Daily Sundial

Students turn out for A.S. elections

Daniel Harju • November 9, 2006

CSUN students decided the fate of two proposed fee increases in the Associated Students election Tuesday and Wednesday. The contested referendums, proposing increases of $15 for both the A.S. fee and the Instructionally Related Activities fee, were expecting to increase voter turnout, which is usually considerably less than 10 percent of the student body.

Students offered Blue Cross health insurance

Daniel Harju • November 8, 2006

When 4-year-old Selah Shaeffer developed a cancerous tumor and needed extensive medical treatment, her health insurance coverage was cancelled and her mother and father ended up with a medical bill exceeding $60,000 and the prospect of losing their home. The mistreatment of the Shaeffer family, described in a Sept.

Another one bites the dust: Tower Records to close

Daniel Harju • November 2, 2006

The iconic Tower Records is preparing to close its doors forever in Los Angeles and around the country in the continuing systematic shift of the music industry from high-priced music stores like Tower Records, Wherehouse Music and Sam Goody to online sales and large discount stores.

Let’s talk about Iraq, since no one really wants to

Daniel Harju • November 2, 2006

The political season is upon us and the war in Iraq has become the major midterm election issue as the Republican Party fights to keep control over both the House and the Senate. In September, 2,600 Iraqis were killed in Baghdad alone, while Democrats and Republicans used the war to attack each other and score points with voters.

Muslim fasting ritual ends this week

Daniel Harju • October 23, 2006

As the sun sets over the San Fernando Valley, food is on everyone's mind. When the smell of food wafts through the door, filling the room, it entices the senses and an informal countdown goes into effect. When the time comes, a group of about 20 thirsty and hungry members of the CSUN Muslim Student Association quickly gather with a characteristic calm around the makeshift food table to break their fast with Italian spaghetti with meatballs in marinara sauce.

Religious clubs hold inter-faith event celebrating common ground

Daniel Harju • October 16, 2006

In an unusual evening of inter-faith dialogue, about 60 people gathered on the night of Oct. 11 in the University Student Union to eat and talk about fasting, a common religious practice in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. At the event, which was organized by four religiously-inclined campus clubs, participants of different faiths asked questions and commented on religious topics including fasting, religious scriptures and prayer.

Geography; More than maps and capitals

Daniel Harju • October 10, 2006

A common perception of geography is that it mainly involves the memorization of capitals, rivers and countries, but in the CSUN geography department, students and faculty view the discipline in a number of intellectually stimulating and practical ways. "Originally I thought geography was memorizing place names and staring at wall maps all day long," said Stephen Kallemeyn, geography major.

Paved ‘art walk’ planned for historic orange grove

Daniel Harju • September 26, 2006

The Orange Grove, a rare remaining patch of the San Fernando Valley's agricultural past, will be opened up to pedestrian traffic next year as CSUN proceeds with its campus expansion plans. The planned construction of the Orange Grove Art Walk, included in the campus master plan "Envision 2035," has been portrayed as a revitalization of the grove, which is located in the southeast corner of campus.

FBI secretly searches student financial aid requests

Daniel Harju • September 25, 2006

For close to five years, the Department of Education has been secretly searching their databases, looking for suspicious names provided by the FBI. The department's student record database, containing the personal information of about 15 million financial aid applicants, has been accessed on behalf of the FBI without notifying the students or college administrators.

Life is different for those in biggest and smallest majors

Daniel Harju • September 14, 2006

While 2,006 CSUN students have decided on psychology as a major, the "undecided" holds a strong second place with 1,829 indecisive but promising learners. According to enrollment data released by Institutional Research, the most popular majors at CSUN, as of Sept.

Army recruitment harder than ever

Daniel Harju • September 11, 2006

After a whole day in the hot sun, the rock-climbing wall provided the group of camouflage uniformed Army service members with some shade as they concluded a day of recruiting at CSUN. The recruiters had erected the wall next to a shiny black Hummer on the lawn in front of the Oviatt Library.

To snip or not to snip, that is the question

Daniel Harju • April 24, 2006

The two day-old naked infant boy was strapped down and spread eagle on a restraining board in a Marin General Hospital surgery room. He screamed and struggled as the doctor inserted a Plastibell without anesthesia, a surgical device used to forcefully separate the boy's foreskin from his penis gland so that the targeted tissue can be cut off.