Clips
Religion events in the San Fernando Valley area, Jan. 28-Feb. 4
Food drive for CSUN Food Pantry: The Community Concerns Committee at First Presbyterian Church of Granada Hills holds a non-perishable food drive to help stock the food pantry at Cal State University, Northridge, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., and also, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Feb. 12. The pantry benefits students who do not have much income for food while school is in session. Current needs: canned soups and other canned goods, pasta and dry boxed goods; also, hygiene items including deodorant, soap, feminine products and shampoos. No glass containers or past date items. Drive-thru and a church volunteer will unload your donation. Location, 10400 Zelzah Ave., Northridge. 818-360-1831. www.fpcgh.org/outreach. Details and current needs for the CSUN Food Pantry here: bit.ly/3ch6IRl and here: bit.ly/3TeJiNe -- Los Angeles Daily News
Community meetings in the San Fernando Valley area, Jan. 30-Feb. 6
California State University, Northridge’s VITA Clinic Income Tax Preparation: Appointments required for the free sessions, 2-6 p.m., and every Thursday through April 13. Check the website link for details on what you need to bring to an appointment and also the link to make an appointment. Sun Valley Branch Library, 7935 Vineland Ave. 818-764-1338. Details and reservations: bit.ly/3kNvwEu -- Los Angeles Daily News
How Ballroom Dance Became a 'Social Safe Space' for Asian American Elders
When George R. Uba heard the news about the devastating mass shooting at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, Calif., on Jan. 21, he was stunned by the knowledge that such violence could occur in a place he holds dear. For over three decades, Uba, a retired professor of English and Asian American studies at California State University, Northridge, has been a regular at Star, like many other senior citizens in the area. He started with ballroom dancing lessons, then later began attending dance socials on Saturday nights with his wife. Uba describes the studio as a gathering space for Monterey Park’s Asian American and Pacific Islander community as much as it is a place to practice the foxtrot. -- Time Magazine
Federal and Local Law Enforcement Announce New Public Education Campaign to Highlight Danger of Fentanyl – 'Death in Disguise'
The “Death in Disguise” PSA was developed in partnership with the Department of Cinema and Television Arts at the California State University, Northridge. -- Department of Justice
CSUN Student Receives Grant to Increase Habitat for Butterfly, Other Pollinators
With their striking orange wings laced with black lines and bordered with white dots, monarch butterflies and their annual migration south from the United States and Canada to California and Mexico have become the stuff of legend. -- SCV News
Our Authors Study Club Hosts City-Wide African American Heritage Month Events
The celebration opens Thursday, February 2, at 6:30 p.m., with the Annual Round Table hosted by Marc Brown, Eyewitness News, KABC7. The virtual discussion features Dr. Maulana Karenga, chair of Africana Studies at CSU-Long Beach; Dr. Julianne Malveaux, dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at CSU-Los Angeles; Dr. Donna Nicol, chair of Africana Studies at CSU-Domiguez Hills; Dr. Boris Ricks, director of the Center for Southern California Studies at CSU-Northridge; and Dr. Francille Rusan Wilson, professor of American Studies & Ethnicity, History, Gender & Sexuality Studies at USC. -- The Los Angeles Sentinel
Things to do in the San Fernando Valley and LA area, Jan. 26-Feb. 2
The Soraya: Pianist Hélène Grimaud performs music by Mozart and Ukrainian composer Valentyn Silvestrov, 8 p.m. Jan. 26. Tickets $42 and up (use promotional code NEWYEAR). The Soraya at CSUN, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. 818-677-3000. helenegrimaud.com. www.thesoraya.org -- Los Angeles Daily News
University of Akron Announces Sixth Annual Diversitas Symposium
In addition to The University of Akron, Partner Universities include financial planning programs at leading universities around the U.S., including: Arizona State University; California Lutheran University; California State University Northridge; Kansas State University; Minnesota State University, Mankato; The Ohio State University; Olivet College; Pennsylvania Western University; Prairie View A&M University; Purdue University; Texas A&M University; Texas Tech University; UCLA Extension; University of Georgia; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; University of Maryland Global Campus; University of North Florida; University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; University of the Incarnate World; University of Wisconsin Green Bay; University of Wisconsin-Madison and Virginia Tech University, to name a few. For a full list of Partner Universities, click here. -- PR Newswire
He’s a retired cop. She’s a ‘dancing queen.’ He saved her life at Star Ballroom.
Open seven days a week, Star Ballroom Dance Studio was a landmark in Monterey Park. By the time the studio opened in 1990, the city’s demographics had changed dramatically, earning it the moniker of the “first suburban Chinatown.” The studio catered to a growing number of dance enthusiasts who were primarily emigrants from Taiwan and Hong Kong, said George Uba, a professor emeritus of English at California State University Northridge who has researched the dance studio phenomenon. -- Washington Posta
For older Asian American immigrants, ballroom dancing was supposed to be a safe haven
In an email to The Times, Uba, a professor emeritus and former department head of English at Cal State Northridge, said older Asian immigrants go ballroom dancing primarily for the exercise, to socialize and for “the aesthetic properties of the dance.” -- Los Angeles TImes