When ethnomusicologist, composer, and CSUDH Professor of Music Jonathon Grasse first started traveling to Brazil 30 years ago, he had no intention of becoming a historian of the country's music–he was simply exploring the country with his Brazilian wife. Before long, though, he became fascinated by the nation's diverse regional musical heritages, adapting his research and writing to teach a course on Brazilian music at UCLA, where he earned his doctorate. Eventually, his focus narrowed to the region that his wife hails from: Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil that is deeply connected to the nation's slave past and home to many traditions related to the African diaspora. Grasse's ... Read More
Features
Commencement 2022 Strikes a Joyful Chord
Excitement, jubilation, and pride were palpable throughout the six Commencement 2022 ceremonies, where thousands of graduating Toros finally realized their dreams of walking the stage to the resounding cheers of family and friends. This year, CSUDH welcomed the return to its traditional commencement format, with more than 3,300 graduating students and 34,000 guests packing the Dignity Health Sports Park Tennis Stadium over the course of May 20 and 21. Prior to the reading of graduates' names, each ceremony included a distinguished keynote speaker and speech by a selected student. The student speakers praised their fellow graduates' perseverance in the face of grave challenges, shared ... Read More
Anthropology Graduate Brings Personal Perspective to Research
The CSUDH Class of 2022 has had many obstacles to overcome to reach graduation–and graduating senior Lukas Daniels (BA, Anthropology) is no different. He transferred from El Camino College to CSUDH in the spring of 2020, just in time for the campus to “go virtual” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As he and his fellow students were navigating the transition to online learning, Daniels was dealing with his own unique challenges. He lives with Hyper Mobile Joint Disorder, which causes chronic pain in his joints, fingers, and limbs. “My joints kind of move in place when they're not supposed to,” he explains. His hypermobility issues can make typing painful and difficult–an obvious problem ... Read More
Aspiring Prosthetist Grads Specialize in Empathy
For Martha Bretado and Rachel Kroener, the field of prosthetics is about much more than creating new artificial limbs for patients. As people who have physical disabilities themselves, the two students understand the importance of fostering community with their patients, building up their confidence, and showing them life's full range of possibilities. Bretado and Kroener became close friends during their graduate studies in CSUDH's Orthotics and Prosthetics program, having bonded over their shared experiences and passion for the disability community. This semester, they graduate from CSUDH's Orthotics and Prosthetics program with their master's degrees in health sciences with the ... Read More
CSUDH Mental Health Resources Expand and Adapt
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing hardships, college students were not immune to the nation's widespread rise in mental health issues. Studies from the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) found that pre-COVID, one in four young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 had a diagnosable mental illness. Among college students nationally, a recent Mayo Clinic study found that 30 percent reported experiencing depression in the past year, while 50 percent said they had felt “overwhelming anxiety” during the same time frame. Paradoxically, the restrictions placed on in-person meetings and counseling have made receiving mental health services more difficult. Creative ... Read More