CSUN students getting ready to end the semester by preparing for term papers, final exams and all-night study sessions can look to the Up All Night event as a potential way to relieve stress and replenish their energy. Organized by the University Student Union (USU), Up All Night offers students free massages, access to 24-hour study rooms, free food, snacks and refreshments like coffee. “Students can expect not only a place for them to take a study break, but we… Read more

CSUN’s Unified We Stand volunteer program displayed the more than 2,500 donated items of food and 1,500 donated items of clothing on the steps of the Oviatt Library Nov. 19,during what is now considered CSUN’s largest food and clothing drive. Ryan Mason, a fourth-year sociology and Pan African studies major, and the liaison for clubs and organizations in the volunteer program, said the display, a part of Homeless Awareness Month programs, was mostly for the benefit of students. “A lot… Read more

CSUN’s United We Serve Volunteer Program continues its observance of Homeless Awareness Month with what those involved describe as the largest canned food drive this campus has ever seen. The donations from the food drive will be used today in a campus demonstration. “We plan to take all the food that has been donated and line them along the steps of the Oviatt Library,” said Justin Weiss, the program’s coordinator. Weiss said students have responded positively so far to the… Read more

CSUN students slept Saturday night on CSUN’s lawns in an effort to “Survive the Night” and experience life as a homeless person as part of Homeless Awareness Month. The students, provided with cardboard boxes, spent the night experiencing soup kitchens, homeless shelter simulations and unforgiving weather conditions as part of the event held by CSUN’s newly revived Unified We Serve volunteer program. According to Justin Weiss, the coordinator for the volunteer program, Saturday night’s event was an effort to create… Read more

The celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Pan African Studies Department ended on Saturday with a gala to honor the founding of the department. Dr. Tom Spencer-Walters, Chair of the Pan African Studies department said this year’s celebration was a combination of the annual Africa Week and PAS week celebration and a commemoration 40 years of the PAS department at CSUN. “It is a chance for us to understand the value and struggles that went into the founding of… Read more

A top Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) official confirmed that officers were conducting a training exercise at CSUN that involved members of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) earlier this semester. LAPD is now investigating the incident. Members of MEChA said they were targeted and profiled by LAPD officers during their first meeting on Sept. 2. Members said they were followed, harassed and intimidated by “undercover police officers” during a ceremony to welcome first-time freshmen to their organization. “We are… Read more

The CSUN Police Department began its four-day R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense) course designed for women on the evening of Oct. 14. The systems that are taught in the course were developed by Larry Nadeau in 1989, and were designed to “develop and enhance the options of self defense, so they may become viable considerations to the woman who is attacked” according to the company’s Web site. Instructors Daniel Foster and Sgt. Frank Gudani of the CSUN Police Department said they… Read more

CSUN student organization, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) said they were made the target of surveillance during their first meeting of this semester. Faculty adviser of MEChA, Dr. Jorge Garcia said that on Sept. 2 they were holding their first meeting on the lawn between Jerome Richfield Hall and Barman Hall when they observed the surveillance groups. “They looked older than traditional students and some were wearing cargo pants, fatigues,” Garcia said. “We were joking among ourselves about who… Read more

Last fall, California was alive with activity centered around Prop. 8, a ballot proposition that sought to constitutionally define marriage as only between a man and woman. The debate over Prop. 8 continued, with both sides, for and against, holding rallies, demonstrations, press conferences and airing commercials. Some churches urged their members to “reserve the sanctity of marriage and family and vote yes on 8.” Gay and lesbian couples rushed to get married before Nov. 4, 2008, fearing that after… Read more