Student, faculty art sale set for Saturday in Art, Design Center

The Art Department will host an annual art sale and painting student exhibition on Saturday that will display student and faculty artwork that will be available for purchase. The event, which will last from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., will showcase works of art, including ceramics, photography and paintings, and will be held in the Art and Design Center. “Our Annual Holiday Art Sale and Exhibition gives the community a unique opportunity to view and purchase one-of-a-kind works of art created by our talented students and faculty,” said Dave Moon, chair of the Art Department, in an e-mail. The artists will also be on hand, as will free refreshments. Parking for those without existing permits is $4 in Lot B6, E6 and in student lots. Individuals can obtain a permit from an Information Booth on the corner of Lindley Avenue and Nordhoff Street, Prairie Street and Darby Avenue and at individual permit dispensers located in various on-campus parking lots.

– Ryan Denham

‘Film and Philosophy’ class to be offered again in Spring 2006

Professor Vincent Coppola will again teach his “Film and Philosophy” class next semester for students interested in studying the merge of philosophy and motion-picture storytelling. The class, PHIL 313, will be held Wednesday nights throughout Spring 2006. “We will view films and discover (together) what the filmmaker is saying via his or her art form,” Coppola said, adding that philosophy, or the “love of wisdom” is an exciting endeavor. “A filmmaker, when all is said and done, is a true philosopher, using his or her art to express what he or she feels he or she must tell us about the truth of being alive,” he said in an e-mail. Coppola, a relative of director Francis Ford Coppola, worked in the film industry at 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures and Paramount Pictures. He was the head of The Writers Director’s Internship Department at Paramount, and worked on many screenplays at all three studios. He worked closely with producer Fernando Ghia of “The Mission,” producer David Puttnam of “Midnight Express,” and worked with Francis Ford Coppola, director and producer of “The Godfather” film series. Priority registration ends Dec. 20, with classes starting Jan. 20, 2006.

-R.D.

CSUN asks for input on New Student Convocation plans

The university will host an open conversation with students, faculty and staff next week to help administrators determine if a New Student Convocation event should be held on campus each year. The open forum will be held Dec. 6 at 9 a.m. in the University Student Union Thousand Oaks Room. According to William Watkins, associate vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, new student convocations are most effective when they truly reflect the collective choice of a campus to participate in a formal ceremonial welcome. If a new student convocation event were launched in Fall 2006, it would join another campus convocation that fall, the President’s Convocation, held prior to the start of the semester, typically outside on the Oviatt Library Lawn. In the same manner, Watkins said in a statement, universities across the United States have used convocations to welcome new students to the campus community, convey the mission and values of the institution, and challenge students to make a commitment to completing their individual degree objectives.

– R.D.