ballroom dance club held their first masquerade ball at the Castaway restaurant Friday in Burbank. Students spent the evening wearing masks, gowns and tuxedos. They danced the waltz, salsa, tango and rumba.  One of those students was Nicole Maddocks, treasurer of the ballroom dance club. “We wanted to throw a back to school kick off event,” said Maddocks, 20. The club hopes to accumulate enough money to to throw the masquerade ball annually. “We exceeded our expectations; everybody… Read more

Pro-choice supporters gathered Saturday for the Los Angeles Walk for Choice in downtown LA to advocate for women’s reproductive rights responding to the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 3), as well as recent federal funding cuts to Planned Parenthood. H.R. 3 was introduced into Congress in January by Representative Christopher Smith. The bill prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion as well as  indirect funds  going towards programs that could possibly make contact with abortion services. The… Read more

The rain was not enough to keep the Matadors from pouring in run after run and defeating Valparaiso 13-4 in the continuation of Friday’s game that was suspended due to high precipitation at Matador Field. CSUN pitcher Ryan Juarez said it’s frustrating, but cited the team’s preparation as the reason for not letting the weather become a distraction. “It is hard to deal with, you know, tarp on and tarp off, waiting for the rain and all that stuff,” Juarez… Read more

The Matadors have dropped two home games and have now lost for the fifth time in six matches at the Matadome, bringing their record to (4-12, 3-8 MPSF).   The Cal State Northridge men’s volleyball team has struggled considerably at home this season, being swept five times, resulting in just one home win this season. With the loss to Pepperdine, it moves a game in front of CSUN with a 4-7 MPSF record. CSUN continued to contend, this time against… Read more

I find it rather fascinating how people feed off negativity or chaos. We say we want peace yet if and when it occurs, we really don’t know what to do. 2012 is vastly approaching and Hollywood produced a movie in response to a few hyped up hoaxes. Do any of us remember Y2K? The computers and stock markets were all going to crash and burn when that ball dropped on New Years Eve. Many people went as far as stocking… Read more

The Students for a Quality Education (SQE) creatively expressed their irritation with the $500 million proposed budget cut for the next school year by hosting an open mic night at the Chicana/o house on Thursday. The group encouraged the audience to participate in the campus protest against these cuts March 2. During the event a video that was filmed at Cal Poly Pomona’s 2009 walkout was shown. “Each generation must find their historical mission and either fulfill it or betray… Read more

Video by Monique Muñiz / Sports Editor It was the perfect Senior Night as all five Matador seniors were able to come out in the final seconds of Thursday night’s matchup and get a standing ovation from the ruckus sold out crowd at the Matadome. Senior Dathan Lyles knocked down five free throws in the last minute of play to ice CSUN’s 68-60 victory over the defending Big West champions, UC Santa Barbara, and giving them sole possession of fourth… Read more

MTV’s new series “Skins” is a pedophile’s wet dream and parent’s nightmare, reinforcing in teens deviant behavior which they might confuse as a mainstream ideal. The title derives from the rolling papers used for blunts and the show is laced with sexually promiscuous, pill-popping, alcoholic teens who brush off molestation as if it was an everyday occurrence. “Skins” is a dangerous societal infection needing a just remedy. “Gossip Girl,” “90210” and “Jersey Shore” clearly have had shock value moments, but… Read more

Undergraduate students at CSUN have maintained a steady proficiency in their writing skills over the past several years, in contrast to a study done and published by two sociologists who say that students aren’t learning anything in college. “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses” was written by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa, who did a random study on more than 2,300 students at over 24 colleges, found that 45 percent of these students didn’t improve in their writing and… Read more