When thinking of a dance show, it’s hard to imagine it taking place anywhere other than on a stage. However, Sonoma State University’s dance department challenged this perspective with their annual Fall Dance show, “Shared Spaces.”

Sonoma State University’s Associated Student’s Production presented “We Speak,” an interactive audience performance that addressed a wide array of social, political and personal issues. Held on Nov. 30 in the ballrooms, the purple and warm, complimentary lighting tones encouraged audience members to speak up in a safe space through poems, songs or dances. 

Sonoma State University’s Associated Student’s Production presented “We Speak,” an interactive audience performance that addressed a wide array of social, political, and personal issues.

Three years ago, 43 student teachers were mysteriously abducted in Guerrero, Mexico. To this day, their families have not received closure. 

Lynn Stauffer, dean of the School of Science and Technology at Sonoma State University and the first female professor in the department of computer science, recently received the Inspiring Leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics award from Insight into Diversity magazine. After coming to Sonoma State in 1994, she became dean of the School of Science and Technology in 2010. Among the Inspiring Leaders in STEM, award she also received a Woman in Business award. In an interview with Stauffer, she offered some thoughts on her professional accomplishments and what drives her to make a difference in her community and her students’ lives.

Sonoma State University has started the academic year with a number of new top officials, including a provost, chief financial officer, and a new head of the Green Music Center.