Environmental groups lack diversity
Yessenia Funes
May 13, 2014
Natalie Calcutta, a graduating Chico State sociology major, was the only non-white voting board member of the Associated Students Environmental Affairs Council this year. "I don't think it ever really clicked with me being the only non-white person there," she said. The A.S. Environmental Affai...
Student leaves behind friends but keeps unforgettable memories
Yessenia Funes
May 12, 2014
I recall tears streaming down my cheeks at the tender age of 10, only because my dad suggested we move. I couldn’t even imagine leaving my friends then. As I’ve grown up, however, I’ve realized life is a cycle of constant hellos and goodbyes. It’s full of enlightening beginn...
Divestment gathers faculty support
Yessenia Funes
May 10, 2014
A student activism class launched an online campaign last week to garner faculty support of university divestment from fossil fuel companies. The campaign received 51 signatures as of May 7, said geography professor Mark Stemen, who leads the "Environmental Thought and Action" class...
Programs tackle veteran illness
Yessenia Funes
May 8, 2014
Chico State student veterans face the same struggles as veterans nationwide, but unlike at the national level, statistics don't exist for their culture. Larry Langwell, the coordinator at the Veterans Affairs Office on campus, works with these students every day. "I'm a veteran myself,” h...
Brewers unaffected by proposed FDA rules
Yessenia Funes
April 26, 2014
Someone enjoying a burger from the Sierra Nevada Restaurant is actually eating a steer that grew up on Chico State's University Farm munching on the brewery's spent grain. For now, that'll remain the same. A proposed regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Current Good Manufactu...
Employees face workplace bullying
Yessenia Funes
April 23, 2014
A Chico State employee spends nights awake in bed. The next day at work, the employee is welcomed by threats from a supervisor and singled out — micromanaged and stripped of the ability to make work-related decisions. Disturbing comments are made behind closed doors. Performance evaluations a...
Butte County strides toward fracking ban
Yessenia Funes
April 8, 2014
Tuesday marked a checkpoint for Butte County's journey to become the first California county to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. This morning, the Butte County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in support of a ban until the language of its prohibition is approved in early May, said Robyn DiFalco, the Butt...
Butte Hall banners call for divestment
Yessenia Funes
April 3, 2014
Orange squares were scattered around Butte Hall Thursday afternoon, leading students to six banners hanging from the building outside.Together, the banners read "DIVEST."Professor Mark Stemen's Environmental Thought and Action class put together the demonstration as part of a campaign to get the university to divest ...
Students create ‘human oil spill’
Yessenia Funes
April 1, 2014
Anyone wandering near Kendall Hall around 4 p.m. might've seen a group of students wearing black tarps and one young lady wearing a white painter's outfit with a gas mask over her face. That was Mark Stemen's Environmental Thought and Action class—in action. They gathered in front of Kendall Hall to create a human oil sp...
Cesar Chavez day parties lack reverence
Yessenia Funes
April 1, 2014
The celebrations began Friday afternoon. As soon as students finished classes, cars began blasting the J.Rabbit remix to The Champs’ “Tequila” with passengers wearing sombreros. “Hmm, so this is a glimpse into Cesar Chavez Day,” I thought. I’ve heard of him before, but N...
Fire marshal report reprimands Butte Hall
Yessenia Funes
April 1, 2014
Butte Hall's corridors now stand naked as departments have been instructed to remove bulletin boards, recycling bins and seating from outside their offices. State Fire Marshal Carol Jordan inspected the building in December and reported several fire code violations in February.The report required the removal of tea kettles, microwaves, ...
Ukrainians react to unrest in homeland
Yessenia Funes
March 26, 2014
Once or twice, Evelina Trinchuk, 36, and her husband, Tolik, headed to Kiev's central square, the capital of Ukraine, not knowing whether they'd make it home at the end of the night.Protesters like them faced three other possibilities: arrests, beatings or death — all at the hands of Berkuts, a subdivision of U...
