CSU faculty voted Monday in favor of a one-day strike on Nov. 17 at East Bay and Dominguez Hills campuses. There has never been a labor strike since collective bargaining began in 1983, according to the California Faculty Association (CFA), the voting entity. “Today is truly a historic day,” said CFA president, Lillian Taiz. “It’s very clear our members are angry.” Faculty will protest an unfairness in pay structure. Those who have worked in the CSU system for several years… 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

After months of preparation, CSUN’s Model UN team won the Outstanding Delegation Award in Washington D.C. on Oct. 23. The National Model United Nations conference took place over a five day period. Ten students were handpicked by Dr. Peter Kappas from the political science department to represent the university. The team was assigned to represent Italy, chosen randomly based on the availability of the 10 positions available for the delegates for the country said Kappas. Renae Gaydos, a senior majoring… Read more

CSUN students won first and second place for their mechanical prototypes with the theme of ‘Living Green’ at the Society of Hispanic Engineers conference in Anaheim, Oct. 26-30. Mechanical engineer major Jonathan Gjemso, 21, came up with the idea for the first place winner, the “Bench Press Power Generator.” “It uses the energy that a person will have to work out and it transforms it into electrical energy that could either be put back into the grid or stored,” he… Read more

Bank of America has abandoned a monthly $5 debit card fee, which was scheduled to begin in early 2012. The announcement came after competitors, namely Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, announced they were no longer going to exact similar fees. The bank cited customer feedback and a changing competitive marketplace as the reason for the bank’s “change of heart,” according to a Nov. 1  statement. “We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize… Read more

Rules governing murals in Los Angeles could be loosened now that L.A. City Council members voted in favor of revising the law last month. The city put a ban on private property murals in 2002 after outdoor advertising companies sued the city council for regulating signs, but not murals, said Rick Coca, spokesman for District 14. These regulations became tightly enforced between 2006 and 2007. Before this time, there wasn’t any ordinance on murals but there was a law governing… Read more

Tree huggers have invaded the Campus Food Garden on the north east side of campus. These little men made of organic materials were assigned by professor Edie Pistolesi and used as inspiration for a garden art party hosted by the Institute of Sustainability late last month. The art is still on display as stick figure-like men made of hay, leaves, and unripened nuts cling to a tree, plant stems and vegetable vines in the garden, located between the softball field… Read more