Students, parents of Mexican university students speak at CSUN

Angel Neri de la Cruz Ayala, a student at the Ayotzinapa school in Mexico was stopped and shot at by police during a protest. Ayala he put his hands up …

First-generation college families get personal support from campus collaboration program

Destination College at the Cal State Northridge Campus offered a unique opportunity for high school students and their parents to face the idea of a college education head-on.

The event, now in its 18th year, was composed of workshops for first-generation college-goers and their families on things like the application process and financial aid.

Kenny Rogers, CEO of the Fulfillment Fund, helped to coordinate the groups of students, speakers and campus representatives.

“It was born of the idea that students who are first-generation, low-income students who may not have people in their lives to show them the way and show them the ropes of getting to college could benefit from coming together for all kinds of workshops to help them have the opportunity that people like me take for granted,” Rogers explained.

Lilly Ledbetter speaks wage equality for women

Acclaimed wage equality activist Lilly Ledbetter addressed a packed auditorium on Wednesday at the inaugural event of the 2013 Women’s “Herstory” Month, hosted by the National Association of University Women.

The event took place at 4:30 in the Grand Salon of the USU and was well-attended both by students and other women’s rights advocates. Ledbetter spoke about her own experience with wage discrimination and her fight for legislation that would make such practices illegal.

In January of 2009, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act was signed into effect by President Obama, following the Equal Pay Act of the 1960’s instituted by the John F. Kennedy administration. It enables workers to sue for wage discrimination on any grounds, whether gender, racial, ethnic, religious or otherwise.

Her narrative gave attendees an outline of the struggle that she faced while working for wages significantly lower than those her male counterparts were earning and her campaign for the legislation that would end wage discrimination. She thanked her family and faith for her success in passing the bill, over a decade after she first filed her suit.

“This is so important in this country that we be paid equably and fairly,” Ledbetter said. “It was so critical that I stand up and fight for justice.”

Assault on Journalism conference tackles industry-wide issues

Meeting at CSUN on Friday to discuss key issues in Journalism all through the state, the Assault on Journalism conference live-tweeted their ideas on how to preserve journalistic values through recent and predicted budget cuts.

UCLA advisor Amy Embert mediated for the October 19th meeting, which was open to students, faculty, local media members and guest speakers.

The meeting not only discussed the latest budgetary difficulties in the university system, but also the newest developments in journalism as an industry.

“We don’t want to talk about just the bad news,” said Rick Cameron, mass communications chair at Cerritos and former communications director at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges. “We want to talk about what we can do…to survive budget cuts all across California.”

48 States and Counting: Fagbug Makes its Way to CSUN

Six years after she and her car were the unfortunate victims of a hate crime, Erin Davies has come to CSUN to share the story of the Fagbug.

Returning to her car late one night, Davies was shocked to find that it had been spray painted with the words “u r gay” and “fag”. As shocking as the red paint was to her, it was equally shocking to coworkers and administrators at the school, where she had been finishing grad work.

Seeing the reaction the anonymous hate crime was evoking, Davies decided not to remove the vandalism.

Instead she went on tour.

Since then she has traveled to the 48 continental United States and is working toward Alaska and Hawaii. The documentary of her journey was published, showing both the positive and negative reactions her car received, from supporters who tried to remove the graffiti for her, to business owners who asked her to move the car away from their property.

Sudden Impact exhibit hosts Pierce College artists

Under the high ceiling of their newest gallery location artists, students and creators mixed and mingled, taking in the unique brand of the San Fernando Valley art.

The Sudden Impact exhibit, put on by the 11:11 Creative Collective, showcased artists from the local area and San Fernando art institutions including Pierce College, California State University Northridge, The Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art, and others.

“We couldn’t have gotten any luckier with moving into this empty retail space,” Erin Stone, one of the coordinators of the event and a former Pierce College student said. “It screamed ‘turn me into a gallery.’ We definitely put a lot of work into it but it was a beautiful space to start with. And of course, you can’t get any better than being on Ventura Boulevard.”

The event is part of a travelling gallery project that works with the city and property owners to turn unused retail spaces into temporary art galleries. This location will be open through the month of March, rotating through various works and arrangements.

Pros and Cons: Farm Walk competition with Vintage Market could be blessing in disguise

The Pierce College Farm Walk is facing some surprising disadvantages this year, as the Vintage Market is planned to set up on the same day. But this could come as a stroke of luck, helping the program out this year and in years to come.

Last year’s Farm Walk event turned out record numbers of attendees, generating thousands of dollars of extra revenue for the program. This year, with another event taking place right alongside, those numbers could continue to go up.

The Vintage Market garners between 2,500 and 3,500 people each month coming to their 180 plus booths for their wares, according to Lori Rotblatt, one of the owners of the market. These are people who may have been unaware of the Farm Walk, or would have chosen to attend the Market instead, had the events been at different locations.

Now, with both happening in the same place at the same time, people won’t have to choose. Additionally, the Market might generate some added publicity for the agricultural event, drawing in new crowds.

Philosopher’s Cabaret enlightens students

This semester’s Philosopher’s Cabaret brought students together in the Great Hall at Pierce to share their creativity and ideas on the concept of “Pondering the Absurd– A Nonsensical Derivative.” Amid …