Dec. 9 What: West 3rd Street Holiday Party When: 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Where: West 3rd Street Merchants, 8300 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90048 Price: Free For more info: Call (800) 799-4014 Description: The third annual holiday party will take place between Fairfax Ave. and La Cienega Blvd. Dec. 10 What: Radio City Christmas Spectacular When: 7:30 p.m. Where: Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, 777 Chick Hearn Court, Los Angeles, CA 90015 Price: $35 For more info: Email feedbackradiocity@thegarden.com Description: See the… Read more

Mayra Amezcua recalls one Christmas as a little girl where she and her older sister, Angelica, were crying and jumping up and down because they unexpectedly received presents from a family they did not know. Mayra, a 20 year-old liberal studies major, said she and her sister Angelica, 22, are CSUN students who come from a working class family. “I know how it feels to receive a gift that you didn’t expect and I want to make them (children) feel… Read more

One CSUN graduate student said he wanted to learn more about search engines and decided to combine all the features that every major search engine has to offer. Md Ershad Ali Suzon, 29, who is studying for his master’s in computer sciences, created Megasearches.com earlier this year. “The primary purpose is to learn about search engines and make it useful for me and for whoever else is using it,” Suzon said. “If it eventually becomes commercial, it’ll be an additional… Read more

Ongoing What: 2010 LA Auto Show When: Through Sunday, Nov. 28 Where: Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 South Figueroa St., Los Angeles, Ca 90015 Price: $10-$12 For more info: Call (213) 741-1151 Description: The annual auto show will showcase and debut cars from around the world. What: Imagining the Past in France When: Through Saturday, Feb. 6, 2011 Where: The Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90049 Price: Free For more info: Call (310) 440-7300 Description: The exhibit displays… Read more

With online classes becoming more popular, some students might be unsure about whether they should take an online course or stick with the traditional in-class lecture. If a student is independent, disciplined or just busy with school, work, or both, an online course might be the best option for that individual, said Kimberly Wells, a CSUN online professor. “It’s really student centered,” said Wells, who teaches business communications and intermediate composition. “It’s based on that individual and on the learning… Read more

Three CSUN “campus treasures” were recognized for their time and dedication to mentoring past and present students. More than 40 members of CSUN faculty, staff, family and friends gathered for the “2010 Don Dorsey Excellence in Mentoring Awards” Tuesday evening in the Whitsett Room “Mentoring is very powerful for students and a lot of times it’s not really recognized on this campus,” said Glenn Omatsu, Asian American studies professor, an EOP member and the coordinator of the Faculty Mentoring Program…. Read more

Google Inc. was recently sued and settled a lawsuit concerning alleged privacy violations, according to an e-mail sent on Nov. 2 to all Gmail users in the United States. Google’s social networking program, Google Buzz, which launched in February of this year, was at the crux of the allegations. Google automatically registered Gmail users in Buzz, and the program released their information publicly. This information includes users’ most frequent Gmail contacts, and was exposed without enough user consent, according to… Read more

Ongoing What: Ecosystems Exhibit When: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Where: California Science Center, 700 Exposition Park Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90037 Price: Free For more info: Call (323) 724-3623 Description: Discover ecosystems, domestic to inhospitable. Nov. 19 What: A Raisin in the Sun When: 8 p.m. Where: Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049 Price: $20-$49 For more info: Call (310) 440-4500 Description: This award-winning drama is about a family living in Chicago in the 1950s searching… Read more

Ongoing What: Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico When: Through Jan. 9; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, 12 p.m. – 8 p.m., Friday, 12 p.m. – 9 p.m., Saturday, Sunday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Where: LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90036 Price: $15 Adults, $10 Students (18+ with ID) For more info: (323) 857-6000 Description: The exhibition features huge Olmec structures and sculptures — including basalt heads of their rulers and each weigh about seven to 10 pounds —… Read more