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New Exhibition Explores Alternative Journalism

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Notice for an exhibition of community, underground, and alternative newspapers at the Gerth Archives at CSUDH.

The exhibition “Alternate Takes: Community, Underground and Alternative Newspapers, Zines, & Comix at the CSUDH Gerth Archives & Special Collections,” is now open in the Library Cultural Arts Gallery.

The exhibition is focused on alternative and community newspapers and publications, and the history told and preserved within their pages. Through these periodicals, the Gerth Archives aims to showcase how communities in Los Angeles and across the world documented their lived experiences through an array of publications, ranging from newspapers to comics, zines, and more. An opening reception will be held on Oct. 5, 2023, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

“This exhibition reflects the vast diversity of the Gerth Archives collections relating to the political and cultural landscape that is often ignored or forgotten in the mainstream press,” says Greg Williams, Director of the Gerth Archives and Special Collections. “Through the display of politically radical and cultural expressive publications, this exhibition presents a snapshot of how often powerless populations reached out to express themselves and eventually gain power.”

Exhibition materials have been selected from several collections across the Gerth Archives. This includes the Art Kunkin/Los Angeles Free Press Collection, the Holt Labor Library Collection, and the LGBTQ+ Collection. Material on display also comes from the Feminist Resource Collection, the Zines Collection, the Kaye Briegel Chicano Publications Collection, the Right Wing and Conservative Publications Collection, and the Black Panther Newspaper Collection. Further material on display comes from collections focused on Japanese Americans, Filipino Americans, and Native Americans, as well as CSUDH campus periodicals.

Sections highlight a variety of interesting periodicals and publications along with the vast scope of coverage in their collections. This includes highlights of the Black Panther Newspaper, and its evolution over the years through the artwork of Emory Douglas, the paper’s designer and illustrator; issues from the Los Angeles Free Press highlighting its importance in ushering in the underground press revolution in Southern California; a variety of colorful graphics from underground newspapers of the 1960s and 1970s from Los Angeles all the way to West Germany and Hong Kong, covering topics ranging from the Vietnam War to New Age beliefs; Japanese American newspapers from incarceration camps during World War II; and socialist publications spanning the 20th century.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gerth Archives collections relating to alternative periodicals grew exponentially. The growth is the result of the conviction that archival collections should reflect social and community movements that reflect the values and the diverse populations of those communities. Such collections also veer away from mainstream thought and give students the opportunity to analyze alternative views.

This exhibition was curated by Lindsay Anderson, Priscilla Avitia, Lucas Madrigal, Yoko Okunishi, Tom Philo, Noel Lopez, Deena Marie Santos, Shawn West, and Greg Williams. The Gerth Archives has over 500 collections of archival materials and 85,000 digital objects on a variety of subjects related to activism, local history, and CSUDH and CSU history.

“Alternate Takes: Community, Underground and Alternative Newspapers, Zines, & Comix at the CSUDH Gerth Archives & Special Collections is in the Library Arts Center, University Library Room 1940, and is open from Monday – Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Call (310) 243-3895 for more information. Guided tours are available for classes and other groups. The exhibition will remain open through May 2024. Additional exhibition materials are located in the Gerth Archives Reading Room on the 5th Floor of the Library, Room 5039.

Emerita Professor Wins Prestigious NEH Grant

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Engraved image of Catherine Maris Sedgwick
19th-century American author Catharine Maria Sedgwick.

CSUDH Emerita Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Patricia Kalayjian has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for her work creating a digital archive of the letters of 19th-century American author Catharine Maria Sedgwick.

Kalayjian is the project director of the endeavor, and is working with fellow Sedgwick scholars Deborah Gussman, professor of American Literature at Stockton University in New Jersey, and Lucinda Damon-Bach, professor of English at Salem State University in Massachusetts.

With the help of a small team of assistants, they are working to transcribe, verify, annotate, and cross-reference each of the thousands of letters that the seminal female author wrote during her lifetime. The text is then formatted using Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) tag sets and rules, making it digitally publishable and searchable by users.

“There have always been women writers,” says Kalayjian, “but generally speaking, they’ve been ignored in the literary history of the United States. Writers like Sedgwick were part of the literary conversation of the day. At the time she was writing, she was considered the peer of writers like William Cullen Bryant, Washington Irving, and James Fenimore Cooper, and a lot of people then and now prefer her work to any of them!”

Sedgwick wrote six novels and over 100 pieces of short fiction during her career in the early 1800s, but has been somewhat forgotten over the past 200 years. Early scholars of American fiction were almost uniformly white males, so they tended to highlight the work of people like them rather than the so-called “domestic fiction” of female authors of the time. Kalayjian hopes that establishing a digital archive of her letters will enable future scholars to more easily study her work.

Kalayjian estimates that there are about 3,000 letters written by Sedgwick that have been preserved. This is largely because Sedgwick was a member of a wealthy, influential New England family—her father was Speaker of the House during John Adams’ presidency, and her siblings were successful lawyers and writers themselves. “They were famous and they kept everything,” says Kalayjian.

The letters Sedgwick wrote provide valuable insights into life in the early 1800s. “In her letters, you get the literary angle, but you also get the everyday life of a woman at the time,” says Kalayjian. “On one hand, Sedgwick was taking care of the family home in Stockbridge, making mince pies. But then she was also going to Washington, D.C. and being escorted around by Millard Fillmore. She had a really interesting life!”

Kalayjian taught courses in CSUDH’s Interdisciplinary Studies program from 1991 until her retirement in 2020. Since then, her scholarly pursuits have largely revolved around the Sedgwick project. Kalayjian’s group is partnering with the Primary Source Cooperative at the Massachusetts Historical Society in creating the digital archive.

This project is one of only four CSU-based projects to receive an NEH grant during their annual funding round, and it received the highest amount of all four—and more than most other awardees in California. “This is a very prestigious award for CSUDH,” says Tim Caron, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities. “This grant is extremely competitive, and the work that Dr. Kalayjian and her colleagues are doing will have a big impact on reshaping narratives about 19th-century American literature.”

This is the second NEH grant that Kalayjian’s group has won for this project. They were awarded a $300,000 grant in 2020 that enabled them to start working on transcribing the letters.

CSUDH Rises in National Rankings

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Streamers fall onto graduates celebrating at Commencement.

CSUDH ascended in multiple rankings from U.S. News & World Report and Washington Monthly for 2023-24, reflecting the university’s success in delivering accessible, quality education to help Toros to build a better future. As in past years, CSUDH scored highly in affordability, value for money, and social mobility. The university also improved in nearly every category compared to 2022-23.

U.S. News & World Report

For this year’s annual rankings, U.S. News & World Report evaluated nearly 1,500 U.S. four-year bachelor’s degree-granting institutions on as many as 19 measures, including graduation and retention rates, academics, and financial resources. Institutions are also grouped based on type, with CSUDH in the Regional Universities-West category.

CSUDH’s highest rankings were 5th place for Economic Diversity (West) and 17th place for Top Performers in Social Mobility (West). The university earned other spots within the top 20 of several categories, including 19th for Best Colleges for Veterans (West) and 19th for Top Public Schools (West).

CSUDH also climbed to 38th place in Best Regional Universities (West) from 56th place last year, and placed 37th in Best Value Schools (West).

Washington Monthly

The Washington Monthly rankings serve as an “answer to U.S. News & World Report,” evaluating universities based on contribution to public good.

CSUDH earned 5th place for Best Bang for the Buck (West), reflecting how well it helps non-wealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices.

The university also rose four spots to 10th place among Master’s Universities, the magazine’s all-around category which measures social mobility, research, and promoting public service.

Occupational Therapy Student Wins 2023 CSU Trustees’ Award

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Occupational Therapy Student Wins 2023 CSU Trustees' Award
CSUDH’s 2023 CSU Trustees’ Award winner Krystal Lopez. 

Krystal Lopez is pursuing an advanced degree in occupational therapy (OT) for one simple reason. “I want to help people,” she says.

“A lot of us don’t realize how much we take the things that we’re able to do for granted, until we’re no longer able to do them,” Lopez continues. “Being able to help people regain their independence, become happier, and have a better life overall—that’s what really inspires me.”

Born and raised in Santa Ana, Calif., Lopez is an OT graduate student at CSUDH. After graduating from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and social behavior, she decided to transition over to OT studies for her graduate work. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in OT from CSUDH.

Lopez’s hard work and dedication have earned her a 2023 CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement. The Trustees’ Award is the California State University’s highest recognition of student achievement, providing annual scholarships to one student from each CSU campus who demonstrates superior academic performance, personal accomplishments, community service, and financial need. In addition to the CSU Trustees’ Award, Lopez was named the 2023 TELACU Scholar.

“The life stories of these extraordinary students who have triumphed over personal hardships to stand among the university system’s most distinguished scholars are a testament to the transformative power of public higher education,” said CSU Interim Chancellor Jolene Koester in announcing the awards.

Lopez’s OT journey began during her senior year at UCI, when she started volunteering at an OT clinic as part of her studies. The COVID-19 pandemic limited her options, but she eventually found a clinic that was accepting new volunteers.

“I really liked it there,” she says. “I loved the people, the staff, and especially the kids I got to work with. I ended up getting offered a job there.”

Many of Lopez’s co-workers at the clinic had an OT background and were familiar with the program at CSUDH. “They spoke really highly of it and said to be prepared because it was really competitive. But I took a chance, applied, and got in! My peers were very happy for me because they went through the same process and knew how difficult it was.”

As a first-generation college student, Lopez is proud to be a part of the CSUDH OT community. “We have really amazing professors that bring a lot of great insights. They’re able to help us understand what we need to learn to be to become better professionals. Even though there’s a big cohort of us in the program, it’s divided into individual sections, which helps us get close to and rely on each other.”

After earning her master’s, Lopez would like to return to Santa Ana and work with children there. “I want to be able to give back to my community. I grew up there and know what kinds of struggles the people go through. I want to bring back the knowledge I’ve gained and bring resources back into the community.

“Basically, I just want to help kids so that they’re also able to do whatever it is that they want to do!”

Toro Volleyball Ready to Bounce Back

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Toro women's volleyball players pose in the CSUDH gym.
Toro volleyball players (L-R) Kayly Pau, Kilyn Hayes, and Shelby Saporetti.

After a disappointing 2022 season, this year’s Toro women’s volleyball team is looking to turn the corner and return to winning ways. Head Coach Jennifer Adeva is confident that her squad has what it takes to put last season’s struggles behind them.

“We’re looking for improvement across the board,” she says. “We’ve got a good mix of experienced returning players and newcomers, and team chemistry is getting better daily.”

The team got off to a decent start last season, and had a 4-5 record when their season got derailed by a 10-game losing streak in the middle of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule. They ended up with a 6-19 record overall, with a 4-14 mark in the CCAA.

“We had a really young, inexperienced team last season,” says Adeva. “With nine first-year students and two transfers, we knew it would be a learning year for us. There was a lot of growth for that team from the beginning of the season until the end, and we’re looking to build on what we started.”

Adeva’s goal this season is to rack up enough wins to qualify for the postseason. The team brings back 14 players from last year’s team, including senior Shelby Saporetti, who joined the Toros as a first-year student in 2019, but transferred to Fresno City College (FCC) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Saporetti returned to the Toros last season after helping FCC win the state junior college championship.

“Shelby really helped our team last year,” says Adeva. “I think her leadership, experience, and maturity are going to be keys to our success this season.”

Adeva also points out Ava Hurry, an All-CCAA Honorable Mention choice in 2022, and Bailey Fuches, who earned the same honor in 2021, as players she expects to have a major impact this year.

The Toros lost five players from last year’s team, but Adeva and her staff are excited about the six student-athletes who they’ve recruited for 2023. “I really like the players we brought in this year. They’re all great, hard-working young women who will help build the culture and bring some experience along as well.”

Bringing the most experience among the transfers is Kayly Pau, an outside hitter who spent the last three seasons competing in Division I as a member of the Boise State Broncos. Adeva expects her to make a positive impact on and off the court.

As the team rebuilds itself into a competitive powerhouse, Adeva encourages CSUDH students to come out to the Torodome and support the squad. “We’ve got a competitive, determined, and enthusiastic bunch of young players out there. Their fellow Toros will be proud of their fight and tenacity this season. It should be a lot of fun to watch!”

The CSUDH women’s volleyball team opens their home schedule against Stanislaus State on Friday, Sept. 15, at the Torodome. Their complete schedule is available at https://gotoros.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule.