CSUN On Point

“You can’t sit with us.”

So says Regina George in the 2004 movie Mean Girls, a satirical look at the very real phenomenon of bullying, an increasing problem for children and teens.

Today, technology and social media are being used to take bullying from schools and parks right into victims’ homes, pockets, and purses.

The National Education Association estimates that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students.

High school senior Hanna Kytlica said she had stopped attending cheerleading team because of a bully, and ended up transfering to a high school with a zero tolerance bullying policy. Kytlica said she didn’t wanted to quit cheerleading or leave her school, but it was not worth the torment she went through.

“I’m gonna live my life,” Kytlica said. “I’m gonna be who I am. I learned that it made me such a strong person. I can sit by myself, I’m not afraid like in Mean Girls, because I’m comfortable with who I am, which is the most important part of growing up.”

Stopbullying.gov, managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, defines bullying as “unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.”

The department’s website says that “bullying is repeated over time, including actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.”

“People continue to bully because there is a hierarchy that reinforces the actions of bullying to maintain their power status,” Marriage and Family Therapist Joey Dolowy said.

WeUpstanders is an anti-bullying non-profit organization, with the goal to help support victims of bullying while informing the public of bullying at schools and on social media. Members share how bullies have picked on them for multiple reasons such as skin color, body types, social status, speaking English as a second language, and so on.

“I’m colored,” one Upstanders team member said, “and I was smaller than everybody else, so I was bullied and got called racist names.”

Cyberbullying has increased due to the availability of internet and social media sites. The National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in its 2010-2011 School Crime Supplement that nine percent of students in grades 6–12 experienced cyberbullying, and the Centers for Disease Control found in their 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey  that 15 percent of high school students were electronically bullied in the past year.

“Internet bullying has grown because it is more accessible and easier to bully people from the comfort of their own home,” Dolowy said.

Stopbullying.gov says kids who are bullied may be at risk of increased alcohol and drug use, skipping school, poor grades, lower self-esteem, and even more health problems.

Dolowy said the best way to prevent bullying is to “walk away, and provide evidence to show administration and faculty.”

“Parents, school staff, and other adults in the community can help kids prevent bullying by talking about it, building a safe school environment, and creating a community-wide bullying prevention strategy,” WeUpstanders’ website said.

“Being able to talk to my mom got me through it,” Kytlica said.

If you or someone you know is being bullied, you can contact the Cyber Bully Hotline at 1-800-420-1479.

Moderator: Samantha Benitz

Producer: Ken Harvey

Anchor: Ashley Goosen

Reporters: Beau Akers, Cristal Canedo, Briseida Holguin and Nancy Moreira

Moderator: Sharon Shin

Producer: Rosanna Siracusa

Anchor: Rosanna Siracusa

Reporters: Precious Allen, Kelly Hernandez, Evan Mederos and AJ Romero

Social Media Editor: Cyndy Alvarado

It seems happiness isn’t all that’s contagious at Disneyland in California.

The recent measles outbreak, now spread across 17 states, is being linked to the theme park. More than half of the measles cases reported in the state are associated with initial exposure at Disneyland.

Public health officials recommend that children under 12 months old and people who have not been vaccinated stay away from the park, and they are urging everyone to get immunized. A recent Pew Research Center poll found 83 percent of Americans believe the measles vaccine is safe for children. But another Pew study shows younger adults believe vaccinations should not be a requirement, and that it is up to the parents to make that decision.

“We have seen a dramatic increase in vaccine mistrust and the idea that they link to certain diseases,” said Assistant Professor of Health Science at CSUN, Kaitlin O’Keefe. “This is not entirely accurate.”

In 1998 Dr. Andrew Wakefield sparked the discussion of vaccines being associated with autism in children, with his study published in the Lancet. Wakefield focused on the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccine in a very small study. He said he had found a possible link to autism in children from the vaccine. His claim has since been discredited; he has lost his license to practice medicine in England, and the Lancet published a full retraction. However his claim still led to a decline in vaccines all over the world.

Health experts say physicians need to ask parents more questions in order to understand why they have chosen not to vaccinate, and then offer parents more information about vaccines, to answer their concerns.

“A vaccine takes a germ and exposes it to the patient’s immune system in a safe way, such that the patient is not going to become ill, but it stimulates an immune response,” said Dr. Mikhaela Cielo, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist.

Some parents express concern about the number of vaccines children are required to get at a young age.

“Our immune system is constantly reacting to things around us,” Cielo said. “Kids are sick more often because their bodies are developing this repertoire of antibodies to fight off disease…We know their bodies, in the natural world, are able to respond very well to multiple different antigens at the same time, and they’ve definitely shown, through a big body of research, that children do just fine with multiple vaccinations in one visit. Their bodies will mount a great immune response, and there’s no harm that comes to the child.”

The percentage of elementary school children who have not been vaccinated has doubled in California, according to the CDC. Many parents use the state’s personal belief exemption to explain their decision.

Communities must be immunized at a high rate to fight widespread infectious disease. For diseases like the measles and whooping cough at least 92 percent of the children must be immune. This is a concept known as herd immunity.

“One of the best things about vaccination is enough people have immunity to a disease through vaccination,” O’Keefe said, “and they can protect another member of the community [who can’t be immunized for legitimate health reasons] who might be susceptible to the disease.”

There are no federal vaccination laws, but many public schools and colleges require students to be vaccinated upon entering, and many states allow exemptions from immunizations only for religious reasons.

“Requiring someone to vaccinate in some ways will do more harm than good,” O’Keefe said. “The best way to push towards higher vaccine rates is to educate…get the word out on actual information like scientific studies, evidence towards the safety and efficacy of the vaccines out there.”

Moderator: Teresa Arevalo

Anchor: Wahid Loden

Producer: Kelsey Ducklow

Reporters: Teresa Arevalo, Brenda Garcia, Wahid Lodin and Alexis Wadley

Social Media Editors: Gloria Star and Brenda Garcia

It has been more than 15 years since a shooting at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills left one man dead and five people, including three children, wounded.

Buford O. Furrow Jr. later admitted he had come up with the plan to harm Jews and ethnic minorities, and had driven from Washington State to Southern California in a van full of guns in order to do it. Furrow had been treated for mental illness in the months before the shootings.

Less than a year ago, a 22-year-old shooter killed six people and injured thirteen people in Isla Vista before committing suicide. The man’s parents, believing their son might be mentally ill, had gone to Santa Barbara authorities seeking help, but officers said after visiting him that the son didn’t exhibit any characteristics that were out of the ordinary.

A new California law tries to prevent violent shooting acts like these from occurring by allowing family members and friends to request a court order, a gun violence restraining order, if there is probable cause that gun owners might have mental health issues.

“I wouldn’t say there is so much [looking for] someone to blame as the fact that people might see weird types of behaviors and really didn’t know that they needed to see a therapist,” JCC shooting survivor Scott Engler said.

The new law, California Assembly Bill No. 1014, says if it can be proven a gun owner presents an immediate and present danger of causing personal injury to himself, herself or others, the court may remove guns from the owner’s possession for up to 21 days, until a court hearing can be held to determine whether the gun owner can own or possess a firearm.

“I’m concerned more than anything about the fact that you could have a situation where you can lose your constitutional protective right to bear arms for 21 days before you get a hearing from a judge… 21 days is a long time for a constitutional right to be taken away,” said Cal State Northridge Political Science professor Craig Renetzky.

The Small Arms Survey reported in 2007 that there are more guns in the hands of citizens in the United States than any other country. On average the survey found about 89 guns per 100 people in the U.S., compared to about 55 per 100 residents in Yemen, and about 46 per 100 in Switzerland.

“Here we are in a country where we have more guns than any other nation per 100 people and yet we still have the highest death rate from gun violence each year,” said JCC shooting survivor Josh Stepakoff.

“I think the problem we are facing is much larger,” Renetzky said. “I think it’s a problem with mental health. I think people are committing crimes with guns that they would perhaps be committing with a knife or a hand grenade … I think we need to look at the underlying cause of the violence not the tool that’s being used to carry out that violence.”

In Texas a new law has been proposed to allow a teacher to use deadly force on a student in defense of himself or herself or of other students in the classroom.

“I don’t think parents need to drop their kids off at school thinking there is the potential for their kid to be killed,” Stepakoff said. “I don’t think there is a place for guns in schools and I don’t think there is a place for violence in schools.”

Stepakoff was a camper at the North Valley Jewish Community Center when the 1999 shooting occurred, and he was one of the children wounded in the shooting.

“There is no closure,” Stepakoff said. “This has continued to be a main factor and part of my life for the past fifteen years. The mental health system needs to be worked on and a universal background check could absolutely be helpful … We would have a better idea of who is actually purchasing a firearm.”

Moderator: Ken Harvey

Anchor: Cristal Canedo

Producer: Samantha Benitz

Reporters: Nancy Moreira, Beau Akers and Ashley Goosen

Social Media Editor: Briseda Holguin

A new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows the US is lagging behind in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) when compared with other nations. The study ranked the US twenty-one out of twenty-three countries in Math, and seventeen out of nineteen countries in problem solving.

But at CSUN, the Mechanical Engineering department is trying to change that trend by providing students with hands on experience. One of those projects is called Matador Motorsports Racecar Building Team.

Geography professor Steven Graves said students need more than a classroom experience. “You have to have both sides,” Graves said. “You have to be able to connect the theory to the practical application.”

Matador Motorsports allows students to build racecars from scratch every year. Through this project students are able to apply the theories they have learned in previous classes.

“We not only do the scientific analysis behind it, but we also physically build it ourselves,” Mechanical Engineering student Ryan Camire said. “So we’re not just engineers, we’re also craftsman.”

A major issue of STEM education has been diversity. President Obama launched the Educate to Innovate initiative in 2009, with a particular objective to diversify the STEM talent pool by including more women and people of color.

“Walking into classes, you’re probably one of three, maybe, women, or maybe the only one,”  said CSUN Mechanical Engineering student Mayra Montesinos. “I know this past summer I took a class, and I was the only woman in the class.”

Moderator: Mihkel Teemant

Anchor: Brionna Lewis

Reporter: Jonny Green

Social Media Editors: Jacquelyn Koenig, Benjamin Ladiana and Trene Todd

After 20 years on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Zev Yaroslavsky is leaving office.

That leaves his seat on the notoriously entrenched board open, and
candidates are vying to represent the third district, which stretches
from the West Valley to West L.A.

With issues like business development, homelessness and transportation on the
plate, whoever gets the seat will have a lot on his or her hands.

One candidate, former Santa Monica mayor Bobby Shriver, said that an
infusion of new political blood will allow for positive change.

“The current state of play needs significant reform,” he said. “It
keeps you up at night, but it also makes you pretty outraged.”

Former state legislator Sheila Kuehl, also vying for the seat, said
that reform can be significant because of how much the board oversees.

“The county has a lot of responsibilities that people don’t know
anything about,” she said. “Healthcare, mental health, foster kids,
transportation, environment. Just a whole panoply of issues.”

For candidate John Duran, one of the most important responsibilities
of the county is encouraging business.

“Government doesn’t create wealth,” the West Hollywood councilmember
said. “Government relies on other people creating wealth so we can tax
part of it and use that tax money to provide social services.”

Kuelh said that the county itself is a powerful tool for employment.

“We have 100,000 people working for the county,” she said. “That’s an
important workforce. That’s an important aspect for avoiding
unemployment.”

But Shriver said the recent relocation of Toyota’s headquarters from
Torrance to Texas was indicative of a greater problem.

“I think we should have competed to keep them here,” he said.

“I think we’ve lost 200,000 jobs here in L.A. In the last 20 years,”
he said. “That’s not the result of the recession; that’s the result of
capital, private capital, leaving the area.”

Kuelh said that developing county public transit could create jobs–and
improve transportation throughout the county.

“I think the light rail is essentially coming back to Los Angeles,”
she said. “It was very different when people could take public
transportation.”

Shriver said that, although an improved transit system would be a boon
for the county, it would be a long term solution.

“The subway to the airport is great, 10 or 15 years in the future,” he said.

A near term solution that worked in Santa Monica was giving Santa
Monica College students free rides on the Big Blue Bus system, Shriver
said.

“Although that hasn’t solved the traffic problem heading east at
night, it certainly has made a significant contribution to offloading
the roads there and decreasing the amount of the money being spent on
new parking structures,” he said.

Duran said that more Metro stops could be a solution, but the process of creating
them often gets bogged down by political red tape.

“To get from the city of Santa Monica to the 405 during rush hour
takes an hour. It is three miles,” he said. “There is no reason that
should exist. But it exists because of political compromise.”

Duran said the county should be doing more to encourage the arts.

“In some ways, we’ve been somewhat neglectful, waiting for students to come to the arts rather than taking arts out to the students,” he said.

“It should definitely be a priority,” Kuelh agreed.

More than that, it’s very possible because L.A. County owns and
operates its own theaters, symphonies, and museums, she said.

“The LAC in LACMA is L.A. County,” she added.

Shriver said that arts have always been an important part of Los
Angeles culture and economy.

“Someone once said that more people in Los Angeles make their living
off imagination than anywhere else in the country,” he said. “We want
to keep that energy here. We want to keep the imagination business
alive and strong. The county should be doing a lot to make that
happen.”

Election day for the third district seat is June 3. If a candidate
receives more than 50 percent of the vote, he or she will be elected
to the board of supervisors. If no candidate receives 50 percent of
the vote, a runoff will be held in November.

Moderator: Hannah Townsley

Producer: Colin Newton

Anchor: Nelssie Carillo

Reporters: Hannah Townsley, Nelssie Carillo, Judith Retana, Mahina Haina, Adam Schumes and Colin Newton

Social Media Editors: Mahina Haina, Judith Retana, Adam Schumes and Jamie Gonzaga

Online dating is changing the way people create and develop relationships.

“You need to have a profile on more than one dating site, and be diligent about it, just like you would if you were looking for a job,” Spira said. “Understand it’s a numbers game, and get back out there and go on more dates, because the more dates you go on, the better dater you become.”

Moderator: Aleksandar Milojkovich

Anchor and Reporter: Evanne Robinson

Digital Content Editors: Esmi Careaga, Dylan Connolly and Natalie Palacios

Producer: Jennifer Rufer

Veganism is a way of life that requires people to change their diets, their clothing, and other buying decisions, with the goal of ending the exploitation of animals.

People are drawn to veganism for all sorts of reasons. One might be increased vitality, another to reduce pollution, and another out of concern for animal rights.

Nutritionist Diana Shore said vegans feel better, have better digestion and elimination, and maintain a more desirable weight without even trying.

According to Vegetarian Times, one of the biggest impacts of a meat-eating diet is the depletion of natural resources, especially the consumption of huge amounts of water for livestock production.

Therefore being a vegan may a positive effect on the environment. By going vegan, individuals may help prevent global warming, rainforest destruction, and pollution, while saving water and other natural resources. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, chemical and animal waste runoff from factory farms is responsible for more than 173,000 miles of polluted rivers and streams.

But many people also choose to become vegans for animals.

“I originally did it for the compassion aspect of it, and on a more global level, too,” long term vegan Keith Sikora said.

“There’s a great piece of mind in knowing that because of our compassion, we’re not contributing to the suffering of the animal’s plight,” said Marilyn Peterson, chef and author of Vegan Bite By Bite.

Peterson describes in her book the two stages of becoming a vegan. The first stage is dropping processed foods from a diet, and foods with no animal or dairy ingredients. The second stage is to adopt completely plant-based foods. Her book offers a six-week menu guide.

One common misconception is that a vegan diet doesn’t supply enough protein and calcium. But many experts say it is easy for a vegan to meet the recommendations for protein, as long as calorie intake is sufficient. Strict protein planning or combining isn’t necessary. The key is to eat a varied diet.

“Vegans get their sources of nutrients through peas, beans, lagoons, lentils, dried fruits and dark green vegetables,” Shore said.

A study by Loma Linda University reported that vegans have lower rates of cancer than meat eaters and vegetarians. For example, vegan women have a 34 percent lower chance of contracting female-specific cancers like breast, cervical, and ovarian cancer. Similar results occur in men for prostate cancer.

The number of vegans in the U.S. has doubled since 2009, from 2.5 percent of the population to more than 5 percent. About half of these vegetarians say they are vegan.

“The awareness is heightened today because it’s the information age,” Peterson said. “There’s so much great technology and research is so strong that a vegan diet is so healthy, and all of the causes for degenerative conditions are linked to animal products and dairy.”

“It’s a commitment and a choice,” Sikora said, “but definitely a lot easier than what most people might think it is.”

Moderator: Jacquelyn Koenig

Anchor: Ben Ladiana

Reporters: Mihkel Teemant and Trene Todd

Producers: Brionna Lewis and Jonny Green

When thinking about downtown Los Angeles, the Staples Center comes to mind, or maybe the numerous development projects happening right now. What may not come to mind is how the developments affect downtown’s homeless population, which is by far the biggest in the country.

The major changes occurring downtown include building enhancements, new modern-looking housing complexes, and more people.

But just how does the homeless population play in to the development in historic downtown L.A.? Since downtown streets have become a place for the homeless to live, any changes to those downtown streets affect where they will settle next.

A business collaborative task force called Home For Good is trying to resolve this issue in the city. Their focus is to “address homelessness by eliminating it,” said Jerry Neuman, an L.A. attorney and member of Home For Good’s Business Leaders Task Force.

Neuman said that eliminating homelessness would improve the business climate and create incentives for growth and expansion. He also said gentrification affects both the homeless and economic sector downtown. Gentrification is a shift in an urban community toward residents who are wealthier, as well as an increase in property values.

“The gentrification of downtown is having dramatic impacts on the accessibility of where homeless people have to live,” Neuman said. “If you think back about 12 years before the renaissance of downtown, we had about 70 percent affordability downtown, and that number is now reduced to about 30 percent affordability.”

Because of the many new housing developments, business has improved.

“Gentrification, I think, typically is a process,” said Dr. Robert Kent, Chair of CSUN’s Urban Studies and Planning Department. He said that gentrification can affect current downtown residents as well as the homeless.

“You get developers who will go in and rehab these buildings or tear them down to build apartments and lofts, catering to those with higher incomes who work in the city and want to live close by,” Kent said. This urban renewal trend parallels the stories topping Roswell GA real estate news, where the market shifts towards upscale living spaces. “And at the same time, many people who have been living in those buildings, paying relatively low rents, are displaced, have to move to other neighborhoods, or are simply forced out of their homes.” Kent’s observation serves as a real-time commentary on the impacts of development, mirroring broader concerns and patterns reported in real estate news, where the balance between growth and community stability is a prevailing topic.

Neuman said that when the development started in downtown L.A., it set a trend toward further development.

“The city created an adaptive re-use ordinance that allowed a lot of flexibility adapting old buildings into new residential buildings,” Neuman said. “And from that you saw a rush to create more housing downtown and create community development, you kind of have great infrastructure and people are starting to live there.”

Since new business is expanding downtown, Home For Good is working to help homeless people find a place to live without interrupting the new developments.

“What building should be preserved for the homeless, and what building should be part of the rebirth — that is discussed on  a daily basis,” Neuman said. “We keep trying to find opportunities where we can build better projects that permanently support those people who are homeless, and yet not get in the way of the progress that downtown is making.”

Moderator: Judith Retana

Anchor: Jamie Gonzaga

Reporters: Colin Newton, Nelssie Carillo, Hannah Townsley

Production Crew: Mahina Haina and Adam Schumes

Taxis, buses, and light-rails have always dominated public transportation. However, two companies are now beginning to change the landscape.

Uber and Lyft are the companies behind the new ride-sharing services trend. Many think they represent a cheaper, quicker, and easier way to travel. Uber and Lyft are more of a control hub rather then a transportation company. The drivers sign up online, and then receive phones, and information in order to get started.

“There’s a lot of money to make in ridesharing, and I love it,” said Uber driver Terry Jones. Jones said drivers can get rated by their passengers, which can either help or hurt them. He said he shares his profits with the company. “They (Uber) take 20 percent the first month, then after that it’s only five percent so there’s actually a lot of money. The first month is only 20 percent because you’re paying for the phone they give you.”

For the passenger, the process is even simpler. Users download the app,  request a driver who is close, and then make  payments through the app. Drivers are supposed to arrive for pick-up within 15 minutes. The rating system also applies to the passengers, as the driver may rate them.

As great as the new service sounds, there is still plenty of opposition to it. Taxi drivers across California and the country continue to oppose the new service.

“Taxi cab drivers make money through fares and tips,” former cab driver Wallace Zane said. Zane is now a professor of anthropology at CSUN. He said taxi cab drivers pay money in rent or leases to their companies every night or once a week, which means the drivers have to earn enough money from fares and tips to cover the lease and gas. “Being a cab driver is a tough job, and I always feel sorry for them,” Zane said.

It is obvious that public transportation is beginning to change, and Uber and Lyft are two companies at the top of this new wave.

“There is driving everywhere and gridlock everywhere and we have limited public transportation services in addition to the traffic systems,” CSUN Urban Studies Professor Mintesnot Woldeamanuel said. “Having this new system is giving another option to consumers. It’s changing travel.”

Moderator: Jennifer Rufer

Anchor: Alex Milojkovich

Reporters: Evanne Robinson and Jennifer Rufer

Producer: Natalie Palacios

Social Media Editors: Dylan Connolly and Esmeralda Careaga