CSUN FASA plots out Pilipino American History Month drive
CSUN’s Filipino American Student Association will showcase its students’ culture this month as members schedule workshops and a talent show as part of their Students for Pilipino American History Month drive. FASA’s weekly meetings for the month, held every Thursday at 6 p.m. in the University Student Union Pasadena Room, will become a workshop setting, as topics ranging from arts and culture, Filipino American history, and FASA history. Arts and culture will be discussed at tonight’s workshop, which will feature Filipino cultural instruments and music, Filipino cuisine and an arts exhibit. FASA members will also lend their talents to the SPAHM showcase, their main event for the month, held on Oct. 21 in the Performing Arts Center. SPAHM was started in 1995 by several FASA members who wanted to educate the community about Filipino culture and history, according to Joe Gravina, Pilipino Cultural Night coordinator for FASA.
– Ryan Denham
M.E.Ch.A. to attend statewide conference at CSU Fullerton
CSUN Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano/a de Aztlan will attend the Fall 2005 statewide conference at CSU Fullerton this weekend. All CSU M.E.Ch.A organizations in the state will be on hand to discuss various topics and issues of interest to the students. The three-day conference will consist of workshops that discuss social and political issues, as well as cultural aspects of M.E.Ch.A. “It’s a nice way of feeling united with fellow M.E.Ch.A members across the state,” said Carlos Moran, CSUN M.E.Ch.A president. Various musicians, speakers, and poets will all work together with fellow members to participate in the workshops involving cultural issues and social topics. The theme of the conference is “Cultural Self-Determination, Prevents Youth Incarceration.” It is the groups’ response to the various solutions that many governments and agencies have issued, on the subject of war, according to Moran.
– Mark Solleza
Faculty Senate Exec Committee to discuss policies at meeting
According to Faculty Senate President Ronald McIntyre, the first item to be discussed at an Oct. 6 Faculty Senate Executive Committee meeting that relates to students is a policy regarding written syllabi in graduate-level courses. This is to better inform students about the contents, requirements, and methodology of the university’s graduate program, he said. Every faculty teaching graduate courses must distribute a written syllabus to every student in the course (or post it online) no later than the second week of classes. The next item that will be discussed involves CSUN’s policies regarding anti-harassment and anti-discrimination. The Educational Equity Committee will make recommendations involving improvements to the policy and procedure of current programs relating to anti-harassment and anti-discrimination. Other items that will be discussed involve the Faculty Early Retirement Program and faculty and emeritus status. The rest of the meeting will consist of updates to the bylaws, a provost’s report, and the appointment of a replacement for Patricia Watkins on the EEC.
– M.S.
Waterless urinals at USU, SSU save CSUN thousands annually
According to Gary Homesley, assistant director of facilities and maintenance in the University Student Union, the waterless urinals in the USU and SSU are saving quite a bit of money for the university. The amount of money saved ranges from $7,000-$8,000 per year. Because the urinals are waterless, there are no sewer charges, he said. Eliminating paper towels and installing automatic hand-dryers will also help save a good amount of money. He said these waterless urinals (as well as the hand dryers) will likely be installed across campus into every building in the future. According to Homesley, CSUN is the first CSU to have the waterless urinals. “I guess you can say that CSUN is somewhat of a test site for these waterless urinals,” he said. – M.S.
Making the transition from the old urinals to the new waterless ones will be a gradual process throughout the next few years.
