As a way to help students relax between classes before finals week, Associated Students Productions (ASP) presents Tunes At Noon. This event takes place this Thursday from 12-1 p.m. in the Seawolf Plaza with performances from the San Francisco based cover band, Night Train.
Sonoma State’s Department of Theater Arts and Dance made its debut of their Spring Performance Festival this past weekend. The event is held at Person Theater on campus and will continue through May 5-7. The performances feature students' senior projects, dance performances and Eurydice, a performance piece.
The Senior Project Festival is student driven and gives students an opportunity to showcase all of their talents. There will be five senior projects performed during the event, including dance pieces and a theater arts performance.
On April 13, The Press Democrat and the Los Angeles Times released articles discussing the $600,000 settlement claim given to Lisa Vollendorf, Sonoma State’s former Provost and Executive Vice President. This settlement was in response to Vollendorf reporting several sexual harassment claims made against SSU President Judy Sakaki’s spouse, Patrick McCallum. The news came as a shock to the SSU student body and many have strong opinions on the entirety of the situation, however many conversations around this issue have been mainly dominated by staff and faculty. We reached out to Sonoma State students to hear their opinions and commentary on the situation.
Sonoma State’s Associated Student elections begin this week which means students are able to vote for the students of their choice that they believe will best represent our campus. This year’s elections will take place April 19 and 20 through a link sent to students’ SSU email.
The university's student government is in place to “serve students through awareness, advocacy and representation”, as stated on their website.
Student’s voices are vital in enhancing the campus community and being a student representative can ensure that your peers' voices are heard. Students are encouraged to run for positions or vote in the elections. The upcoming elections that students will be voting for this year are for the Corporate Board of Directors.
Many transfer students didn’t anticipate their experience at a university to begin over Zoom. This made the transition from one college to another particularly difficult, especially while not knowing any familiar faces. Most students weren’t able to be in a classroom until the Spring 2022 semester, so meeting new people proved to be even more of a challenge.
Sonoma State’s Greek Life is a big part of the campus community. Every year, Alpha Gamma Delta (AGD), one of the many sororities on campus, puts on their philanthropic event called Lip Jam. During this event each sorority and fraternity compete in a lip-sync battle, performing to popular bands, soundtracks and artists to win the title of Lip Jam champion. The event is held at the Green Music Center and proceeds raised from this event go towards their philanthropy.
Lip Jam is one of the most anticipated philanthropy events at Sonoma State and is the highlight of many college students' experiences. Students, friends and family are all encouraged to attend each year and are able to purchase tickets.
Women‘s History Month, instituted by former President Jimmy Carter, is widely known across America as a month to recognize women and the vital roles they have played throughout history.
It began as a local celebration created by five women right in our own backyard, in Santa Rosa, California. The leader of these five influential women, Molly Murphy MacGregor, was a 24-year-old high school history teacher when she started the movement.
Over the last couple of years, many schools have found themselves making accommodations for students who test positive for the COVID-19 virus, moving them into vacant on-campus “quarantine dorms” or housing them off-campus in hotel rooms, while still providing them with their daily meals.
For Sonoma State, students have been less than impressed about the accommodations the school has given them when faced with a positive COVID-19 test.
Unvaccinated citizens are no longer required to wear masks in public settings as of March 1, according to updated health guidelines stated by California’s Governor, Gavin Newsom.
Newsom announced at the beginning of February that California’s case rate has decreased by 65% since the Omicron peak and hospitalizations have stabilized across the state. However, vaccinated individuals weren’t able to go mask-less for another few weeks, beginning Feb. 15th.
Sonoma State University mourns the death of 20-year-old Oswaldo Moya Diaz who tragically passed away on Feb. 15, after a seven-month-long battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Many members of the SSU community were first alerted of Diaz’s passing on Thursday, Feb. 17, when Diaz’s fraternity, Nu Alpha Kappa, shared a tribute post via their Instagram, honoring their brother.
The post read, “On behalf of the Nu Alpha Kappa Fraternity’s Three Gamma Chapter, we regret to inform you that one of our own has left us to join our fallen brothers at the Omega Chapter.”
Sonoma State University has announced three new facility changes, in addition to the reopening of the campus amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Classes have reopened on campus and that brings many new beginnings, including the welcoming of the incoming Title IX Officer, Julie Vivas, VP of Administration, Monir Ahmed, and the new Interim Vice President of Student Affairs, Michael D. Young, who all have high hopes for their upcoming roles at Sonoma State.
![[Both photos courtesy of sonoma.edu]
Ming-Ting Mike Lee stepped in as the new SSU president following Sakakis resignation in July 2022](https://sonomastatestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CC4520AB-22A7-41B2-9F6F-2A2D5F76A28C-1200x1200.jpeg)
