CSU board of trustees voted to increase Fall 2012 tuition 9 percent while protesters turned violent outside after being removed from the Chancellor’s Office Wednesday. Trustees voted 9 to 6 to raise full-time undergraduate tuition by $498 a year, bringing the total annual cost to $5,970. “(It’s) time to tell the legislature this is what we need to operate this system, and if they’re not going to act then we have to show the leadership and make those tough, hard… Read more

National Coming Out Day, an annual celebration in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and queer community meant to embolden those in the closet to “come out” to family and friends. National Coming Out Day was created in 1988, the brainchild of personal growth workshop leader Rob Eichberg and then-head of the National Gay Rights Advocates Jean O’Leary, as a collective response to Reagan era anti-gay politics, according to the Human Rights Campaign website. “To this day, National Coming Out… Read more

A fair contract and salary adjustments brought out a group of CSUN faculty members and a few students for an informational picket Tuesday afternoon. The picket, with about 30 to 35 participants, was organized by the California Faculty Association (CFA), with CSUN chapter president Nate Thomas leading the way. “It’s very simple. The faculty has not been treated with respect and we need a contract,” Thomas said. “We’ve been operating since June 30, 2010, without a contract. We’re operating on… Read more

As if starting college isn’t stressful enough, for years freshman have dreaded gaining 15 pounds their first year away at school. But, according to new studies, that fear is overblown – by about 10 pounds. “Being a dietitian, I thrive on keeping abreast on the latest nutrition studies,” said CSUN registered Student Health Center dietitian, Ellen Bauersfeld. “It’s been fun to see the articles and documents from legitimate resources on the freshman 15. It’s so common to hear about, they… Read more

Growing up as a self-identified Chicana, Yreina Cervantez had little inclination that her childhood circumstances would eventually lead her into the Chicana/o movement and her position in the Chicana/o studies department at CSUN. “Art is a powerful tool for transformation,” said Cervantez who immersed herself in the growing arts community. She said the collective spirit at Self Help Graphics was very dynamic and became a creative hotbed for artists during beginning of civil rights in the Chicana/o Movement. It can… Read more

Before I arrived in Istanbul, I had never done any sort of multimedia work. I am a photographer plain and simple. The idea of shooting video has never appealed to me. But as a journalist, being able to write, photograph, and produce multimedia pieces could make me more marketable, so I knew I wanted to try to learn. The second assignment in my study abroad program was to shoot and produce a multimedia piece. The idea of putting together a… Read more