I can clearly remember my first day at CSUN. Stuck in some of the worst North 405 morning traffic I had ever seen, I arrived at my first class about 20 minutes late in Fall 2002. Way to go, Sam. Way to go. I remember how lost I felt in what I thought at the time was such a monstrously large campus.

School spirit at this university, in the past four years I have been here, has lagged. If our school spirit was a person, he would be struggling to get by. That person would just be average, and would feel a bit depressed, almost hopeless because when he thinks about his younger days, he was much more lively and vibrant.

I have made an educated guess that the thing that has been bothering me has irked dozens of other folks here at CSUN as well. And that something is customer treatment on campus. Too many times, I have encountered what I consider bad customer treatment and I have to say something about it.

In today's society, whether in the United States or in other nations, governmental politics has a big effect on our lives. And for several decades, dating back to the inception of political parties in America, politicians have been the people who make those decisions, with their constituents' interests and concerns in mind.

When people see the partial closing of Etiwanda Avenue, between Halsted and Plummer streets, reactions that have most likely come up in their minds are: "Why was this section Etiwanda cut off? And who in the world decided to permanently close it off?" It was the community, specifically several community members living along Etiwanda Avenue, who voiced their concerns and ultimately influenced Facilities and Planning at CSUN to close part of the street.