students – CSUN Today https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu California State University, Northridge Thu, 28 Mar 2024 16:52:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.30 Battle of the Beats: SoCal’s Next Big Sound https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/arts-and-culture/battle-of-the-beats-socals-next-big-sound/ Mon, 25 Mar 2024 18:52:12 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55513

Australian indie rock music duo Middle Kids perform live on 88.5FM The SoCal Sound Radio Station.

Middle Kids, Australian indie rock music duo, perform live in the studio on 88.5FM The SoCal Sound Radio Station. Photo by Matt Blake.


88.5FM The SoCal Sound is looking for Southern California’s hidden gem artist, and that could be you!

The public radio station, a service of CSUN and Saddleback College, is holding a competition to discover young and emerging artists — for a chance to be featured on air! Whether you’re a singer-songwriter, a band or solo artist, the SoCal Sound is ready to hear from you.

To enter, artists must submit a demo no later than Monday, April 8 by 11:59 p.m. Each participant’s submission will be featured on the station’s Instagram, and listeners will weigh in via “March Madness”-style bracket voting on Instagram stories.

This competition offers a platform for young artists to gain exposure and recognition, and the winner will be featured as The SoCal Sound’s local artist spotlight.

Are you SoCal’s next big sound? Tune in to find out!

The flyer for 88.5FM SoCal Sound Radio Station's competition, SoCal's Next Big Sound.

88.5FM SoCal Sound’s music competition invites young, emerging artists to submit their demos by April 8 for a chance to be featured on air.

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Ruby Durant
Nowruz Mobarak! Persian New Year Celebrates Spring and New Life https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/arts-and-culture/nowruz-mobarak-persian-new-year-celebrates-spring-and-new-life/ Mon, 18 Mar 2024 22:40:45 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55446

Nowruz, which means “new day,” is the Persian New Year. It’s celebrated at the Spring Equinox (Vernal Equinox) — which happens around March 20-21 annually. This year, the equinox occurs at 8:06 p.m. PDT on March 19. Nowruz is celebrated all over the world, particularly in countries with significant Persian cultural influence, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Turkey. The holiday, which celebrates spring and new life, is observed by some as a religious event while for others, it’s secular. The traditions include a good “spring cleaning” of homes and donning new clothing and shoes. A Haft-Seen table is set with an arrangement of symbolic items, all beginning with the letter “S” and all having to do with nature.

At CSUN Today, we celebrated a little early with alumna Nazanin Keynejad ’95, M.A. ’16 (English). Keynejad serves as the communications associate for the Alumni Association and as adjunct lecturer in the Department of English. She set a traditional Haft-Seen table to show us how it’s done. Check out the photos for the explanation of the items.

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Jenny Omara-Steinbeck
CSUN’s Cinematheque Series to Host Hollywood Casting Director Deborah Aquila https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/arts-and-culture/csuns-cinematheque-series-to-host-hollywood-casting-director-deborah-aquila/ Mon, 18 Mar 2024 16:11:13 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55370

California State University, Northridge’s Spring 2024 Cinematheque series will pay tribute to Hollywood casting director and producer Deborah Aquila, Executive Vice President and Head of Casting at Paramount Television Studios & CBS Studios, to mark the end of Women’s History Month on Wednesday, March 27.

Hollywood casting director and producer Deborah Aquila

Hollywood casting director and producer Deborah Aquila.

At the free public event, Aquila will share her journey as a casting director and some of her greatest challenges and successes in casting in Hollywood. The program will include clips from her iconic films— “Shawshank Redemption”, “La La Land”, “Primal Fear”, “Sex Lies and Videotape” and more.

“Our honored guest will share advice to young actors on honing their talent and audition skills. The event will be a great opportunity for Cinema & Television students and Theatre students but also for the public to have an intimate conversation with true a Hollywood mover -and-shaker,” said CSUN film professor Dianah Wynter, the Cinematheque’s curator. “She is legendary, and we are honored to be having her as our guest.”

Aquila’s credits include 2022 Academy Award Best Picture winner “CODA”, “Shawshank Redemption” and close to 200 films and series. Additionally, she is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Casting Society of America (CSA). She has been nominated 18 times for the Artios Award by the CSA, winning for the feature films “Red”, “My Week with Marilyn”, “CODA” and “La La Land.”

Aquila’s talk will take place at 7 p.m. in CSUN’s Elaine and Alan Armer Screening Room, in Manzanita Hall, located near the southwest corner of the campus near Nordhoff Street and Lindley Avenue.

Founded by the late film professor John E. Schultheiss, the CSUN Cinematheque is housed in the Elaine and Alan Armer Screening Room, a state-of-the-art 130 seat motion picture theater, and made possible through the generosity of The Elaine and Alan Armer foundation.

For more information about the Cinematheque series, visit https://www.csun.edu/cinematheque. The series is offered by the Department of Cinema and Television Arts in the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication.

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Did You Know? CSUN VITA Clinic https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/business/did-you-know-csun-vita-clinic/ Wed, 13 Mar 2024 23:20:36 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55401

Tax season often brings stress and anxiety, with concerns about correctly filling out forms, but did you know that CSUN’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Clinic can help smooth out the process?

CSUN’s VITA Clinic is part of a national network that provides free tax assistance for low-income individuals and families via appointment. CSUN students are also eligible for this service! Staffed by CSUN students, the clinic serves San Fernando Valley residents, as well as other residents of Los Angeles County. The location on campus in Bookstein Hall is open year-round, but during tax-season, pop-ups open at various locations around Los Angeles County.

“The services we provide are very beneficial,” said Areli Araujo, a coordinator at CSUN’s VITA Clinic. “Tax preparation fees have skyrocketed and having to pay them can definitely be a burden. You can see the excitement and gratitude on taxpayers’ faces when we tell them at the end of the tax process that it’s one hundred percent free.”

To take advantage of VITA’s services, taxpayers, including students, must meet specific income qualifications, though there are exceptions.

Araujo urged CSUN students to take advantage of the VITA Clinic.

“When you’re a student, you’ve already got to pay for tuition, housing and food, so why pay to get your taxes done when you could actually come to one of our locations and get them done for free? And you’d get an accurate return as well because all our student preparers are IRS-certified,” she said.

Last year, CSUN’s clinic was ranked first in the nation for the number of tax returns submitted. Nearly 300 student volunteers provided tax preparation and translation assistance for over 8,500 taxpayers.

To learn more about eligibility and other details, visit the CSUN VITA Clinic website. Translators for Spanish and ASL are available.

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Analisa Venolia
CSUN Community Gathers for Late Oklahoma Teen Nex Benedict https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/community/csun-community-gathers-for-late-oklahoma-teen-nex-benedict/ Wed, 13 Mar 2024 20:37:31 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55387

Faculty, students and staff were invited to take part in a candlelight vigil for 16-year-old Nex Benedict, hosted by CSUN’s Pride Center at the University Student Union’s Plaza del Sol on March 5, 2024. The Oklahoma teen, who identified as nonbinary and often used they/them pronouns, died Feb. 8, 2024, a day after a fight took place in a bathroom at their high school, located near Tulsa.

According to the New York Times, Benedict told investigators that the fight began after three girls mocked them and a friend. The cause of their death is still undetermined and has prompted an investigation of the school district by the U.S. Department of Education. Benedict’s death and the subsequent questions have also renewed scrutiny of Oklahoma’s strict gender policies that require students to use bathrooms that align with their gender at birth.

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Jenny Omara-Steinbeck
Meet Maple Hall: CSUN’s First New Academic Classroom Building in 15 Years https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/university-news/meet-maple-hall-csuns-first-new-academic-classroom-building-in-15-years/ Wed, 13 Mar 2024 17:00:15 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55339

Ah, that new classroom smell.

CSUN students and faculty will have a long-awaited treat when they return to campus after Spring Break. The recently completed, 62,474-square-foot Maple Hall will open its doors to classes and campus life on March 25. The sparkling new building is located south of Sierra Hall, adjacent to Manzanita Hall and West University Drive. It’s the campus’ first new academic classroom building since Chaparral Hall, home to the Department of Biology, opened in 2009, according to Division of Academic Affairs leadership.

The new building adds much-needed classrooms and lecture halls — including a 2,980-square-foot lecture hall, two smaller lecture halls and two seminar rooms — with flexible seating, the latest audiovisual (AV) equipment and energy-efficient design to the west side of campus, one of the university’s busiest areas. The $49.9-million project is financed by CSU state funds and took about two years to complete.

CSUN Today got a sneak-peek tour on March 11, with Callie Juarez, of CSUN’s academic resources and planning department, as well as a “hardhat tour” during construction in fall 2023 with Noah Rubin, campus architect and director of design and construction. Here’s the scoop:

What can students most look forward to inside Maple Hall?

Maple Hall’s best feature is the huge three-story atrium and common space filled with natural light, Rubin said. The brand-new, modern building features cutting-edge lecture halls and classrooms. It boasts some of the most (if not the most) air-conditioned student hangout spaces on campus, plus plenty of comfortable furniture, group study rooms and collaborative spaces — and a huge, multi-stall gender-inclusive restroom. There’s even a lactation room upstairs.

When will students be able to start using Maple Hall?

Juarez and team are working on the massive task of moving 433 classes from the 1960s-era Sierra Hall into Maple Hall. Students can enjoy Maple Hall’s many indoor and outdoor study and hangout spaces as soon as Monday, March 25, when classes begin there. More details about a grand opening or celebration in 2024 are still TBD.

What’s our favorite part of the new Maple Hall?

Rubin and our editorial team agreed: the three-story atrium, which features entrances from three sides of the building.

“We paid particular attention to building in student collaboration spaces into the lobby, the corridors, the waiting areas — we built in seating, so students aren’t sitting on the floor,” said Ken Rosenthal, associate vice president of facilities development and operations, when CSUN broke ground on the building. “These are inspirational rooms. They’re daylit, they’re flexible, they have the latest AV.”

Sustainability facts:

Maple Hall employs a “heat recovery chiller,” technology that’s fairly new to CSUN (this is the second building to use it, after Monterey Hall), Rubin said. A heat recovery chiller takes excess heat (that would otherwise be wasted) from the campus’ central chilled water system and uses it to provide the building with free heating, saving energy.

The building also takes advantage of natural light, LED lighting and drought-tolerant, native plant landscaping around its exterior.

What’s next?

Maple Hall’s opening clears the way for the renovation of its older counterpart, Sierra Hall — as classes there are shifted to the new building — but approval and funding for Sierra renovation is still pending, Rosenthal said. “As a building with general-purpose classrooms, all colleges may use the new rooms [in Maple Hall],” he said. “It takes all the [Sierra Hall] classrooms and frees them up to be used as ‘swing space.’ … We will be studying options for Sierra Hall renovations. Faculty offices, laboratories and administrative offices will remain in Sierra Hall.”

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Belonging on Campus: Why It’s Important and How to Get Involved https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/community/belonging-on-campus-why-its-important-and-how-to-get-involved/ Fri, 08 Mar 2024 19:35:24 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55325

This far into the school year, you’re probably all dialed into a routine: take the quickest route to campus from home or work, slide into your preferred parking garage and stop at your favorite coffee or snack spot (with or without squirrels) before heading to class.

So, what’s missing? It might be a sense of belonging on campus — and that’s a crucial element to achieving your goals.

Studies show that a greater sense of belonging and connection on campus can lead to better academic outcomes including higher grades and ultimately, making it to graduation day.

Cultivating a sense of belonging can take place at any point in your academic journey— and there are many ways to go about it at CSUN. Many of the sources quoted in this article are not only staff and faculty members — they’re also alumni. They know what it’s like to show up, on their own, to this large campus. They figured out how to make it a home and now they help the Matadors who have followed them do the same. Read on for their reflections on campus life and what helped them gain a sense of belonging.

There is this beautiful, gratifying moment when you come to campus and you cannot walk 15 feet without saying hello to somebody that you know or that somebody who knows you.”  Christopher Aston ’02 (Communication Studies), M.A. ’04, director of Student Development and Transitional Programs, on his involvement as a student in Associated Students and New Student Orientation.

First, What Does it Mean to Belong?

Here’s a general definition — belonging is a feeling of being happy or comfortable as part of a particular group, in which you feel welcome and accepted.

Ryan Mason ’11 (Sociology), M.A. ’15 (Education) is the senior coordinator of the Black House and student support services. He defines belonging this way: “It’s creating long-term relationships with individuals that will support you through the good and the bad, and make sure that you can develop in some way — and that can be a peer, that can be faculty or staff,” Mason said.

Debbi Mercado ’09 (Linguistics), M.A. ’12 (Linguistics-TESL) is the program coordinator for the academic first -year experience course and community-based learning programs. These are the “University 100” or “U-100” classes available to freshmen, to help them gain a sense of community on campus.

“Belonging is achieved through shared experiences with one or more people,” said Mercado. “It’s connection, affiliation and the sense that you matter.”

“Something that helped me get involved was New Student Orientation. Being an orientation leader, it’s how I made all of my friends that I still have to this day.”  Gabrielle Danis ’16 (Journalism) assistant director, New Student and Family Programs

Starting Out — Personal Experiences

It’s more than just about making friends or joining clubs — but those are worthwhile pursuits! Sierra Snodgrass, 21, is from Carson, and moved to campus last year. She’s pursuing a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a minor in psychology. She took Mercado’s U-100 class, where many of the assignments require students to explore the campus and write about those experiences.

“I think I tend to, in most environments, feel like an outsider,” said Snodgrass. “So, I needed a push to get out there,” she said.

Snodgrass ended up exploring “Meet the Clubs,” a huge club fair that’s held on the Library and Sierra quads twice per year, at the beginning of each fall and spring semester. Then, a trip to Alaska with Associated Students’ Outdoor Adventures program inspired her to pursue a job with the organization.

“Now, with Outdoor Adventures, I see a lot more [familiar] people around campus… to say ‘hi’ to people doesn’t feel as uncomfortable,” Snodgrass said.

I transferred here. It never occurred to me that I would have a friend. I was older, my kids were already practically in college. And my first week, I was approached by this freshman who had noticed that we had two classes together and he had his rollerblades around his neck and he said, ‘Do you want to have lunch?’ Which took a great deal of courage for him. He didn’t know anyone. We had lunch for the next four years.” Debbi Mercado ’09 (Linguistics) M.A. ’12 (Linguistics-TESL)

The Payoff

In a study by Maithreyi Gopalan and Shannon T. Brady, the authors note: “At four-year schools, belonging predicts better persistence, engagement and mental health” among students.

Christopher Aston, 02 (Communication Studies), M.A. ’04, who now oversees New Student Orientation and graduation ceremonies at CSUN, said getting involved builds overall confidence and empowerment.

“You’re doing more, but you’re doing better,” he said. “Not just your well-being, but your classwork is also improved, so everything is kind of tied together.”

Mercado noted that belonging promotes an overall sense of well-being.

“If you belong, it can have an impact on your emotional wellness, your social wellness,” Mercado said. “And all of these things add up to a balance and harmony.”

A Way In (or Many Ways): A (Partial) List of Resources and Ideas to Cultivate a Sense of Belonging

For first-time freshmen and transfer students, check out the University 100 classes.

Cultural and identity centers and departments on campus are great places to find a sense of community. They include:

Black House

Chicana and Chicano Studies and Chicano House

American Indian Studies Program

Central American and Transborder Studies

Dream Center

Pride Center

Veterans Resource Center

Women’s Research and Resource Center

Asian American and Asian Studies and Glenn Omatsu House

Academic Departments — Check with your department for upcoming events and opportunities to meet others in your major. Also check in with your professors at their office hours.

Clubs and Greek Life (Fraternities and Sororities): Visit the Matador Involvement Center and Matasync.

Events: Take in a movie, a lecture or a concert. Bookmark the Associated Students and the University Student Union event pages. See some world-class shows at The Soraya.

Athletics: Meet other sports fans at a game. Students always get in free with a valid student I.D.!

Need to work out? There are classes and games galore happening at the Student Recreation Center (SRC). Plus: countless Sports Clubs (intramurals).

There is so much going on at  The University Library. Check it out!

No time to mingle? How about combining efforts and getting a job on campus. Handshake and the Career Center are some resources for campus employment.

Show off some Matador pride and become a University Ambassador or New Student Orientation Leader.

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Jenny Omara-Steinbeck
Ramadan Fosters Community Connection and Introspection https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/arts-and-culture/ramadan-fosters-community-connection-and-introspection/ Thu, 07 Mar 2024 15:30:51 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55273

CSUN Muslim Student Association members raising their hands at a mosque.

CSUN Muslim Student Association (MSA) members raise their hands at a mosque program during Ramadan 2023. Photo courtesy of CSUN MSA.


 

Ramadan, the ninth and most sacred month of the Islamic calendar, is approaching for more than 1 billion Muslims worldwide. This includes a range of members of the CSUN community, including families, alumni, staff, faculty and students.

The holy month is expected to begin at sundown on Sunday, March 10, and end at sunrise on April 9. Depending on when the crescent moon is first spotted, different regions observe the holiday at slightly different times.

CSUN Muslim Student Association (MSA) Event Director Sami Haq particularly enjoys the community in the Islamic culture, which he feels is heightened during Ramadan.

“I look forward to the community coming together,” Haq said. “Once sundown hits … everyone knows what time it is.”

Meaning and Observances

Muslims believe that during Ramadan, the Holy Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad. The Five Pillars of Islam — the core beliefs and practices of the religion — are derived from the Qur’an: shahada, salah, zakat, sawm and hajj (declaration of faith, prayer, charity, fasting and pilgrimage).

Fasting, sawm, is the fourth of the Islamic Pillars. Many Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, having sexual intercourse, viewing explicit content, cursing and essentially purifying themselves throughout the month of Ramadan.

Suhoor, a light pre-fasting meal eaten before sunrise each day, is not mandatory but encouraged. It is said to give Muslims the strength and energy to continue fasting.

A common misconception is that Muslims fast for the sole purpose of empathizing with the less fortunate. MSA President Aamir Mohammed, Vice President Asiyah Ardekani and Haq explained the true importance of and reason for fasting:

While it does increase those feelings of empathy, they said, it’s primarily about obeying God’s command to fast, and becoming closer to him. They also noted that practicing the fourth pillar during Ramadan is also intended to help achieve taqwa, God conciousness, as God said in the Qur’an.

Fasting during this time is an opportunity to better oneself and abstain from any distractions, Ardekani said.

“Fasting can change one’s mindset and bring someone mentally, physically and spiritually closer to God,” Haq added.

Observing the fourth pillar continues to bring the community together, an aspect of Ramadan that the three MSA leaders cherish.

“You’re not fasting by yourself, you’re fasting with almost 1.4 billion people … Muslims around the world,” Mohammed said.

Ramadan observances go beyond fasting. Salah, prayer, is practiced year-round by Muslims, but a special tradition is added during this month. Taraweeh is a non-obligatory tradition in which family comes together after the last official prayer each night to recite the Qur’an. The text is divided into 30 sections, for the 30 days of Ramadan.

Resources and Community on Campus

On campus, the University Student Union’s East Conference Center (ECC), next to the Student Recreation Center, offers a prayer space — open to people of all faiths.

Throughout Ramadan, March 10-April 9, MSA will be hosting free dinners Monday through Thursday for Muslim students in the ECC. It’s an opportunity, the student leaders said, for students in the community to come together on campus to break their daily fast.

This year, Eid al-Fitr, the conclusion of Ramadan, is expected to begin around April 9.

Most Muslims take the day off school and work to spend time with family, go to their mosque and celebrate. The MSA leaders praised CSUN faculty for their flexibility and understanding about Ramadan and the Eid holiday.

“[They] are very understanding, and we really do appreciate that. They have that compassion for Muslim students,” Haq said.

Eid al-Fitr, which translates to “festival of breaking the fast,” one of the two major holidays in the Islamic faith, concludes the month-long commemoration in the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims gather with loved ones to enjoy celebratory foods, particularly pastries.

“I’m looking forward to breaking my fast with the people that I love and cherish. I’ve made a lot of new friends through MSA — I’m very grateful and looking forward to breaking my fast with them,” Ardekani said of Eid.

The week after Eid, MSA will host celebrations — a gift exchange, potluck and a hangout for students.

“I’m proud that I have a religion that aligns with my personals beliefs and characteristics,” Ardekani said.

For more information about Ramadan and other on-campus events, follow csunmsa on Instagram.


 

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CSUN Launches the First CSU Disability Studies Minor Program https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/uncategorized/csun-launches-the-first-csu-disability-studies-minor-program/ Wed, 28 Feb 2024 21:36:34 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55233

A promotion poster titled 'Breaking Boundaries' developed for the Disability Studies Minor program with LGBTQ and disability rights activist, Annie Elainey, wearing a shirt that reads "The future is accessible." Poster provided by CSUN Disability Studies.

A promotion poster titled ‘Breaking Boundaries’ developed for the Disability Studies Minor program with LGBTQ and disability rights activist, Annie Elainey, wearing a shirt that reads “The future is accessible.” Poster provided by CSUN Disability Studies.


California State University, Northridge has launched the first disability studies minor in the CSU system, with the first students being admitted to the program in fall 2024.

 “CSUN has the largest population of self-identifying disabled students in the system,” said Jeffrey Reeder, dean in CSUN’s College of Humanities, where the program will be housed. “Additionally, our university is known for a strong tradition of advocacy and scholarly inquiry research into identity, standing as fourth in the nation in the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded in fields of ethnic studies, cultural studies, identity studies and gender studies.” 

The newly developed minor in disability studies is an 18-unit program made up of three core classes and three electives drawn from more than 20 departments across the university. Many of the courses available to the students will also count for general education credit.  

“Part of the work of the minor and, perhaps this is the earliest work that we must do, is to educate our students, faculty, and administration on the sociocultural history and multiplicity of meanings bound up in the disability identity,” said CSUN English professor Leilani Hall, director of the new program. “Disability Studies examines the social, cultural, historical, and political structures that inform disability. From a humanities perspective, of course, this means that we are interested in the lived experience of individuals with disabilities — studying disability as a social construct rather than a confining medical diagnosis.  

“Furthermore, because disability is an identity which one may acquire at any point in life — whether at birth or later by disease, accident, or advanced age — it is the largest minority in the world, an identity which intersects with any other identity marker, such as race, gender, sexuality, or class,” she continued. “This is what makes disability studies so very necessary to the academy. We need to prepare graduates who are excited to build a more inclusive world.” 

Reeder said the program, as a minor, serves as a “well-suited” supplementary program to a variety of major programs the university has to offer.  

“I expect it to touch every and all aspects of campus,” he said. “We would love for a student to come to CSUN for whatever they’re interested in – for example, the construction management degree program – and then if they have an interest in making the most of their degree and having a big impact on the world in the future – to also minor in disability studies. Then taking their knowledge and applying it to their work in a way that could be meaningful.” 

Hall said that she hopes students who minor in disability studies will leave the university with the knowledge and tools to effect change in the workplace and their communities.  

“I’m talking about the benefits of an interdisciplinary minor that is built on personal interests and personal career choices,” she said. “But I’m also talking about the very real benefit of changing how we understand and treat those with a disability in the workplace and community. This is the kind of change that needs to happen everywhere. Inclusion is for everyone. “ 

Hall acknowledged the work of several CSUN professors who contributed to the development of the program, including retired special education professor Beth Lasky; philosophy professor Johnathan Flowers; English professor Charles Hatfield, who teaches a course on disability in literature and culture; special education professor Ellen Stohl and communication studies professor Kelly Opdycke, who both teach “Introduction to Disability Studies.” 

To learn more about the minor and the CSUN program visit, https://www.csun.edu/humanities/disability-studies.

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Kaley Block
“Kwanzaa” Animated Film Honors Black History of Los Angeles https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/arts-and-culture/kwanzaa-animated-film-honors-black-history-of-los-angeles/ Mon, 19 Feb 2024 20:47:11 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55190

CSUN students, faculty and staff have created a work of art that serves as both an explainer of Kwanzaa’s Los Angeles origins and a means to preserve a piece of the Black history of L.A.

Their animated short film “Kwanzaa” draws from the oral history of Kicheko Davis, a former member of the US Organization, a Black Power group created in the 1960s. That oral history is part of the Black Power Archives at CSUN’s Tom and Ethel Bradley Center and was conducted by Karin Stanford, professor of Africana studies and political science in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Keith Rice, Bradley Center historian and archivist.

The short film was an interdisciplinary project that began in early 2023, with faculty and students from the Department of Art and the Department of Music in the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media and Communication who worked in collaboration with Stanford and Rice.

“To tell these stories, historians can’t do it alone. We have to be open to working with other disciplines,” said Rice.

The result of this year-long collaboration is an impressive commemoration of the creation of Kwanzaa. Colorful animations of city scenes, vibrant graphics and upbeat music accompany Davis’ narration, interspersed with footage from the oral history and images from the Bradley Center archive.

The idea for the film came from Rice, who said that he wanted to make the animation to help oral histories reach new, younger audiences. Rice also wanted to honor the origins of the world-celebrated holiday, because “Black people don’t get enough recognition for the things they do and their contributions to culture,” Rice said.

He also wanted to emphasize that Los Angeles was the birthplace of the holiday.

“The fact is,” he said, “Kwanzaa was born out of South L.A., and I think that tells you something about the importance of the Black Power movement in Los Angeles, which is often overlooked.”

Davis’ retelling of the holiday’s creation in Baldwin Hills was skillfully brought to life by students and faculty, presenting the story of Kwanzaa in an engaging manner that firmly roots the story in Los Angeles with their stunning animations of the city’s streets and landmarks.

Three student teams worked on the film: the animation team, led by Aglaia Mortcheva, professor of art and design; the motion graphics team, led by Shirin Raban, professor of art and design; and the advanced media composition team, led by Kyle Simpson, professor of music. In all, 19 students contributed to the project.

“Hopefully by animating oral histories, updating them and presenting them in ways that are palatable for younger audiences, those histories live on even longer,” said Rice.

As part of the Mike Curb College’s celebration of Black History Month, a screening of “Kwanzaa” will be held on Monday, Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. in the CSUN Main Gallery.

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Analisa Venolia