United Campus Ministry plots unity events during semester
The United Campus Ministry is planning two upcoming events in an attempt to further unify the Christian community at CSUN. UCM President Chris Foreman said these activities, among others, are part a plan to stay dedicated to strengthening the existing Christian groups. “We are working together as opposed to (working) against each other,” he said. A softball tournament and barbeque will take place on Oct. 15 at 12 p.m. at Northridge Park. Free food and drinks will be provided. Men of God and Women of God, or MOGWOG, are a series of simultaneous men and women’s meetings that the ministry has recently started to host. The ministry plans to sponsor a retreat at the end of the semester, but has not finalized details. The first MOGWOG meetings will be for women in the University Student Union Grand Salon at 7:30 p.m., and the men’s will be at the Satellite Student Union Shoshone Room on the first Monday of every month starting Oct. 3.
-Connie Llanos
CSUN Hillel schedules Yom Kippur, Sukkoth celebrations
The CSUN Hillel Jewish Student Center is organizing two events for the upcoming Jewish holidays. Adam Siegel, CSUN Hillel Program Director, said the organization is currently preparing for their annual services in celebration of Yom Kippur. Hillel will have a night service on Oct. 12 and an all day service on Oct. 13 at the Hillel house. Alicia Cohen, Senior JCSC Fellow, said the main goal of the center is to provide a space for students to celebrate with the campus Jewish community. “Hillel wants to help students create a Jewish community on campus, especially those who cannot go home for the holidays,” Cohen said. After the Yom Kippur holiday, the center will begin to work on their Sukkoth celebration. Sukkoth is a celebration of temporary dwelling, and the center will set up a temporary hut on campus in observance of the holiday. Siegel also said the center is involved in other social, educational, and cultural programs.
-Vanessa Abner and C.L.
Memorial ceremony scheduled for former department chair
A memorial service will be held on campus for Omar Zahir, former professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who died Aug. 26. He was 49. The service will be held in the University Student Union at the Northridge Center on Oct. 3 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Zahir first started teaching at CSUN in 1990 as an assistant professor in the Chemistry Department. Zahir graduated with a doctorate from Stony Brook College in New York and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Iowa State University and for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He was also a research faculty member at the California Institute of Technology. “He was a very strong chair with a clear vision,” said Sandor Reichman, who is the interim chair for the department. According to Vicki Pardone, associate dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, the search for a permanent chair will begin in January 2006.
-V.A.
Corrections and Clarifications
In “Sick, vacation days could become CSU transferable,” published Sept. 29, a quote -“I think most folks become aware when they need to become aware” – was incorrectly attributed to David Kretschmer. The quote should have been attributed to James David Ballard, president of the CSUN chapter of the California Faculty Association.
In a wild art photo, “Working while working,” published Sept. 26, the caption should have included more information about the pool the lifeguard in the photo was watching. The pool was empty at the time the photograph was taken.
In “Engineering students to rev up new race car,” published Sept. 28, the name of the group that the students belong to was incorrectly named. The name of the organization is the Society of American Engineers, not the Student Automotive Engineers.
In “Former FEMA chief defends post-Katrina actions,” published Sept. 29, a quote from Professor Tom Hogen-Esch should have read, “He’s coming from an administration that a lot of people think has not taken responsibility for things that have gone wrong.”
