Dear Editor and CSUN community,
Thursday’s “So whose pleasure is it anyway?” “Sex Talk” article was appalling.  There must be a better way to get students to read the Sundial than showing a woman’s head in a man’s crotch and asking students intimate details about their sexual preferences!  Come on!  Porn is easily accessible, is that what you’re trying to accomplish in the Sundial?  If you want the CSUN community to take the Sundial seriously, you might want to consider topics and pictures on a higher level.  My students also found this article ridiculous and offensive.
If you need suggestions for topics for student reporters to write about in the future, I will be happy to help.
Michele Paskow, lecturer
Jewish Studies

Dear Editor,
Freshman 15: a term that is dreaded throughout many college campuses. It can be further defined as the extra 15 pounds that a first year college student typically gains by their sophomore year. In the article titled, “Green Paper or Green Thumbs,” the author, Michelle Nelson, points the finger at the food options on campus as the culprit of these pesky extra pounds. With restaurants such as Burger King, Panda Express, and El Pollo Loco as the leaders of this unhealthy eating movement, one can assume that these restaurants are one of the main reasons why college students are more overweight than in years before. I, however, point my chubby finger to the students themselves who choose to eat in such restaurants as the real criminals.
Though it is true that the Cal State Northridge campus has few, if any, options for healthier diets, we should not completely blame the selection of food for the growing numbers obesity in college students. As we are all adults, we should each be accountable for making our own decisions including what we choose to eat. There are many options for healthier dinning outside of the college campus such as making a lunch on your own with fresh foods from supermarkets such as Whole Foods, Trader Joes, or even Ralphs. All in all, these stores provide less expensive options with healthier choices for college students across California.
As far as the notion of starting a college garden on campus, I am all for the idea. I too feel that a garden would be a great idea to unite the students while at the same time providing an inexpensive way to fuel a healthier lifestyle in everyone attending college at Cal State Northridge. I would like to see athletic teams and the Greek system unite as one to tend to the gardens as a part of their requirement to remain in these groups. Keeping a garden will help this college campus go green and self-sufficient which is increasing in importance as the economy worsens in the near future.
Though I do not agree with Michelle on all of her points, she succeeds in addressing obesity as a growing problem in colleges across the country. Hopefully her article will spark some interest in students across the campus to create a movement that counters these unhealthy fast food restaurants we have grown so accustomed to eating in.
Kindest Regards,
Britteny Salvador, Broadcast Journalism Major, Sophomore

Letter to the Editor:

Chancellor Reed is Starving the CSU System.

As a new semester starts at CSUN, I realize business is not as usual. I have seen how the 10% tuition increase, the 30% class availability decrease and the furlough days have detrimentally affected this campus as well as many other CSU campuses. How and why did this happen? Well, Joseph Glatzer’s article, “While we starve, Chancellor tells us to eat cake,” is a thoroughly researched piece that accurately answers this question.

Altogether, I share the same point of view as this article, and I greatly appreciate the fact that this issue is being brought to students’ attention; unfortunately, it is a little too late for those who are unable to add classes mandatory for their graduation or for those who are unable to pay the raised tuition. This article points out that CSU officials, such as Chancellor Charles B. Reed, have decided that their “fat wallets” are much more important than the wellbeing of the hardworking teachers and students of the CSU system; which is proved throughout the column with carefully researched data from multiple sources. A great amount of unnecessary spending occurred last year when Chancellor Reed mandated pay raises for a select few. “Extra compensation bonuses”, were given to retiring Presidents and top executives, and new appointments of Vice Presidents positions. With these facts in mind, this piece shows us that it is apparent he is not only worried about his wallet, but the wallets of his executive buddies as well. It is no wonder how we got into the mess we are in today!

The issue at hand is one that affects everyone involved in the CSU system, and this article has given the problem the attention it deserves. Although, we (the students) aren’t in high executive positions, such as Chancellor Reed, collectively we are more powerful than any CSU official. We no longer need to stand for crooked executives taking advantage of us and our money; we all must speak out, like this article does, and make our voices heard.
Kelly Halseth