School is a crucial aspect in childhood and adolescence; just like it can be a breeze it can also be a difficult time in a child’s and a teenager’s life.  It is here when many kids come head to head with new difficult challenges, ranging from a broken home, gangs, drugs, or maybe they are academically challenged. Thirteen years ago, the chancellor encouraged all 23 CSU campuses to have a community engagement office. Community serve learning was the birth of… Read more

After a cancer diagnosis, parental abandonment and mental illness, family death and poverty, many would lose hope. Instead, 26-year-old Megan Amanda Saraceni was able to rise above it all to win the William Randolph Hearst/CSU Trustee’s Award for Outstanding Achievement for 2009-10. The William Randolph Hearst/CSU Trustee’s Award for Outstanding Achievement is given annually to students from each California State University (CSU) campus, who have overcome adversities in their lives, have performed academically well in their studies, contributed back to… Read more

For Twilighters, Nov. 20 couldn’t come any sooner as “New Moon” premiered with a smashing record of $72.2 million. Anticipation built as die-hard fans gathered outside movie theaters days before it was shown. The movie opens with Bella’s 18th birthday. Despite Bella’s (Kristen Stewart) reluctance of not mentioning her age or even enjoying the fact that she is now able to do whatever she wants to do, Edward’s (Robert Pattinson) family throws her a party. There Bella is attacked by… Read more

Walking through campus, one cannot help but notice all the trees here. Big and small trees; oak, pine, and palm trees; orange trees, the list goes on and on. But has anyone ever stopped to wonder how the school keeps track of how many trees there are on campus? Professor of geography and director of the Institute for Sustainability, Helen Cox, along with other geography students, have taken on the task of tagging the estimated 3,800 trees planted throughout CSUN… Read more

Sabina Magliocco, chair and professor of anthropology, will be discussing the root motifs of the “Harry Potter” books during the lecture “Witchcraft, Folklore, and the Ancestors of Harry Potter” taking place today in Sierra Hall. “First, I want to show people how many of the motifs in the ‘Harry Potter’ books really come from European folklore,” Magliocco said. “Some of the magical and fantastic creatures that are in Harry Potter, like the house elves, the griffins and some of the… Read more

School, midterms, research papers, the current economic crises, stress, relationship problems, all are like ticking time bombs waiting to go off. With the daily pressures a student faces, it can cause problems with concentration, leading many to fall behind on their academic work. When students are not able to perform academically well, students are placed on academic probation when their GPA falls below the required level. RISE (Rise, Succeed, Invest, and Enjoy) was created under the ExCEL (Experience Confidence and… Read more

During these harsh times with work, school and always running around, we sometimes forget to take care of ourselves. We forget to set aside a day just to relax and pamper ourselves. But with this recession who’s financially able to spend between $150 and $200 for a day in the spa? I have never gone to a spa, or had a facial or a pedicure. I have only had two manicures in my life and those didn’t come cheap.But I… Read more

Past award winners of the Phenomenal Woman Award will discuss issues of economy, health and public policies affecting women during a forum taking place Sept. 23 in the University Student Union’s Grand Salon. “This year is a discussion forum, where previous awardees will return to engage our CSUN community in dialogue about the gender implications of national and global issues,” said Sheena Malhorta, chair of the Gender and Women’s Studies department, via email. The Phenomenal Woman Award was started 16… Read more

Answering the demands of students and faculty members, the College of Humanities has been offering CSUN students the opportunity to explore gender and sexuality through the queer studies minor. The program started in Fall 2008. Sheena Malhorta, an associate professor for the gender & women studies major, is the coordinator for the queer studies program. She said an interdisciplinary committee — established by the dean of the College of Humanities — worked for a couple years to design the new… Read more