Nationally, college graduates have been shown to earn about one million dollars more than high school graduates over a lifetime. This factoid has been repeated to high school students since I was in high school, five years ago. Unfortunately, my counselors and teachers did not elaborate that not all degrees are created equal. In Payscale’s 2011 update to its ‘20 Best-paying College Degrees’ survey, the best degrees to invest in are business and engineering fields that require advanced levels of… Read more

Tired of the rising cost of education? CTVA major Marcos Castro said that’s why he’s looking for signatures for a petition demanding textbook companies lower their prices. “They’re the ones naming the prices, and the schools can’t do anything about it,” Castro said, as he set up his table along Matador Walk. “The bookstore has to sell at these prices in order to turn a profit, so changing the price at the textbook companies is where we need to start.”… Read more

CLARIFICATION, Nov. 28, 3:37 p.m.: The original article identified the program as the “Robert E. McNair Scholars Program,” rather than the “Ronald E. McNair…” It also noted that the program is funded by NASA, the CIA, the Hearst foundations and U.S. Department of Defense. But, according to McNair program director, is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The program is one of eight TRIO programs created as part of the Higher Education Act of 1965, said Renee Moreno, program… Read more

Los Angeles murals depict the diversity of the city – from Chicana/o murals rich with vibrant colors and cultural roots in East Los Angeles, to the walls of stylish graffiti art in South Central Los Angeles, and the larger-than-life-sized portraits of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra looming over the harbor freeway. Since 2002 , the L.A. city council and the department of building and safety said the existence of murals on private property is illegal, erasing existing murals and threatening… Read more

Five of Five (V/V) announced that Monroe, the Los Angeles-based alternative rock band, is its Artist of the Year for 2011-12. “We feel extremely honored to be chosen as the No. 1 band,” said the band in an email interview. “It feels like we just won a championship game.” Last Wednesday, four artists, meticulously chosen out of 70 submissions, battled it out for a one-year contract with CSUN’s music industry studies’ student-run entertainment label. “We competed against some very talented… Read more

Tree huggers have invaded the Campus Food Garden on the north east side of campus. These little men made of organic materials were assigned by professor Edie Pistolesi and used as inspiration for a garden art party hosted by the Institute of Sustainability late last month. The art is still on display as stick figure-like men made of hay, leaves, and unripened nuts cling to a tree, plant stems and vegetable vines in the garden, located between the softball field… Read more

Five of Five, CSUN music industry studies’ student-run entertainment label, showcased the four finalists for its annual Artist of the Year talent search starting at 7:30 Wednesday night at the Plaza del Sol performance hall, the prize being a yearlong record deal, including marketing, full recording production, booking, and promotion. An estimated 313 students came to help choose the winner by judging the performances and voting via an American Idol style text submission system, which was left open until 10:30… Read more

Unified We Serve hosted a free steak dinner for students and faculty in the Northridge Center Tuesday night, and guests were in for a surprise. The dinner was, in fact, a poverty simulation, in which only some guests would actually sit down to steak, said Eunice Eugenio, member of Unified We Serve. “Each student is going to be individually assigned at random to a class – upper class, middle class or lower class – and will be served differently to… Read more