This fall, Thomas Brown will step down as executive director for Physical Plant Management after 15 years in the position and about 30 as a member of the CSUN community. “I love this place, it’s been awfully good to me,” Brown said.  “But it’s a good time for me personally and professionally to move on.  And it’s a good time for the university too.” Physical Plant Management is the office that oversees all grounds and facility upkeep on campus.  Their… Read more

The smoking wreckage of a tram car marked the end of a New York City street and the beginning of tropical overgrowth and rocky formations.  A bellow emerged from a dark tunnel. Two years after a fire destroyed the original “King Kong Encounter,” Universal Studios Hollywood announced the new “King Kong 360 3-D” attraction at a premiere event.  Celebrities like Mark Moses (“Mad Men”) and Mark Pellegrino (“Lost”) shared the red carpet with a tiger and an albino python courtesy… Read more

Among the newspapers and periodicals with titles like “American Aphrodite,” “Screw” and “Fag Rag,” are diaries, photographs and flyers.  These items are rare.  They draw researchers to CSUN’s Oviatt Library from around the country. “There are three places for anyone that’s serious about transgendered research in this country,” said Jacob Hale, philosophy professor.  “The Kinsey Institute, the University of Michigan and CSUN.” Hale is the director of the Center for Sex and Gender Research, a faculty research institute housed in… Read more

Joni is late. There was a party and she may have kissed the boy she likes and she may have had a little too much to drink and she may have driven herself home.  She’s in trouble. Her parents are waiting at the foot of the stairs and despite the straight A’s and the college acceptance letters Joni is grounded.  This scene could take place in any family-based comedy, if not for Joni’s withering response, that her Moms are only… Read more

The thermometer read 86 degrees but it felt like Death Valley. More than,20 people were gathered at the small dessert shop near CSUN. The orders are called out, one after another. Tamarind. Tigers Blood. Monkey Brains. “You can’t just go to Baskin-Robbins for these flavors,” said Kristin Roskowick. Roskowick, with her husband Patrick, is the owner of Get Shaved, a Hawaiian ice shop opened in May at 9255 Reseda Blvd. in Northridge. Get Shaved serves exotic frozen treats alongside more… Read more

It could happen any time, any day. The second floor of the Matador Bookstore Complex was quiet.  A few summer semester students were gathered, talking with friends.  Jennifer Jimenez, a freshman, psychology major, placed her lunch and book bag at a table.  She then walked away, across the room, to grab some paper towels from the bathroom. Her laptop sat on the table, unattended and unlocked. “Sometimes I worry about my possessions,” said Jimenez, 18.  “That’s why I ran back… Read more