by Ideth Hernandez '15
Television, Film & Media Studies
BA, TVFM, Broadcast Option
Peter Coyote and Charles Degelman reading from their recently published books.
Interplay Readings by Peter Coyote from The Rainman’s Third Cure
and by Charles Degelman from A Bowl Full of Nails
On Tuesday, April 21, Barnes and Noble at The Americana in Glendale, hosted actor and writer Peter Coyote and CSULA Professor and writer, Charles Degelman. Coyote read from his newly published memoir, The Rainman’s Third Cure and Degelman read from his second fictional novel A Bowl Full of Nails, a finalist for the Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. Upon introducing his friend, Coyote said of Degelman, “He is a man of such talent that I do not constrict him as a functionary. We’ve been friends for 50 years. We’ve both lived in the counter culture. He is a fine writer.”
Coyote and Degelman worked at the San Francisco Mime Troupe in the 1960s. Of that experience, Degelman said, “I did a lot of important work, in terms of trying to get some kind of sense of humor in the serious politics of the ‘60s. We often found ourselves in the style of the theatre we were doing outside, interacting very vigorously with the audience. Hopefully, we will continue that tonight.”
Prior to the reading, as they discussed the different aspects of their books, Degelman said, “I was struck by the commonality, yes, we share politics today, politics of culture, … but it also struck me that we have some very interesting commonalities around relationships of power, starting with the notions of the first political relationship, that all of us or any of us has, with our parents. Interestingly, although my piece is a work of fiction and Peter’s is a memoir, we still found an astounding number of overlaps.”
Coyote and Degelman read different sections of their books that were thematically conjoined. The first section Degelman read was about the relationship the main character in his book, Gus, had with his father and how that relationship shaped him in the present, the 1960s. Coyote read passages of his tumultuous relationship with his father who he describes as “an emblem of force,” and how that influenced his actions as an adult. During the McCarthy era, Coyote said he witnessed first hand, “the force being applied to people that I loved and felt tender to, I went out to take the United States of America and overthrow it.” The readings, an interesting interplay of fiction and non-fiction led to discussions about radicalization against imperialism in the 1960s and radicalization against the right, corporate America today. As in the 1960s, the two were at home with the audience.
04/08/2015
The University Times is a California Newspaper Publishers Blue Ribbon Finalist
As part of its annual 2014 Better Newspapers Contest, the California Newspaper Publishers Association announced the University Times is a Blue Ribbon Finalist, for its Best Editorial Comment Category. This is the second award the newspaper has won this year. The editorial commentary, “95% Denial of Academic Excellence,” was written by Mechanical Engineering senior, Ethian Ting. The article was a result of his earning a 3.9 GPA for the spring 2013 quarter and being informed that a 4.0 GPA was required to be on the Dean’s List. With further research he learned that this would not have been the case for any other California State University, where lower GPAs qualify for the Deans' Lists.
This was Ting’s first published article and upon the award’s announcement, he said, “it was a complete surprise but feel very proud that the effort into the research paid off. Fellow students were experiencing the same troubles. It was heartbreak that students were not getting on the Deans’ Lists.” He also added, “the California Newspaper Publishers was founded in 1888, it is a prestigious award.”
When asked how the University Times decided to submit Ting’s story, Editor-in-Chief, Yzzye Gonzales, said, “Ting's story was definitely a stand out. It was the first article that he had submitted and he was very willing to work with our staff on the story before publication. We eventually decided that the story was the best written overall.”
This is the second recognition the University Times has received this calendar year. It previously won Best News Photograph, published by a California College Newspaper in 2014, from the California College Media Association, for a photo taken by Timmy Truong, of California State University, Los Angeles alumni, David and Sharon Sandoval. Of the recognition, Gonzalez said, “It's awesome! It's been a long road to get where we are now and we still have a long way to go. Any encouragement that we are going in the right direction means a lot. There's been plenty of people on campus that are quick to criticize rather than help and to get words of affirmation from the publishing industry means the world.”