Daily Sundial

CSUN police pay below industry standards

PAUL CASTILLO • December 13, 2006

Campus police make far less than their counterparts in other community police departments, discrepancies of as much as $40,000, according to data in documents from CSUN and other universities. According to CSUN budget records for 2005-2006, while some officers make around $78,000 a year, the minimum salary for officers is about $46,000 a year before bonuses and overtime.

Wii takes motion sensor game play to next level

PAUL CASTILLO • December 7, 2006

This holiday season is full of video game contenders. The oldest is the XBox 360, Microsoft's second venture into the world of consoles. Certainly the most hyped contender is Sony's PlayStation 3, the behemoth in both power and price. But the newest entry, Nintendo's Wii, is certainly the most creative thing to come out of video games in a long time.

Chaos, hilarity in ‘You Can’t Take It With You’

PAUL CASTILLO • December 7, 2006

Comedy is one of those areas where everything has to work just perfectly to be pulled off right, and there are many areas where "You Can't Take It With You," the current theatre department production that will finish its run Dec. 10, works remarkably well.

The negative effects of Disney on children

PAUL CASTILLO • December 4, 2006

One of America's popular cultural institutions is Disney. From Mickey Mouse to "Sleeping Beauty" to "Cars," everyone has seen, or is at least familiar with, something from Disney. We view Disney as a family-friendly and wholly moral corporation, one that does not stand for anything that could offend anyone.

Why copyright laws last so long

PAUL CASTILLO • November 30, 2006

One of the issues important to the authors of the Constitution is copyright. Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the Constitution says, "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.

Art students without heat during recent cold snap

PAUL CASTILLO • November 30, 2006

Students have long taken refuge from the cold and the wind by moving inside, whether that is by moving into the library or into their classrooms. Right now, all art students can look forward to when they go into their classrooms is more cold. Those students, who have had their heating down since at least Monday, have been forced to do their work in the cold.

Land of opportunity, starting with Thanksgiving

PAUL CASTILLO • November 22, 2006

We have all been fed the storybook tale of the Pilgrims and Native Americans joining together in brotherly love to feast on the season's harvest before winter. But what are we really celebrating when we celebrate Thanksgiving? The Pilgrims arrived in the New World from England in November 1620.

Tenacious D: Their epic musical quest to become rock gods

PAUL CASTILLO • November 22, 2006

The self-proclaimed "Greatest Band In The World," Tenacious D, is back with a new album, a new movie, and a new live show that will kick your ass with non-stop rock and roll. "Tenacious D in: The Pick Of Destiny," the new album, their sophomore effort, and movie, which comes out Nov 22, tells the story of Tenacious D, which was formed by lead singer Jack Black, best known for his roles in "King Kong" and "Nacho Libre," and lead guitarist Kyle Gass.

Class size, students play roles in budget

PAUL CASTILLO • November 20, 2006

There are a few words in the English language that seem sure to make any high-powered executive at least a little nervous. Few like to hear the words "sex scandal" or "high profile criminal case," and the reasons for this should be obvious. However, a much less obvious word that is just as nerve racking as the others is the word "budget.

American justice imposing more punishments

PAUL CASTILLO • November 20, 2006

Ever since someone said, "an eye for an eye," humanity has recognized a need for some system of dealing out justice. Some justice system is a prerequisite for government, whether it is fair or not. In America, we founded a system of justice where the people decide who is innocent, who is guilty and, in some cases, even what their punishment should be.

Don’t blame video game industry for the flaws in society

PAUL CASTILLO • November 9, 2006

Ever since I can remember, popular culture has been a scapegoat for the ills of society. In the early part of the 20th century it was jazz music. During the 1950s it was rock and roll. In the 1970s and 1980s it was violent movies, television and, of course, rock and roll.

More cell phone minutes, less sperm?

PAUL CASTILLO • November 9, 2006

Men's virility has always been one of their primary concerns, and one of the major ways it is measured is sperm count. Now it turns out more men may have a much lower sperm count than they first thought. According to a study presented by the Reproductive Research Center at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio at the recent American Society for Reproductive Medicine's annual meeting, men who use their cell phone for more than four hours a day have an almost 45 percent lower sperm count than men who do not use cell phones at all.