The Board of Trustees sent the California State University budget to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger with a 10 percent increase in student fees despite the efforts of Lt. Governor John Garamendi. What this means for full-time students at CSUN is a $169 increase in tuition fees for a total tuition cost of $1,842 per semester.

A Jerome Richfield Memorial Scholar informed the audience in attendance about her plate tectonics research, which was made possible by the scholarship fund, during the Provost's Colloquium Series. CSUN Provost Harry Hellenbrand presented a plaque to Elena Miranda at the beginning of the presentation and introduced her and her subject matter.

Students were informed about the war in Iraq and were able to speak out against the conflict during a panel discussion, "You are the Change," on Tuesday. One of the speakers, Rebecca Tobias, provided many statistics about the number of deaths in Iraq and told the audience how the rest of the world views the U.

F ive members of the CSUN community have created a proposal for a fitness course on campus that would allow all members of the CSUN community to better their health. Professor Steven Loy of the Department of Kinesiology is involved with the groups that are organizing the parcourse on campus.

Relaxing and jazzy are the two words that come to mind when you think of Prudence. The jazz-rock band of CSUN students and alumni played at Plaza del Sol in the University Student Union on Oct. 24. Prudence started the show with a good sized crowd that grew even larger as the hour long performance went on.

When sunspots were first discovered by Galileo in 1612 they promptly disappeared, which hurt his reputation even more. However, the accolades CSUN astronomy professor Debi Prasad Choudhary has earned as coauthor of a paper that has been published in the top journal in astrophysics are securely in place.

With CSUN's 50th birthday coming up in 2008, a group of administrators, faculty members from different areas on campus and students are working together to re-market CSUN and make it a brand name. Over the last 50 years, CSUN has been a very important part of the San Fernando Valley through offering jobs and higher education at a low price.

The Living Well Lounge, created and operated by staff members at the Klotz Student Health Center, opened on Wednesday. The Lounge is intended for students to have a place on campus where they can learn about health issues and have a place to hang out. "The goal is really to make this kind of a hangout/chill/resource center," said Amy Reichbach, health educator at the Health Center.

Associate Students Finance Committee members voted expenses for 12 items ranging from student conferences to campus events on Monday. Six thousand dollars was requested to replace a full floor of seven mats that were damaged during rainfall by the Spirit Squad, CSUN's cheerleading team.

CSUN students, and at any other school in California, don't necessarily have to be concerned with having to pay taxes when buying food served by a school. According to the California State Board of Equalization, "food served in a heated condition (except hot bakery items or hot beverages, such as coffee, sold for a separate price), served as meals, consumed at or on the seller's facilities, ordinarily sold for consumption on or near the seller's parking facility, or sold for consumption where there is an admission charge" are not exempt from tax.

California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed discussed the recent executive salary increases, next year's budget and the possibility of more tuition hikes in 2008 with student reporters during a teleconference Thursday afternoon. Reed tackled the big issue from last week, the CSU Board of Trustees approving an increase in executive compensation, which is retroactive to July 1, 2007.

The proposed funding for the CSUN Model United Nations Club was increased and approved at the Associated Students Senate meeting on Tuesday. The finance committee proposed that $2,200 be allocated from the Unallocated Reserves Account for the American West MUN Conference that'll be held Nov.