Amanda Nuno is one of 23 students honored by the CSU Board of Trustees with the 2015 CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement. Photo by Veronica Popovic, Financial Aid & Scholarship Department.

Amanda Nuno became a parent at the age of 14. While many doubted she would even graduate from high school, the teen mom overcame many obstacles and recently was honored as one of the California State University system’s outstanding students.

The 21-year-old California State University, Northridge student said the support she received from her family, high school teachers and the Educational Opportunity Program helped her overcome financial and academic challenges. She was one of 23 students honored by the CSU Board of Trustees with the 2015 CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement for her academic success, personal accomplishment and community service.

Every semester, student leaders from campus clubs that focus on accounting, finance, management and information systems join forces at California State University, Northridge to organize, plan and fund Meet the Firms, a career fair that prepares CSUN accounting and information systems students for their prospective careers.

This fall, approximately 900 people participated in the Meet the Firms event. Three hundred and twenty professionals from 67 firms in public accounting, information systems, private industry and government agencies, as well as 20 faculty members and CSUN staff administrators, helped give 560 CSUN students the opportunity to network and seek potential job placements. The event took place at the Odyssey Restaurant in Granada Hills.

“The number of firms that want to attend the event each semester just keeps growing,” said Luella Jones, director of the Ernst & Young Center for Careers at CSUN.

CSUN accounting students attended the event dressed in their professional best, and they were armed with resumes and thoughtful questions. The Ernst & Young Center for Careers, established by the company in 2007 in CSUN’s Department of Accounting and Information Systems, helped prepare participants by providing assistance in resume and cover letter writing, coaching on interviewing skills and counseling in career path options.

“I felt very prepared for Meet the Firms, because I had made sure everything I needed to have done was done before the date,” said sophomore accounting student Justice Rankins. “That includes making sure my suit was ironed and fitted, attending resume workshops, and meeting with professionals before the event.”

While students are engaging with the firms, they are also “developing relationships with professionals and recruiters that are looking to hire interns and full-time employees,” Jones said. “Developing relationships is vital to successful recruiting for most of our students.”

“I met some professionals that I will most definitely stay in contact with,” said Rankins. “One of the professionals I met from Ernst & Young is actually my mentor.”

Students who take advantage of the opportunities provided to them by the Center for Careers and the student clubs have a very good chance of being offered a full-time position before graduating from CSUN, Jones said.

“This was my third attendance at a Meet The Firms event,” said senior accounting student Levon Gevorgyan. “This helped me plan my time and target firms that I was interested in. In fact, I got an invitation for an in-house interview at the event, which resulted in a full-time job offer at JLK Rosenberger as an audit associate.”

Sponsoring clubs for Meet the Firms included the student Accounting Association, Beta Alpha Psi, Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, and Management Information Systems Association.

Jones noted that many students in CSUN’s accounting and information systems programs are high academic achievers, but they still carve out time for involvement in student clubs and volunteer work.

“Our students tend to be highly focused academically and work at least 20 hours per week, but many work full time and are involved in student club leadership, such as the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program or the Bookstein Tax Clinic,” Jones said. The average GPA of students in the first intermediate accounting class this semester is 3.5, she said. Many of the students are in the Business Honors academic program, requiring a minimum 3.5 GPA.

“The information systems students tend to be quite entrepreneurial,” Jones added, “which is what makes them a great hire for firms and organizations that are growing and developing new technologies.”

Two attendees at Meet the Firms get ready for the event

California State University, Northridge will celebrate the transgender community during Trans* Awareness Week (TAW), from Monday, Nov. 16, to Thursday, Nov. 19, at the university.

The week’s events will explore transgender identity and experiences through comedy, film, dynamic discussions, and talent and fashion shows. Most events are free and open to the public, such as the Trans* 101 education session, TRANSform Domestic Violence workshop, the student VarieT* Show and the Trans* Resource Fair.

Janet Mock, one of America’s most visible and influential Trans* women, will start off the week with a lecture, “Redefining Realness,” at 4 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16, in Northridge Center at the University Student Union (USU) on the east side of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.  

Mock will discuss her self-realization, her life as a transgender woman, her New York Times-bestselling memoir, “Redefining Realness,” and her work as a writer, media professional, cultural critic and advocate for the Trans* community. Tickets to Mock’s lecture are not open to the public, but students can bring in one guest when they pick up their ticket from the Associated Students ticket office located in the USU.

CSUN first celebrated TAW in 2011, one year before the campus established the Pride Center, a safe space for LGBTQ students.

Center coordinator Sarina Loeb said TAW is important because there still is a need for continuous awareness and visibility for the Trans* community.

“As a society we are more understanding with gay and lesbian issues, and somewhat with bisexual issues, but Trans* issues are not as talked about,” Loeb said. “There is more visibility in media and more and more people are starting to understand, but we need to continue to bring visibility and [as an educational institution] educate students, faculty and staff.”

Attendees can learn Trans* literacy — how to use appropriate terminology when addressing Trans* people and learning more in depth about Trans* issues — on Thursday, Nov. 19, at Trans* 101 from 12 to 1:30 p.m. at the Flintridge Room at the USU, and at the Trans* Resource Fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Plaza del Sol at the USU.

CSUN students and community performers will showcase their talent at the VarieT* Show on 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17. Attendees can enjoy music, dance and spoken poetry by poet Ollie Schminkey, who identifies as non-binary.

The week will end with Transgender Remembrance Ceremony from 7 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19, in the Flintridge Room in the USU, honoring Trans* individuals whose lives were lost from homicide or suicide in the past year.

CSUN sophomore Tyler Neroes, a Trans* student who helped coordinate the event, said that TAW is a chance for Trans* students to be recognized.

“As a student, it’s important that my voice be heard,” Neroes said. “Other trans students to know they aren’t alone and that the “T” in “LGBT” isn’t silent.”

For a full list of events, visit www.csun.edu/pride/taw.

Cedric Hackett

Hoping to inspire intellectual curiosity while encouraging a frank dialogue around the issues confronting young black men in today’s society, California State University, Northridge is hosting its fall Bi-Annual Men of Color Enquiry and Student Research Poster Session on Wednesday, Nov. 18.

The session will focus on issues raised by students in CSUN’s Africana studies class 325, “The Black Male in Contemporary Times.” The event will feature a presentation by Joseph White, professor emeritus of psychology and psychiatry at UC Irvine, who will discuss popular images of black males in American society.

The Men of Color event is scheduled to take place from 2 to 4:30 p.m. in the Northridge Center of the University Student Union, on the east side of the campus located at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

“While the student presentations are part of a class project, the session itself is designed to inspire a serious exploration of the issues facing black men in today’s society, as well as a discussion about what we, as a society, should do about them,” said Africana studies professor Cedric Hackett, director of CSUN’s DuBois-Hamer Institute for Academic Achievement.

“The discussions can be eye opening,” Hackett continued. “The students are exploring culturally relevant and sensitive issues. The day has a social justice component to it not only because of the issues we are exploring, but because we are asking the students, what are they going to do with the information they’ve gathered? How are they going to educate their peers and their community? We are planting a seed, and we’ll see what takes root.”

CSUN has joined with universities across the country in trying to find ways to bridge the gap between higher education and black male students. A report published in 2012 by the University of Pennsylvania documents the “crisis” facing black men in higher education. According to the report, the relative number of black men entering college hasn’t improved since 1967, and only 33 percent of black male college students graduate within six years.

Hackett said one of the goals of the Nov. 18 event is to actively engage young black men academically. The topics being explored by the students in the student research poster session include the media’s influence on the perceptions of African Americans, the mass incarceration of black men, manhood training for black men and social engineering.

“Several of the topics are very provocative and will get people thinking,” Hackett said, adding that having White as a presenter is a “bonus” for the day’s discussions. He noted White’s book, “Black Men Emerging: Facing the Past and Seizing a Future in America,” is one of the textbooks used in the class.

“Dr. White is considered the ‘godfather’ of the field of black psychology,” Hackett said. “It’s interesting to see how much things have changed [and] not changed since he first started researching the state of black males in society.”

For more information about the Men of Color session, visit the website http://www.csun.edu/dubois-hamer-institute-for-academic-achievement.

International Education Week is an annual initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education. California State University, Northridge will celebrate the week of Nov. 16–20 with a full program of cultural explorations from around the globe.

To kick off the week, the International and Exchange Student Center (IESC) will host an open house for CSUN faculty and staff members from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16.

“It’s a way of showcasing all our different departments, services and programs,” said Cindy Cruz, programming coordinator.

On Monday night, the Armer Theater will host an international movie night, screening Mona Lisa is Missing, an Italian documentary about the disappearance of the Mona Lisa painting from the Louvre in 1911.

“We’re bringing the producer and director on campus, so he will be available for a question-and-answer session after the movie,” Cruz said.

On Tuesday, Nov. 17, Matador Square will host a cultural celebration from noon to 2 p.m. The IESC will host the event in collaboration with Associated Students, and the center has invited the French and Greek embassies to participate, as well as the Italian-American Museum of Los Angeles.

“Students from different countries, as well as students who have studied abroad, will be showcasing the great things of the specific culture they’re from or where they have studied,” Cruz said.

In addition to showcasing the different student cultures at CSUN, the celebration also will include a Chinese calligrapher, Henna student tattoo artists and Taiko drummers, who will present traditional Japanese performances.

“It’s not only something that’s great for our international student population, but also for our domestic students,” Cruz said. “We introduce them to different cultures and the potential to study abroad.”

CSUN has approximately 100 students each year who study abroad — a number that could be higher, considering CSUN’s overall student population of more than 41,500.

On Wednesday, Nov. 18, students can learn about studying abroad and financial considerations for the program. The IESC and Department of Financial Aid and Scholarship will offer the workshop from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in Bayramian Hall 315.

“A lot of students don’t realize that studying abroad is something within their reach,” Cruz said. “We want to educate students on the financial aspect of studying abroad.”

On Thursday, Nov. 19, organizers will host a lecture by the humanitarian aid consultant Andrea Capachietti on the Syrian refugee crisis and its impact on children. It will be held in the Panorama City Room of the University Student Union East Conference Center from noon to 1 p.m.

The week will conclude with an annual International Education Week tradition, a Thanksgiving celebration, from noon to 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20, at the IESC.

“It’s for all our students, but mainly introduces our international students to one of our biggest holiday celebrations,” Cruz said. “We offer a Thanksgiving lunch with all the trimmings.”

Preceding the lunch, students will learn about the history of Thanksgiving and what it means to U.S. citizens.

Nearly 3,100 international students from more than 94 countries around the world attend CSUN, and organizers expect participation in the week’s events to be high.

“It’s a great way for everyone to get to know about different cultures and what’s going on worldwide,” Cruz said.

For more information contact cindy.cruz@csun.edu or call (818) 677 – 3053.

On Nov. 12, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) presented California State University, Northridge with a 2015 Eddy Award for Educational Leadership during a gala celebration at the Beverly Hilton. The award honors those who have played leading roles in the development of the county’s economy and in the creation of well-paying jobs for its residents. Snapchat Founder and CEO Evan Spiegel, CBRE Group, Inc., and the cities of Palmdale and El Segundo also received Eddy Awards at the gala.

CSUN joins Caltech, USC and UCLA as the fourth university to receive an Eddy Award.

“As the third-largest university in California, CSUN is a catalytic hub of education, research and innovation — playing a critical role in the economic development of the region,” said CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison. “Working collaboratively with LAEDC and public- and private-sector partners, CSUN positively impacts nearly every aspect of life in our community. We, at the university, are honored to be recognized for doing something that is such an integral part of who we are — elevating the social, cultural and economic well-being of Los Angeles.”

To commemorate this award at the gala, a short video was presented to showcase CSUN’s reach in Los Angeles County and beyond. Helping to provide commentary on the video were Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and longtime San Fernando Valley business and civic leader David Fleming, as well as prominent CSUN alumni Eva Longoria ’13 (M.A. Chicana/o Studies), David Nazarian ’82 (Business), Earl Enzer ’83 (Finance), Sue Herera ’80 (Journalism) and Bill Griffeth ’80 (Journalism).

Serving a diverse student body of more than 40,000 students, many of which are first-generation college students, CSUN has been ranked in the top five nationally by EdSmart.org for advancing U.S. economic progress and by the National Science Foundation for graduates who go on to earn doctorates in the sciences. CSUN-related expenditures generated an estimated $1.9 billion in output throughout California. Of this $1.9 billion in output, approximately $1.6 billion occurred within Los Angeles County, helping to sustain nearly 12,000 jobs. CSUN has more than 300,000 alumni, 80 percent of whom live and work in Southern California.

The Eddy Awards® were introduced by LAEDC in 1996 to celebrate individuals and organizations that demonstrate exceptional contributions to positive economic development in the region, consistent with LAEDC’s focus on increasing shared prosperity for residents and communities of our region. As the Southern California region’s premier economic development organization, the LAEDC provides economic development leadership to promote a globally competitive, prosperous and growing L.A. County economy to improve the health and well-being of residents and communities, and enables those residents to meet their basic human need for a job.

CSUN is a lead when it comes to teaching students financial literacy. Photo by Lee Choo.

As the United States continues to recover from the Great Recession, California State University, Northridge is promoting financial literacy to help a new generation of students make better decisions and invest in their future.

What does it mean to be financially literate? Gregorio Alcantar, a CSUN financial aid counselor and financial literacy coordinator, said knowledge is key.

“To be financially literate is to have the information and the capacity to make an informed financial decision,” Alcantar said. “If you are informed, you will make the right decisions. But even if you make the wrong decisions, at least you know what is going on.”

Alcantar called CSUN a trailblazer in providing campus-wide financial literacy education at the university level. The Financial Aid and Scholarship Department has provided several workshops and webinars as a part of their financial literacy program every semester since 2011. This semester’s programming includes the importance of saving money and budgeting while in college, managing student financial aid awards and the judicious use of credit cards and loans.

Alcantar said that about 75 percent of CSUN students receive some form of financial aid, and many have trouble managing their financial awards because they often lack skills in budgeting, goal-setting and long-term planning.

“When you get your financial aid check, how do you make it last for 15 weeks?” Alcantar said he asks students. “Students spend the money quickly and think that wants are needs. We have to teach them about delayed gratification and priorities.”

He pointed to the financial struggles for students living off campus. For example, if a student receives a $3,000 check, he or she needs to budget in advance how much is needed every month for living expenses. In the financial literacy workshops, students learn tricks that make it harder to spend the money quickly, such as taking out cashier’s checks and putting them aside for their monthly rent, Alcantar said.

The financial literacy program collaborates with other groups on campus, including the University Student Union, Career Center, University Counseling Services and the Klotz Student Health Center, to reach out to students, and department staff members give presentations in freshman level University 100 classes.

The financial aid department also works with CSUN Saves, another program on campus dedicated to financial literacy. Spearheaded by family and consumer sciences professor Linda Bradley, the program is an affiliate of the national America Saves campaign, an initiative sponsored by the Consumer Federation of America. In addition to participating in the annual America Saves Week, CSUN Saves engages students through events and social media.

Bradley incorporates CSUN Saves into her family finance course as a service-learning project in which students organize and participate in the promotion of financial literacy on campus. CSUN is the first university in the country to use service-learning with an America Saves campaign.

“Our goal is to keep putting financial education information out in front of students any way we can,” Bradley said. “Giving students the opportunity to teach others is important, because teaching someone else helps enhance learning and helps you remember the material. They get out and talk to other students about the importance of saving money, setting goals and learning how to budget.”

Bradley said her class comes up with creative and fun ideas to reach out to students. In spring 2015, CSUN Saves hosted a financial resource fair and board game night where students played games such as Monopoly, CASHFLOW and Pay Day. Wells Fargo and CSUN’s Institute of Community Health and Wellbeing provided pizza and refreshments, while representatives from the financial aid department, Wells Fargo, Matadors Community Credit Union, 1st Choice Financial Education and Counseling, CSUN Smart Spenders and the CSUN Bookstein Institute for Higher Education in Taxation presented to students or provided information and prizes.

Students also use social media and written and multimedia content to promote financial topics relevant to their CSUN classmates, such as where to use a student ID card to get discounts, how to use coupons to save money, how to entertain on a budget and finding smart ways to earn extra income. The campaign also encourages students to make pledges to save money and come up with a plan to follow through.

Caterina Galvez, a junior majoring in social welfare and social justice, said she got involved with CSUN Saves after she realized the importance of financial literacy while transitioning into adulthood. She recognized she would soon be making financial choices about buying a home, contributing to a retirement fund and building an investment portfolio.

“It is very easy to make financial mistakes that can be both costly and take years to reverse if one doesn’t have an idea of how financial matters work,” she said. “From the class, I took away a multitude of financial ideas — from how to properly use credit to deciding whether I should buy or rent a car or home.”

She learned that goal-setting is important, Galvez said, as money management can be hard for CSUN students juggling multiple responsibilities with limited resources.

“Students face many challenges with money management due to limited income, rising prices of goods and having to pay for everyday needs and bills, as well as unpredictable needs like having to go to the hospital or buying a new part for their car,” Galvez said. “Money management also takes a lot of time and tracking, which most students can’t afford on top of classes, work, studying and social time.”

Bradley said financial literacy is very important for all students to learn, but especially for many of CSUN’s first-generation college students.

“A lot of students at this school support their family, and they have genuine financial concerns,” Bradley said. “It’s not just about saving money for a trip to the Bahamas for spring break — they are helping their parents pay rent. It’s about helping those students where they are now, and helping them move forward to get to better things.”

CSUN Saves will host a Financial Resource Fair and Board Game Night from 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17, in Sequoia Hall Room 112. Program organizers will also share information at the weekly campus Farmers Market, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Tuesday until Nov. 24, at East University Drive and Cleary Walk. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/csunsaves.

The financial aid department will host workshops and webinars throughout the semester. The next workshop will take place at 2 p.m. on Dec. 3, and will focus on the misconceptions about how to build and maintain good credit. The next webinar will take place at 4 p.m. on Nov. 13, exploring “Four Money Pitfalls to Tackle While in College.” For a complete list of workshops and webinars, visit www.csun.edu/financialaid/news/fall-2015-workshops-webinars.

The campus is located at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

California State University, Northridge’s Orange Grove Bistro was packed with faculty, staff, students and community leaders attending the Black Alumni Association’s (BAA) second annual awards and scholarship fundraiser, Nov. 14.

The event, “Celebrating a Legacy of Success: Linkages Beyond the Classroom,” recognized the contributions of CSUN alumni, faculty and staff who have helped to elevate the lives of those of African descent. The organization also presented its inaugural scholarship to deserving students: Paisley Lenc, an English major, and Tony Craig Stevenson, an electrical engineering major.

“Since our chartering on Sept. 27, 2011, we have dedicated ourselves to connecting all those interested in promoting and supporting the needs of alumni, faculty, staff and students of African descent at CSUN,” said Shanté Morgan-Durisseau ’90 (Journalism/Afro-American Studies), president of the BAA. “This event helps fulfill our mission of creating linkages beyond the classroom.”

Those honored were:

• Harry Hellenbrand, CSUN’s former provost and vice president of academic affairs – Shining Star Award
• Bibliana Bovery ’86, LAUSD school psychologist and national second vice president, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. – Community Service Award
• LeRoy Geter ’75, retired associate director in student outreach and recruitment and past president of the San
  Fernando Valley branch of the NAACP – Community Service Award
• Johnie Scott, professor, Department of Africana Studies – Legacy Award
• Marilyn Joshua Williams, professor emerita and the first African-American chair of CSUN’s Department of Elementary Education – Legacy Award

East Los Angeles College professor Anthony Samad served as the keynote speaker. Samad, an award-winning author and political commentator, talked about the importance of mentoring and supporting today’s students and their political activism.

“These young people are on the right side of history in the Black Lives Matters movement,” Samad said. “They are no more radical in their voice then we were in the 60s or 90s. We should defend their right to protest for right.”

Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer Sr., chair of California’s Legislative Black Caucus, and Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch Englander were among the dignitaries to congratulate the honorees. Former CSUN President Blenda Wilson sent a letter of congratulations and served as a sponsor.

For more information about the BAA, visit csunalumni.com/baa.

Spring 2015 graduates of the Masters of Social Work online program. Photo courtesy of Rachel Navarro.

California State University, Northridge’s online Master of Social Work (MSW) program has been ranked No. 1  by the online platform graduatestudents.com.

CSUN established its Department of Social Work in 2005. The online component of the MSW program started in 2011 and is a fully accredited two-year master’s program, with the same curriculum as the face-to-face program.

“We’re a really young program, so this is an exciting place to be,” said Jodi Brown, director of the online program.

“Part of the reason that Northridge’s online programs are being recognized and ranked is that Northridge takes a different approach to online education,” said Joyce Feucht-Haviar, university senior international officer and dean of the Tseng College. “We keep going back and refining it and adding to it. It’s an ongoing and continuous improvement.”

Feucht-Haviar said the online courses are designed by faculty, as well as instructional designers with backgrounds in technology and computer science. The instructional designers advise faculty members on different ways to interact, converse, and offer demonstrations and simulations with the available technology.

“The instructional designers can help the faculty member find the right technical tools and instructional strategy,” Feucht-Haviar said. “We’ve been able to make the most out of the tools that are available online.”

Rachel Navarro, program coordinator of the online cohort, said online classes offer more flexibility for students’ schedules. However, they still need to keep up with the class schedule, which makes the online program just as rigorous as its face-to-face counterpart, she said. Brown agreed.

“There is a perception out there in online education that the degree is not as meaningful as a traditional, face-to-face degree,” Brown said. “But our students are not experiencing this at all.”

“You’re studying with the same faculty that teach the program on campus, which is not always the case with some providers,” Feucht-Haviar added. “The program has the same accreditation, academic standards and faculty as if you would take it on campus.”

Despite the accolades, MSW program staff are not resting on their laurels. Brown and Navarro said they see potential for improvement — particularly on the social aspects of the program.

“There is always room for improvement, and we’re always trying to improve,” Brown said. “In an online environment, it can be pretty lonely. You’re not necessarily having that initial engagement. It is difficult to build a community online.”

To accommodate students socially in the online environment, MSW program staff implemented a social hub for students to share information or to write about frustrations, excitement and expectations.

“To develop that and have that grow ends up creating a sense of community,” Brown said. “We’re looking for more ways to grow that community. Our cohort model is really important, in terms of students feeling supported.”

The latest feature, which was just implemented this semester, is a series of town hall-style sessions, giving students opportunities to talk to the instructors about issues, or give them feedback or suggestions on the class. The main goal of the town hall sessions is to support students and show them that the administration and faculty care about them.

“It’s things like that that we’re trying to build, develop and grow,” Brown said. “That cohort piece and that community piece is what really makes us No. 1 and makes students appreciate what they get from our program.”

According to Brown, more than 95 percent of the registered students graduate from the online MSW program, which is a remarkable number in online education.

“One of the things you often hear about online education is that only 10 percent of students actually finish the course, and that’s not true for us,” Brown said.

In addition to the academic online classes, students also obtain field internships at social agencies within their local communities, such as hospitals, schools and other community organizations. Most agencies initially expressed doubts about online students, but they quickly acknowledged the students’ potential after working with them, Brown said.

“We’re changing the perspective [about] online education by the strengths of our students and their roles as interns and in their field placements,” Brown said. “Agencies are no longer looking at online students as less than the face-to-face students. They are looking at them as equal or even better than some of the other programs out there, which I think is just fabulous.”

Graduatestudents.com based their rankings on 15 different categories, ranked by alumni and current students. The highest-rated categories of the online MSW were academic competitiveness, education quality, grad student value, use of technology, student diversity, and faculty accessibility and support.

“We would love to stay No. 1 from a student perception — I think that matters,” Brown said.

“The real quality of any program is the faculty who teach it and their sense of commitment to the field, whether you’re doing it face to face or online,” Feucht-Haviar added. “It’s care for the students and the field. It’s a passion.”

Many students who walked by California State University, Northridge’s Cleary Walk on Nov. 5 stopped to craft artwork, leave colorful handprints on a big canvas or write down positive thoughts to share with their peers. CSUN students were invited to release their creativity during midterm exams, at “Take a Break From Moodle, Let’s Doodle.” The activity was part of Beat the Blues Week, Nov. 2–5, organized by the BLUES Project, a volunteer program that educates students about depression and suicide, sponsored by the Department of Student Affairs.

During Beat the Blues Week, students were encouraged to take their minds off their studies and relax. Several workshops and activities throughout the week focused on stress and anxiety management.

“Students should have the chance to alleviate themselves from anything that is causing some kind of stress,” said Maria Retiz, president of the BLUES Project. “They can get involved in order to help reduce any anxiety or stress they may have before midterms or finals.”

The events and workshops were open to all CSUN students, as well as faculty and staff. Highlights of the week included a Nov. 3 screening of Silver Linings Playbook, a romantic comedy about two people battling mental illness, on Bayramian Lawn; Yoga on the Lawn on Nov. 4 and a candlelight vigil Nov. 5 with Catherine Albrigo, vice president of the BLUES Project and advocate for the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention.

“Beat the Blues Week is made especially for students to get informed about the resources offered on campus, such as University Counseling Services,” said Retiz. “We also want students to know that there are programs like the BLUES Project, promoting awareness about mental health.”

The BLUES Project hosts Beat the Blues Week every fall semester. In spring, the initiative organizes a similar event, called Semi Colon Project, which raises awareness toward the issues of self-harm and self-injury.

“We are hoping to hear from students what they would like us to bring to the CSUN community in order to bring more awareness of depression and suicide prevention,” said Retiz, adding that the BLUES Project always looks for effective ways to reach out to the campus community. “We hope to achieve the goal of breaking the silence and stigma of depression.”

For further questions on the BLUES Project, call (818) 677-2610 or email blues.project@csun.edu.

California State University, Northridge’s Department of Gender and Women’s Studies hosted a book talk Nov. 17 on gender equality in Muslim communities in Southeast Asia.

The event took place at the Delmar T. Oviatt Library and was organized by the Middle East and Islamic Studies (MEIS) program and co-sponsored by CSUN’s Department of Gender and Women’s Studies. The talk featured guest speaker and author Azza Basarudin, a scholar-activist with a Ph.D. in women’s studies from UCLA.

In her book Humanizing the Sacred: Sisters in Islam and the Struggle for Gender Justice in Malaysia, Basarudin examines the work and challenges of the nongovernmental organization Sisters in Islam (SIS), a group of feminist advocates working in Malaysia.

“They tell people that there’s not just one way to life,” Basarudin said. “I wanted to understand the work they did.”

SIS was founded by a group of educated Malaysian Muslim women-activists challenging institutionalized Islamic authority and trying to reform laws in Malaysia.

According to Basarudin, SIS works to establish a sacred constitution that embraces gender justice and equality, rather than following the rules of the State.

“They became very well known after 9/11,” Basarudin said, adding that many Western countries have offered to help fund SIS.

“But they have rejected much the funding that was offered to them [because] they don’t need that additional stigma attached to them, of having foreign donors,” Basarudin said. “They are very careful about where their funding comes from.”

Khanum Shaikh, a professor in Women’s Studies, organized the event and invited all CSUN students — particularly students in the Women’s Studies and Middle East and Islamic Studies programs — to attend and learn about Basarudin’s ethnographic study of Muslim female activists.

Shaikh has known Basarudin for several years and invited her to CSUN shortly after the activist’s book was published.

“We went to UCLA together and got our Ph.D.s together in Gender and Women’s Studies,” Shaikh said.

Too many people have adopted a one-sided perception of Islam and Muslims due to perpetual media coverage of groups like ISIS and the Taliban, which makes it important to raise awareness about groups and individuals who are fighting to push for a different path, the professor said.

“The only information about Islam and Muslim communities revolves around terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism right now,” Shaikh said. “But it is really important to see that there is so much activism happening from within Muslim communities that is fighting any regressive interpretation of Islam.”

Nationally renowned public speaker and author of the book “White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son,” Tim Wise, will explore issues of colorblindness and institutional racism in a lecture, “Colorblind: The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity,” at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at California State University, Northridge.

The lecture — free and open to the public — is organized by CSUN’s undergraduate research program, BUILD PODER (Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity Promoting Opportunities for Diversity in Education and Research), funded by the National Institutes of Health. The research program uses critical race theory as a pedagogical tool to support institutional change around issues of equity and social justice in health and education.

Psychology professor Carrie Saetermoe said the program has trained faculty who work with BUILD PODER undergraduates on issues such as stereotype threat and microaggressions. They invited Wise to help expand the conversation to issues of privilege and colorblindness as a problem in scientific research.

“In the social sciences, we always talk about race and ethnicity, but it isn’t always perfectly obvious in other disciplines, such as in engineering or in chemistry, why race matters,” Saetermoe said. “I’m hoping we can convince people that it does, [and change] the types of questions one asks or methods one uses.”

Saetermoe said ignoring the issue of colorblindness harms society’s ability to move forward in ending health inequities, and she added that the inequities are getting worse.

BUILD PODER is one of 10 BUILD programs in universities across the nation funded by a National Institutes of Health grant to diversify the biomedical workforce. BUILD PODER students receive a stipend, tuition, funding for research supplies and funding to travel to a conference with their mentor. The program trains faculty who participate in the program as mentors to students, on how to implement critical race theory in their courses and labs.

“For example, a professor researching breast cancer can talk to students about the history of breast cancer in this country and why it took so long for us to get to the point where we can develop treatments,” Saetermoe said.

The program also teaches students how their work as scientists can promote advocacy and social justice. BUILD PODER students participate in a month-long summer training called JumpStart with professor Gabriela Chavira, principal investigator, where they explore those issues in preparation for their academic work.

“We want students to understand the social justice aspect of the research and understand it’s their responsibility, having the privilege that they have, to go out into the world with a lens of social justice — so that they can work hard to help resolve health disparities,” Saetermoe said. “It could be about health from the biological perspective to the psychological perspective.”

She said she hopes Wise’s lecture will help all participants of the program deepen their understanding of race and of each other.

The lecture will be held in the Northridge Center at the University Student Union, on the east side of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge. To register for the event, visit http://tinyurl.com/BUILDPODERDEC2. Attendance is expected to be high.

For more information on BUILD PODER, visit http://www.csun.edu/build-poder or contact buildpoder@csun.edu.

The three basics of the AL$ program are affordability, accessibility and choice of quality content. Image credit: Gerry Hanley.

The rising cost of tuition and textbooks have significantly impacted students’ learning behavior. In 2014, the independent student organization Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG) found that 65 percent of college students in the  United States do not purchase course-required textbooks due to the expense. The consequences are unprepared students, bad grades and frustration within the classroom.

“When faculty choose textbooks, the last thing they think about is cost,” said Laurie Borchard, a librarian at California State University, Northridge’s Delmar T. Oviatt Library. “They take into to account if [the books] have been used before, if they are well known in the field and how effective they are. That makes sense, but a lot of courses have textbooks ranging anywhere between $50–150. And then you don’t get a lot of money to resell them.”

California State University campuses have advocated for the initiative for several years. The Chancellor’s Office grants up to $20,000 to different CSUs each year to promote affordable learning solutions. In spring 2015, Borchard applied for the AL$ grant for CSUN. 

Borchard is the coordinator of the Affordable Learning Solutions (AL$) initiative at CSUN. She recently published the article Combating the Rising Cost of Education, which introduced the initiative to CSUN. 

“The great thing about open educational resources and initiatives like this is the focus on adapting resources that already exist and are open and free to use, as well as utilizing library resources,” said Borchard.
The AL$ initiative cooperates with the Department of Academic Technology, the Faculty Technology Center, the Matador Bookstore and the Oviatt Library, helping students and faculty select free or affordable quality resources.

“The bookstore is centrally committed to maximizing student access to the materials needed for success,” said Amy Berger, director of the Matador Bookstore. “Price can be a major barrier for some students, so we strive to offer a wide range of affordable options.”

According to Berger, many students make use of the textbook rentals at the bookstore, which can save them up to 80 percent of the textbook costs. Therefore, the bookstore constantly tries to expand the inventory for the course textbooks at CSUN.

Berger also encourages faculty to explore alternatives on the internal online adoption tool, which provides quick access to low and no-cost course materials, such as YouTube videos, open educational resources (OER) and massive open online course (MOOC) content.
“The bookstore will continue to partner with faculty in exploring affordable course materials options,” Berger said. “Students will have more choices and affordable options to ensure they have access to what they need to succeed.”

Courses that use print textbooks can be redesigned for Moodle classes, including images, texts, tutorials and a combination of other digital learning materials. A redesign takes time, but will be financially covered.

“I think of that as being a more engaging and effective way of learning, because it covers different learning styles,” Borchard said.

But courses don’t necessarily have to be completely redesigned to be more affordable to students. The AL$ initiative also helps faculty create new texts or find new open sources, depending on their needs and course requirements.

“It definitely takes time and investment, but if you are able to talk with the people who have already done it, they all have really positive things to say about it,” Borchard said. “They all talk about how their students are prepared and more engaged in the class. It creates a better environment for everyone.”

The affordable learning solutions consist of three criteria: affordability, accessibility and the quality of content. Affordability is determined by choosing material that’s either free or low cost, while all the materials are carefully evaluated to ensure they meet the needs of students and course requirements.

For accessibility, the initiative places importance on resources for students with disabilities.

“As we’re assisting faculty with finding and evaluating resources, part of that evaluation is making sure that they are accessible,” Borchard said.

Organizers are looking for faculty who want to experiment with redesigning their course, she said. She encouraged all faculty members to reach out and learn about different solutions and possibilities from the AL$ initiative and the available grants.

“Moving forward, we would really like to educate faculty on open education resources and making their classes more affordable,” Borchard said. “I remember what it was like to be a student. I didn’t always purchase my textbooks because I couldn’t afford them.”

After learning about the initiative in a workshop, Borchard said, she was inspired by the program and what other CSU campuses were doing. She learned about the positive impact on student outcomes.

“This is really something that benefits the students in a lot of different ways,” Borchard said. “It promotes the idea that information should be free and available to everyone, especially in higher education. College is expensive enough, and we shouldn’t have these extra barriers of having to worry about affording the materials.”

Faculty interested in participating in the AL$ initiative can contact Laurie Borchard at (818) 677-4264 or laurie.borchard@csun.edu. For more information, visit the Affordable Learning Solutions website.

CSSUN’s Model United Nations (MUN) team brought home top honors from the National MUN Conference. Photo by Lee Choo.

California State University, Northridge’s Model United Nations (MUN) team outpaced universities from across the country at the National MUN Conference in early November in Washington, D.C., bringing home top awards.

Representing Angola, the CSUN team of 10 students won the overall title of Outstanding Delegation, and several individuals were honored for their position papers and speeches.

CSUN political science professor and MUN adviser Jennifer De Maio said the honors were well deserved and reflected the students’ ability to succeed and foster important communication and persuasion skills.

“I am so proud of them,” she said. “To see their effort pay off and their dedication result in recognition at a national level makes me aware of the quality and caliber of the students we have here at CSUN.”

Head delegates and William Pond, political science, and Eric Martinez, biology, agreed that the MUN experience allowed them to grow as a team and individually.

Martinez said the team became a central part of his experience as a CSUN student.

“It becomes your life and a defining moment in your college experience,” he said. “It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will [remember] for the rest of my life. People should take a lot of pride in what is offered at CSUN. We have a good reputation for our delegation, and having that background is critical.”

“The best part of the program is watching the students grow and discover themselves,” Pond added. “[We] won in our [competition], but getting to watch other [team members] have that moment when they understand their own ability is amazing. They gained a confidence that only winning something like a national title can give.”

Pond, who is graduating this fall, said that without the MUN team, his passion for his political science studies would have waned.

“I started feeling senioritis,” he said. “[Winning] was the proudest moment for me at CSUN. It reignited my passion for the school.”

MUN provides an experiential learning experience where students can use what they learn in the classroom and put it into practice, De Maio said.

“Experiential programs take what they are learning and actually apply it,” she said. “It really builds those communication skills that they will use after they graduate.”

Left to right, Cinema Television Arts major Rachel Thomas relaxed last year with therapy dog Chanel and CTVA major Natalia Morosco. Photo by Lee Choo.

As finals begin this month at California State University, Northridge, many students will labor over notes for upcoming exams and grind out research papers inside the Delmar T. Oviatt Library.

With this in mind, not only will the library extend its hours from 7 to 2 a.m. between Dec. 7 to 14, it will also give students a chance to “Take a Study Break at the Oviatt During Finals Week,” Dec. 7 to 15, and perhaps share a hug with a furry, four-legged friend.

There are a number of activities planned:

• Therapy dogs will be present from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 10 in the Automated Storage and Retrieval System Viewing Room, located on the library’s main floor.
• Students may check out board games from the library between Dec. 9 to 15.
• For those who wish to de-stress artistically, arts and crafts sessions will be available from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 9 and 11.
• Weary students can get a free pillow on which to rest their heads, from Library Guest Services, Dec. 7 to 15.

Oviatt Outreach Services Coordinator Coleen Martin said the program is meant to provide students with an outlet to wind down during finals.

“With our extended hours at the library, we see and serve a lot of additional students,” she said. “Our hope at the Oviatt is that we can make the CSUN student experience a less stressful one — especially during finals.”

“Take a Study Break at the Oviatt During Finals Week” is free and open to the campus community. For more information about the program, please visit the Oviatt website events page at library.csun.edu/events or call (818) 677-2638.

The Delmar T. Oviatt Library is located at the center of CSUN’s campus at 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. Parking is available for $6 per day.

Multiple campus organizations gathered at the Plaza Del Sol in the University Student Union on Dec. 1, inviting California State University, Northridge students to the event, It’s On Us. The event aimed to educate CSUN students about sexual violence and rape prevention.

“We, as a community, take a stand to fight sexual violence on campus,” said Susan Hua, Title IX coordinator and chair of the sexual violence committee at CSUN. “It’s about education and a proper support system that includes everyone on campus.”

Participating organizations included the Women’s Research Center, Veterans Resource Center, Pride Center, Department of Police Services, CSUN Helpline, Joint Advocates on Disordered Eating (JADE), Blues Project, Strength United and Project D.A.T.E. (Discovering Alternatives for Today’s Encounters).

A charitable gift annuity helped alumnus Ed Burke make a difference for today’s CSUN students.

Ed Burke ’60 (Social Science) spent nearly four decades as an educator and as much time involved in politics, from the local to the national level. He always had a drive to help others, but after retiring in 2012, he wasn’t sure how to continue making a contribution.

Burke, who taught history and government for 33 years at Chatsworth High School, wanted to continue helping students, and he believed that the beneficiary should be the university that helped launch his career. After speaking with CSUN’s Office of Planned Giving about his options, he decided to set up a charitable gift annuity.

The annuity, established for his wife Carol, was funded by some stock Burke owned. Once the annuity began, the university started to give Carol a set payment that will continue for the rest of her life.

“I had a good education,” Burke said. “When I went to school, it was dirt cheap — I had no loans that I had to pay back. But my granddaughters are now paying a fortune to go to school. In a way, I’m giving back, helping a student to be able to attend CSUN, or helping CSUN to expand its activities.”

Setting up the annuity felt like the right thing to do after a satisfying career and life — one that got its start during the infancy of CSUN, Burke said. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social science when the school was known as San Fernando Valley State College. During his time as a student, he discovered a love of public service, becoming active in campus politics, spending time on the student council and running for student body president.

After graduation, Burke remained politically active. He ran for the California State Senate, served as the chairman of the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee and the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley, and served on the Democratic National Committee. He attended several national conventions in support of presidential candidates such as Ted Kennedy, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Jerry Brown.

After retiring from teaching in 1998, Burke continued his work with the Los Angeles Unified School District for another 15 years as chief of staff to board member John Lorenson and chief advisor to board member Bennett Kayser. He also founded the Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) program for teachers.

In recent years, Burke moved to Oahu, Hawaii, but his heart has remained tied to the San Fernando Valley. Fifty-five years after graduation, the names of the professors who made an impact on his life roll off his tongue.

“One of the things that made my education so good was the professors I had — Campbell, Stelk, Fleming, Pitt,” he said. “I believe in education, and the tax break and annual payments from the charitable gift annuity made it easy for me to decide how to help. If I can help students attend and have a better experience at CSUN, then that’s good. If some of them want to become educators or politicians, then that’s very good!”

Anti-racism activist and author Tim Wise spoke to a packed house at California State University, Northridge on Dec. 2 about white privilege and racism. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

Anti-racism activist and author Tim Wise spoke to a packed house at California State University, Northridge on Dec. 2 about white privilege and racism.

Wise, a renowned public speaker and author of six books, including White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son, was the keynote speaker at an event organized by CSUN’s undergraduate research program, BUILD PODER (Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity | Promoting Opportunities for Diversity in Education and Research).

The lecture, themed, “Colorblind: The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity,” gave attendees an opportunity to openly discuss the racial divide that Wise says is still very prevalent today.

“We have to address our unwillingness as a people … white folks in particular, to be honest about our history and its effect on the present,” said Wise, calling the U.S. a “Snapchat nation.” He said whites are “ahistorical” and only willing to revisit the past if it makes them “feel good.”

He said whites have the privilege of being oblivious and ignorant about issues of racial injustice and inequality, and cited a range of issues, including high unemployment rates among blacks and Latinos (including those with college educations), police brutality and high rates of incarceration.

“If we could just learn to listen to people of color the first time they bring up issues of racial injustice,” said Wise, who expanded his lecture to include discrimination based on gender, gender identity, religion and ableism.

“White people think they know more about racism than blacks. We didn’t take the class,” Wise said. “Men think they know more about sexism, patriarchy and rape culture than women.”

He said he did not blame whites for this system because it is “systemically ingrained ignorance.”

“It’s only your fault for continuing to not know even when the evidence has been presented,” Wise said. However, he said whites must be “humble” enough to acknowledge they’ve been misled.

Freshman students enrolled in University 100 at California State University, Northridge expressed their creativity by showcasing their projects during the 10th annual Freshman Celebration on Nov. 23–24 at Northridge Center in the University Student Union. Many of the projects were created in response to the 2015 Freshman Common Reading, Every Day by David Levithan.

Out of 38 classes that displayed projects at the celebration, professor Tina Bertacchi-Love’s students won the People’s Choice Award for their project, “Walking a Day in Our Shoes.” Each student placed a pair of shoes — to represent invented characters’s “external selves” — on a table with a note, symbolizing that each individual is much more than what others might see.

Professor Heidi Schumacher’s class won the On-Site Project Award for “Grit Expectations,” a project in which students showed how they overcame mistakes made throughout the year.

The Virtual Celebration Award, which touched on same-sex marriage and binge eating, went to professor Lisa Riccomini’s class for three short videos created with the goal of raising awareness and urging change.

For more information on the Freshman Celebration, visit the program’s website.

On Dec. 6, California State University, Northridge alumna Asuncion Ojeda, a music teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, was recognized as the 2015 Shining Star Honoree at the 10th-annual Education Through Music-Los Angeles benefit gala at the Skirball Cultural Center.

The next day, she didn’t want the limelight. At first, she spoke about all the other music instructors doing great things in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

“I’m just one of many people out there working in the trenches,” she said.

Ojeda ’84 (Music), M.A. ’86 (Music Performance) said they are just like her.

Maybe. But Ojeda, one man said, is exceptional.

“I have the rare advantage of being able to see teacher-to-teacher work,” said Steven McCarthy, who nominated Ojeda for the award and LAUSD’s K-12 arts coordinator. “I immediately was impressed with her greatness, her ability to foster this tremendous love of music. She is so inspiring.”

To put it in perspective, McCarthy explained that this award doesn’t just recognize Ojeda as one of the best and most inspiring music teachers in the school district — it means that she is one of the best and most inspiring music teachers in the country.

The gala was a star-studded event, with performances by John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, Michelle Branch and En Vogue. Actor/musician Common was a presenter, and actor Eric McCormack hosted the event. The night’s other honoree was Randy Spendlove, president of motion picture music for Paramount Pictures.

Certainly, the very humble Ojeda felt a little out of place. In fact, the teacher said she was shocked when told she was receiving the award and at first was reluctant to accept the honor.

“My thought was, why?” she said. “They named me as one of the finalists, and I wanted to be excused from it. I just felt like there are so many deserving music teachers out there. I wanted the spotlight on them.”

McCarthy explained that she deserved the spotlight.

“She works in some of our lowest socioeconomic schools in the district,” McCarthy said. “She treats all students with equity and respect, and the professionalism that all students deserve. She sets high expectations for all of her students, and she acknowledges their successes, which inspires them to want to go even further. Too often, we find individuals that will assess their situation and feel that certain students aren’t capable of greatness. But Asuncion is able to see the child for what he or she is.”

Ojeda has been teaching in LAUSD since 1998, floating from school to school and educating hundreds, if not thousands of students each year.

After she received her master’s degree from CSUN in 1986, she earned a second master’s from California Institute of the Arts. Ojeda, a flutist, gave private flute lessons and worked as a substitute teacher until she joined the LAUSD.

According to Education Through Music-Los Angeles, she has been nominated for the award in past years, which speaks to how much she is appreciated and her consistent work.

The Shining Star Award goes to individuals whose contributions through music have changed lives. In 2012, former CSUN professor Linda Mouradian received the award on a night when legendary composer John Williams also was honored.

Three years later, Ojeda’s turn arrived. The teacher said her night was nerve-wracking, but exciting. When she took the stage, she immediately deflected the attention. She looked down and read from a prepared statement.

“I am a music teacher, and I simply do my job,” Ojeda told the crowd. “I plan lessons, pay attention to how students respond to instruction and take advantage of professional development opportunities that come my way. I work hard … and so do my colleagues in the Los Angeles Unified School District Arts Education Branch. I share this honor with them, as I view this Shining Star Award as recognition of the great work that is happening in arts classes — and more specifically, the music classes at elementary classrooms throughout the district.”

The next day, she was still thinking of others. Ojeda said she hopes the notoriety from the award will inspire more people to donate to music causes at her schools. She also hopes more people from the music industry will come to her schools to teach a lesson or two, she said.

The award recognizes the great contributions music teachers make in public schools, she said.

“More often than not, when it comes to school budgets, [music teachers are] the first teachers administrators think of cutting,” Ojeda said. “I would like more school personnel and administrators to understand what it is that our work involves: Getting students to become more efficient at solving problems. Getting students to create and appreciate beauty. And, getting students to work cooperatively with other students. Persevering at any given task.”