Architect Kara Hill details her role as lead designer of the Valley Performing Arts Center at California State University Northridge; Paul Laverack / El Nuevo Sol.

Kara Hill, the architect and lead project designer for the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC), shares insights into the history of large performance spaces; she also details many of the personal and group decisions that influenced the construction of the VPAC, which opened in 2011 on the campus of California State University Northridge.

Ms. Hill appears on Friday, November 17, 2011 in the Kurland Lecture Hall (which she designed) as the inaugural speaker in CSUN’s Commerce of Creativity Distinguished Speakers Series sponsored by the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication.

Following her lecture, Ms. Hill takes questions from the audience, and she is joined by Robert Bucker, Dean of the Mike Curb College, who was present throughout the development of the new performance hall.

Luis Álvarez en un viaje de práctica social en Colombia. El Nuevo Sol

Por JACQUELINE GUZMÁN-GARCÍA
EL NUEVO SOL

Luis Álvarez, de 28 años de edad, decidío regresar a México en el 2009 después de haber obtenido una licenciatura en Ingenieria Eléctrica de la Universidad del Estado de California, Los Ángeles. Su miedo por lo desconocido fue vencido por la esperanza que abrigaba de poder al fin ser legal en un país y poder trabajar en su carrera como ingeniero eléctrico. Aunque la trayectoria fue un poco ardua, el objetivo final se realizó y ahora Luis puede compartir una historia de triunfo en la cual menciona que “El único obstáculo que te detiene de lograr tus sueños eres tú mismo”.

Escuche la entrevista completa

La decisión de luchar por un sueño:

El adaptarse a una nueva vida profesional y cultural:

La importancia de globalizarse:

Una visa y un pasaporte marcan la diferencia:

La dicha de la libertad y un consejo para considerar:

During this in-depth interview with Arman Hardwick and Jason Ackerman, two undergraduate student activists at Occupy CSUN on October 13, 2011, discussion ranges across the causes of the current economic downturn, FDR and his response to the Great Depression, the excesses of capitalism, solutions offered by socialism, and the need to get corporate money out of politics.

The two students, neither of whom majors in history or political science, focus their critique on the structural inequality built into the global economic system, and America’s special contribution to the financial meltdown. “Here in the United States,” Ackerman said, “we have a Wild West attitude about the economy. The trouble with the Wild West is that someone is always getting shot.”

The spirited conversation suggests that solutions to reshape the political economy are plentiful and readily available. That said, the small size and short duration of Occupy CSUN – it lasted less than a day and peaked at a hundred participants – show that the broader political will is not yet commensurate with the vision possessed by these two activists.

Click here for the video overview of Occupy CSUN.

A tiny contingent of student activists takes up a small patch of grass on the main lawn at Cal State University Northridge for “Occupy CSUN,” standing in solidarity with the Occupy movement all over the US and across the world. The event on October 13, 2011 is timed to coincide with “Occupy Colleges,” which takes place on over 90 campuses around the United States.

Marlon Stern, CSUN class of 2009, is the event’s main organizer. Stern claims that at its peak, there were 100 students at the encampment, though as the day wears on, that number dwindles to approximately a dozen.

Participants do articulate a pointed critique of the present economic and political order, which they say favors the top 1 percent, at the expense of everyone else. Most point to the gutting of the public universities in California – fees are skyrocketing as services are repeatedly slashed – as an example of the broken system, with its misplaced priorities.

Unlike many other locations, the Occupy movement at this sprawling suburban campus of 35,000 students – one of the fifty largest universities in the U.S. – is unable to gain traction, and the encampment vanishes that same night.

The event, hosted by CSUN Latino Journalists and El Nuevo Sol, took place before an overflow crowd including more than 100 faculty members and students from various departments. Students who could not fit in the presentation room watched a livestream of the event, shown outside in the hallway.

The book is a history of what González and his co-author Joseph Torres see as the three distinct – and often opposing – streams of American media, which include the commercial (corporate) press, the independent (alternative) press, and the ethnic media (owned and operated by people of color).

According to González, ethnic media has always offered a counter-narrative to the White version of events which typically appeared in the mainstream press.

González presented a brisk overview of his book, touching upon several key developments and surprising moments in American media history, such as how a system of government subsidies fostered the creation of numerous media from the earliest newspapers up to the Internet of today; how the very first newspaper in the American colonies, “Publick Occurrences,” was begun in Massachusetts in 1690 largely to alert settlers to the activities of Native Americans; how prominent Democrat Josephus Daniels used his newspaper in Wilmington, NC in 1898 to instigate racial violence which led to the deaths of sixty black citizens; how Los Angeles radio broadcaster Pedro J. González was arrested in 1934 and later deported to silence him from speaking out against the mass deportation of Mexicans; and he shared many more examples of path-breaking Hispanic, Asian, black, and indigenous journalists who covered stories that did not appear in the commercial press, in the process providing people of color with dignified portrayals of themselves.

Following his presentation, González and co-author Torres answered questions prepared by the event organizers.

Watch the event here:

Por: GRECIA FIGUEROA, ZASKYA CÓRDOVA Y RIGO VILLALOBOS
EL NUEVO SOL

Mantener una dieta balanceada es importante para la salud. La carne es una fuente completa de proteína que contiene muchos elementos esenciales para el bienestar del ser humano. Sin embargo, es importante saber la cantidad adecuada que nuestro cuerpo necesita. Un exceso de consumo de carne puede causar daños severos en nuestro organismo, como cáncer, enfermedades cardíacas, la obesidad, entre otros.

Este video tiene como propósito demostrar que no es malo comer carne, pero es sumamente importante saber como consumirla. Como parte de la comunidad latina, nuestras costumbres alimenticias usualmente constituyen de carnes de diferentes tipos. Educarnos sobre donde conseguir la mejor carne y cuanta carne consumir afectaría en una manera positiva a nuestra comunidad y a las futuras generaciones.

Corrección

El video dice que cada año hay 41 casos de cáncer relacionados con la obesidad. El número correcto es: 41,000, según cifras de 2002.

In Sweden for that nation’s annual week-long festival of politics and civil society, known as “Almedalsveckan,” the Reverend Jesse Jackson takes a moment to discuss the differences and similarities between the Swedish labor movement – widely acknowledged as the strongest in the world – and that of the United States, which is significantly weaker. At the end of this short interview on the evening of July 4, 2011, Jackson adds a comment clearly in reference to the ongoing budget implosion in the Cal State University system, telling CSUN students to “Keep hope alive!”

By CYNTHIA RENDÓN
EL NUEVO SOL

Patrons enter the church in Bell Gardens, CA, one of the poorest cities in Los Angeles County, where more than 25% of the population lives below the poverty line. Cynthia Rendón/El Nuevo Sol.

Carmen Peraza and about ten volunteers operate a food pantry in Bell Gardens, CA, one of the poorest cities in Los Angeles County, where more than 25% of the population lives below the poverty line. Maria Esther Mejia helps at the pantry, and Araceli Saravia Martiñón periodically assists. In 2002, when the food pantry — named the Nehemiah Project — was initiated at the First Evangelical Covenant Church, the headquarters of the program, around 30 families attended twice a month to receive food. It wasn’t gourmet food by any means (pumpkins, chiles, tomatoes, and other vegetables, rice, milk, beans), but the people appreciated the gift, and the church was able to handle the work with just a handful of dedicated volunteers.

Almost ten years later and the number of people who attend has multiplied, and about 70 families go to Nehemiah every fifteen days. At the beginning of the Project, because of rapidly increasing demand related to the recession, the pantry was able to survive with food that was donated by the members of the church and a donation of $100 given to organizations like WorldVision and Children’s Network International for use of their food warehouses.

The Times, They are a Changin’

In 2008, with demand increasing, the amount of food the federal and state governments supplied dropped by two thirds because of reduced government budgets. The food pantry has tried to provide the same amount of food by receiving donations from church members and local banks. In 2011, however, the picture is much different: the recession has allowed for more people to attend and receive the help of Nehemiah. The economic situation has also affected the Church, where the Missions Committee, the group in charge of the Nehemiah Project, has to survive with just $3000 annually.

Food insecurity is only one part of poverty. Inadequate nutrition all too often is associated with inadequate shelter, lack of health care, and bad education, and poverty is at the core of all. Aníbal Vásquez, the current Senior Pastor of the First Evangelical Covenant Church in Bell Gardens, has found that many who attend Nehemiah have personal and family problems, like mental disorders, substance abuse issues, and domestic conflicts. Some also fear the close reality of being evicted. “If you go to their homes, you’ll see that they live in the lowest livable conditions. Families have even had to separate because they can’t afford bigger places to live,” says Pastor Vásquez.

The National Picture Mirrors the Case Study

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity in households as the “limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.” The amount of households that are food-insecure in the United States increased from 11.1% to 14.7% between 2007 and 2009. The numbers increase in Los Angeles County, with 36.3% of adults that don’t have food security. These proportions were recorded as the highest level of food insecurity since the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. began its annual survey in 1995. And while poverty and hunger in the United States is not as severe as the hunger that occurs in places like Ethiopia, the kind of “hunger” that is typical for a family in the U.S. can be described as a family that “gets SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits or a wage check, but they still have to skimp on groceries, and they run out of food around the 20th or the 25th of the month,” explains Evelmyn Ivens, a Church Relations coordinator for Bread for the World, a Christian non-profit organization focused on eradicating hunger worldwide.

About an hour before they open the doors to distribute food, some volunteers organize the bags of vegetables. Cynthia Rendón/El Nuevo Sol.

In November 2009, just before Thanksgiving, the White House stated that “hunger rose significantly last year.” They observed that 49 million Americans lacked access to adequate food. Food pantries, such as Project Nehemiah, are in high demand during the current deep recession. People begin to line-up three hours before the actual food distribution takes place just to avoid the prospect of not bringing two bags of food home to their families.

Philanthropy: The Nonprofit Role

In times of need, people have historically turned to faith-based organizations; many food pantries are faith based. Nearly 3000 providers serve the homeless in America, 53% of them church affiliated, according to a nutrition and health survey. Many religions have a moral code, including assisting those in need, or “a duty to give. . . . Giving to charity is neither charitable nor generous; it is no more than our duty and not giving would be wrong,” says Peter Singer, a well-known ethics professor. This ethical code prompts faith-based organizations such as the Nehemiah Project to give provisions to local people in need. Tomas Ivens, the founder of the Nehemiah Project, says that it was the happenings occurring around the Church that prompted and inspired him to try to change the lives of the people in need.

Secular groups provide the other half of the necessary food and other parts of the safety net. In Los Angeles, for example, a secular organization, PolicyLink offers programs for the needy. Judith Bell, president of the organization, argues that religious organizations that hope to help the hungry, “have a powerful voice for social justice and a powerful voice for change.”

And what happens to families who suffer from food insecurity? How are these people able to ingest enough nutrients to function at their best and maintain optimal health? Unfortunately, a more nutritious diet — one that includes lots of fruits and vegetables, lean meats, fish and cereals — is beyond the reach of many poor Americans. One of the reasons is the “urban jungle”: people live in neighborhoods that are considered “food deserts”, which means that they don’t have a well-stocked supermarket at their disposal, and have no money to pay for food that should be included in a balanced diet. “Food-insecure families buy bad, cheap food, and  it does such great harm to their health,” confirms Evelmyn Ivens.

A Disparity

“A study led by Adam Drewnowski, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington, showed how specific food prices changed between 2004 and 2008 based on data from supermarkets in the Seattle area. The researchers found that food prices in general rose 25%, more nutritious foods (red peppers, raw oysters, spinach, mustard greens, romaine lettuce) increased by 29%, while less nutritious foods (white sugar , hard candies, jelly beans, and tail) increased by only 16%.”

Getting hungrier and fatter at the same time

Corpulence, or being “fat”, “chunky” or “plump”, which at one time was a symbol of prosperity of a few, has now become a marker of poverty. Obesity has increased as the income gap has increased: over a third of U.S. adults, and more specifically, 31% of California adults with low incomes are obese. Latinos have a higher incidence of obesity, with the Latino population in the U.S. being 1.2 times more likely to be obese. Dr. Juana Mora, a Latino/a health expert and a professor at California State University Northridge (CSUN), states that the diet of the people of Latin America changes into a less healthy diet the more time they live in the United States. That time also results in a departure from the “roots of one’s culture; food, in other words,” which, as she further explains, is the reason why the generations born in the U.S. sometimes do not have the opportunity to eat “as before”.

“People migrate to the United States and often cannot pay for a decent place to live, so they then live without sufficient resources to get good food. Then, that results in their having to buy fast food and other food that is cheap, yes, but bad. The consequence is that there are more Latinos that are in poor health.” – Juana Mora, Ph.D.

The idea is that sometimes it is not so much that people are voluntarily choosing a lifestyle (a misconception), but there are social and institutional factors that may have a role in any outcome. So what can be done? Many

“People migrate to the United States and often cannot pay for a decent place to live, so they then live without sufficient resources to get good food. . . . The consequence is that there are more Latinos that are in poor health.” - Juana Mora, Ph.D. Cynthia Rendón/El Nuevo Sol.

have adopted a grassroots approach, starting small and influencing and serving a community in need. Reverend David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, stated in a Newsweek article that “we must continue to help those who face poverty [with] the creation of more food banks, educate people about the dangers of poor nutrition, and fight for changes in policies — all this in order to eliminate racial disparities still exist and affect social issues like poverty and food insecurity.” Evelmyn added that hunger itself can be eradicated because the U.S. has more than sufficient resources to allow for it.

Knowledge is Power

Aracely Martiñón Saravia is about 20 years old and lives in the Mexican state known for its mole poblano, possibly the most “typical” Mexican dish, which is an entree full of various types of chiles and chocolate, ingredients whose roots stem from that state, Puebla. She recalls with nostalgia hers days growing up on a farm in Puebla: each meal her mother whipped up was made with their own herbs, tomatoes, pumpkins . . .

Araceli decides to emigrate to the United States five years later and comes across people who have never cooked a pumpkin. This finding, among other things, encouraged her to get involved with the Nehemiah Project. Now she’s helping women who need not only food, but also guidance on how to prepare the wonders that are vegetables.

Carmen Peraza, the current director, sees opportunities to educate the people who are seeking food at the pantry. By changing the way people sign up to collect food, she has opened the doors for them to have more confidence in the church, so they feel more comfortable and see a support team in Nehemiah. The Project wishes to see the families spend more time in the church, to receive education — Carmen has ideas to have health fairs, cooking classes (inspired by Araceli), flower arranging, anything to create a sense of community — to help create a confidence in themselves, says Peraza. As Pastor Vásquez declared, these classes would help towards creating social justice in a city that truly needs it.

Audio Documentary

For more information on the roots, challenges, and obstacles of the NehemiahProject, please hear the audio documentary about the food pantry. CAPTIONS AVAILABLE.

Para leer la versión en español, por favor oprime aquí.

As part of the “Take Class Action” series of protests and events surrounding the ongoing California state budget disaster, a panel convenes at California State University Northridge – made of activists and scholars from the campus and elsewhere – to discuss ideas, strategies, and tactics related to social movements in general, and California’s higher education system in particular.

Participants at the April 12, 2011 event include Reverend James Lawson, living legend of the civil rights movement; Alex Hanna, co-president of the Teaching Assistants Association at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (and an early leader of the recent Wisconsin capitol protests); Amy Denissen, Ph.D, Assistant Professor of Sociology at CSUN; Cathie Pacheco, an undergraduate at CSUN and an organizer from Students for Quality Education; and Justin Marks, an undergraduate and member of the “CSUN 6,” arrested at 2010 protests against state budget cuts to higher education.

The first video below provides a five-minute overview of the event, followed by a short series of spotlight videos which include more complete remarks from Alex Hanna, as well as the spoken word performances that preceded the panel discussion.

The first spotlight video features Alex Hanna, a Ph.D student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and co-president of the nation’s oldest graduate student union – the Teaching Assistants Association. Hanna shares his experiences as an early leader of the Wisconsin capitol protest and occupation in February.

The video below features poet and undergraduate student Daniyal Motiwala, who performs an original piece at the Plaza del Sol performance hall, as part of the “Take Class Action” protest events on campus at California State University Northridge, on April 12, 2011.

The final video includes undergraduate student Keshawna West performing an original poem at the Plaza del Sol performance hall, preceding the panel discussion, “Organizing Social Change,” at California State University Northridge, on April 12, 2011.