cal state san marcos

Cal State San Marcos presents its top 2022 stories

As the end of the year approaches, many are already looking ahead to 2023. But before putting the finishing touches on your list of New Year’s resolutions, let’s take a look back at some of the most-talked-about stories of 2022. CSUSM Ranks First in the Nation in Social Mobility SUSM ranks first nationally out of more than 1,400 schools measured in the ninth annual Social Mobility…


CSUSM history professor makes past come alive

It’s difficult for Kasandra Balsis to count the ways that Cal State San Marcos history professor Alyssa Goldstein Sepinwall has helped her in her academic journey. When Balsis entered CSUSM’s history master’s program in the fall of 2020, the virtual format made it challenging for her to find her way, but Sepinwall aided the transition by using Zoom breakout rooms to facilitate deeper discussion and…


Blast from the past at Cal State San Marcos

One eyewitness said the blast “looked like an asteroid attack out of Star Wars.” The witness was referring to rocks from a regular quarry blast above Cal State San Marcos (CSUSM) raining down on campus about 3:15 p.m. Monday, July 30, 2001, damaging cars and buildings, but causing no injuries. For Robert Stakes, who had just begun his tenure as dean of extended studies, the rocks…


Coronavirus threat sends CSUSM online only

Cal State San Marcos has begun the transition to virtual instruction for the rest of the spring semester as the university responds to the coronavirus pandemic that is affecting daily life in ways big and small around the world.   During a four-day transitionary period, from Monday, March 16 through Thursday, March 19, there will be no in-person classes at CSUSM or CSUSM at Temecula, and courses…


Ethnic Studies gallery pops up at CSUSM

For Jason Magabo Perez, it’s not enough to stand in front of his Ethnic Studies classroom and lecture. In his teaching career, Perez has never been content with simply assigning readings, distributing exams and grading papers. The first-year Cal State San Marcos assistant professor subscribes to the idea that hands-on learning sticks with students longer. The world is the best classroom in Perez’s philosophy. Hence…


Zombies, vampires, witches and #MeToo

Cal State San Marcos professor Natalie Wilson wants us to look at zombies, vampires and witches as warriors for social justice. Wilson, who teaches primarily for the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department and who has written extensively about horror in popular culture, has released a new book, “Willful Monstrosity: Gender and Race in 21st Century Horror,” examining characters in the current horror renaissance as…


CSUSM: Students dancing for the community

Karen Schaffman has been drawn by the allure of dance since she was a young child growing up in Bloomfield, Connecticut. When Schaffman was a toddler, her mother enrolled her in a summer creative dance class at the playground down the street from their home. “That was the beginning of knowing that I loved dancing in a community setting,” said Schaffman, who has been teaching…


CSUSM News: Track apps, Temecula time

CSUSM grad takes his apps to the track Erik Groset is no horse racing junkie, but like many people in San Diego, he enjoys a nice summer day at the Del Mar racetrack – the gorgeous seaside setting, fun times with friends and family, laying down a little money to make it more interesting. What Groset didn’t enjoy, on the many days he spent at Del Mar during the decade after…


Team of CSUSM alums win San Marcos seat

Maria Nunez is representing District 1 on the San Marcos City Council after being elected last November as the culmination of her first political campaign. But that representative just as easily could be Arcela Nunez-Alvarez, Maria’s older sister and a fellow Cal State San Marcos alumna. Or it could be Ana Ardon, another CSUSM alum and, for the last 15 years or so, a colleague of Nunez-Alvarez’s…


In this CSUSM ‘classroom’ there are no walls

Powerful mural resides in the heart of the library By Christine Vaughan, CSUSM News Center (Used by permission.) Staircases by their very nature are passageways. But one stairwell at Cal State San Marcos is causing passersby to pause. Spanning across two floors in the architectural center stairwell of Kellogg Library is a mural titled “In This Classroom, There Are No Walls.” Painted in subdued yet boldly contrasting earth…