The Matadors jump out to an early lead and the entire Cal State Northridge campus lies asphyxiated, unable to breathe and worried that if they gasp, even if just for a moment, they might wake from their reverie.

Students wishing to immerse themselves in the rich trapping of the grim and macabre need look no further than the department of Chicana/o studies, where Yreina Cervantez teaches a rather unconventional class on Dia de los Muertos.

It wasn’t optimal. Nor was it particularly endearing. It was however, the only place Dodger fans imprisoned by circumstance, could collectively gather to watch the first game of the playoffs in-between classes and for this reason, we made do.

Thirty-eight well-known companies converged onto the CSUN campus Tuesday Sep. 23, with the hope of finding new talent to fill techie positions within their organizations.

CSUN has been shuttling students back and forth from the Northridge Metrolink station since 1994, but according to Alan Shrake, a geography professor here on campus, merely picking up students from the bus station isn’t sufficient.

There have been three sexual assaults at CSUN within a 14-day span, two occurring within the last week.

When the idea of writing an article on the aftermath of 9/11 was initially batted around the newsroom, I balked. I felt that writing an article on the seventh anniversary of 9/11 might be forcing it a bit. At first glance, seven years just didn’t seem to carry much reverence.

I remember standing in the beverage line, napkin in hand, nibbling on a partially thawed coconut shrimp appetizer, when the flimsiness of my career choice became a reality. It was my fourth day working at the Los Angeles Times and I stood there frozen, taking in the scene of what would have appeared like a wake to an outsider.