President of Associated Students, Amanda Flavin, presented Student Production and Campus Entertainment’s objectives and organizational structure Tuesday. Flavin said the goal of S.P.A.C.E. is to produce six to seven events a year. The president said that she’d rather provide “better-quality events held less often.” The president urged a shift from faculty and staff advising the planning of events to a more student-run structure. S.P.A.C.E. is looking to engage students, and its aim is to create student-run and produced events, Flavin… Read more

>>>Correction: Coyle-Thompson earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree at CSUN and PhD at UCLA. CSUN biology professor Cathy Coyle-Thompson died Tuesday morning after an emergency surgery Monday night to fix a tear in her stomach, according to her sister in an e-mail sent to the biology department. She was 52. Randy Cohen, CSUN biology professor, emailed faculty Tuesday expressing the department’s sympathy and appreciation for her work. “Cathy was a true CSUN Matador in every sense, having earned both her… Read more

The definition of rape has been revised in order to include male victims and to better help the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program, according to a recent U.S Department of Justice announcement. The revised definition is “penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” The U.S Department of Justice made this change in December 2011 under… Read more

President Barack Obama will seek another term in the 2012 election, running against one of the following candidates. Rick Santorum won the Iowa primary, Mitt Romney won the New Hampshire primary and Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary. With several primaries to go, the GOP nomination could go to anyone. The following is an overview of the candidates on several key issues. All information has been retrieved directly from the candidates’ websites unless otherwise indicated. Mitt Romney- “Keeping America… Read more

For 29-year-old Ahmad Alromeadheen, the sky is not the limit.  Originally from Kuwait, Ahmad moved to the U.S. six years ago on scholarship to pursue a degree in astronomy. After choosing California as his destination, Ahmad had to decide where to study. “I heard CSUN was the most diverse school in California, so I thought, ‘Why not?’” he said. Although he has a great passion for astronomy, Ahmad changed his major to mechanical engineering after moving to the States.  Last… Read more

Gas prices have been consistently rising over the past year and as of Jan. 12, the cost of one gallon of regular unleaded gas cost $3.734, according to AAA’s Weekend Gas Watch. This price is up only one cent from the previous week, but up 15 cents from last month. According to the Daily Fuel Gauge Report by AAA, regular unleaded gas was averaging $3.357 per gallon one year ago. This means in one year, gas prices have risen nearly… Read more

Improvements to the Matadome and Redwood Hall,  which began the summer of 2011, are the first of many projects that are changing the face of the university’s athletic events, which are scheduled to be finished by the end of the spring semester. Among the first of renovations was the Matadome, which had a $40,000 aesthetic overhaul that included an upgraded center scoreboard with a new audio system and enhanced graphics. The funding came out of the Campus Quality Fee, and… Read more

CSUN’s police department formatted their daily crime logs last month to now list the smell of marijuana. Incidents involving marijuana use have always been reported, but now federal law dictates the smell of marijuana must be reported as well, said Christina Villalobos, community relations officer  for the CSUN police department. “The change happened because we have to meet federal requirements through the Clery Act,” Villalobos said. “We’re in compliance.” The Clery Act is a federal law that reports crimes that… Read more

Correction: The SRC facility including the Rec pool is 138,000 square ft., the building is 118,000 square ft. and the Rec pool is an additional 20,000 square ft. The actual cost of the SRC is $62,354,790 (University Advancement rounded to $62.3 million.) After 24 months of construction, CSUN’s Student Recreation Center (SRC) will be celebrating its grand opening Thursday, Jan. 26 at the USU. The event, which is open to all students, faculty and staff, will feature live disc jockey’s, arcade games, go carts,… Read more