Hate crime committed at Zinfandel Village pool

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A drama-filled spring semester just continues to amplify at Sonoma State University. Early last week, on May 2, the university sent out a campus-wide email regarding what SSU described as a hate crime committed on campus.

The notice reported that university staff had found a barbecue grill sitting at the bottom of the Zinfandel Village pool, located on the north-western side of campus. Found on the grill, was a rope, with the loose end of the rope fashioned into a noose and left hanging on the pool's accessibility lift.

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Leaked Supreme Court draft raises concern around abortion laws

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For years, lawmakers and political parties have controversially debated the issue of women’s rights, specifically their right to an abortion and control over their own bodies. According to a leaked copy of an official Supreme Court draft, the Justices are ready to put the argument to rest.

Roe v. Wade, the federal case from 1973, states that under the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause, women have a constitutional right to choose whether or not to get an abortion before the third trimester of pregnancy. In 1992, Planned Parenthood v. Casey specifically identified the age of fetus viability as 24 - 28 weeks into the gestational period, and put in place the undue burden standard for abortion restriction. These two cases have been the basis of regulating abortions in America for years. If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, there is no prior laws on abortion set in place for a nationwide standard.

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SSU says goodbye to A&H Dean Hollis Robbins

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From great staff recruitments to the creation of new majors here at Sonoma State University, the Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, Hollis Robbins, has certainly left her mark in her time at the school. Since coming to school in 2018, Robbins has always done what was best for the school and department and she will be missed by the SSU community.

Over her time here at SSU, Robbins says that her proudest accomplishment was the creation of two new majors: Native American Studies and Cinematic Arts and Technology. When asked what led to the creation of these new majors Robbins said, “students have told us that this is what they would like to focus on as undergraduates and we are glad to serve them.”

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Misuse of fees sparks faculty and student protests

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After learning that their student fees were used to pay $250,000 of the $600,000 retaliation settlement to former provost Lisa Vollendorf, who relayed sexual harassment complaints about President Judy Sakaki’s husband, the campus community flew into action last week with angry campus protests.

Sonoma State University sent out an email to the campus community on April, 25 announcing that $250,000 of SSU funds would be used to pay the insurance deductible for former provost Lisa Vollendorf’s $600,000 retaliation settlement.

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Senate approves putting Sakaki 'no confidence' vote to faculty this week

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In the most recent Sonoma State University Academic Senate meeting on Thursday, April 28, faculty, staff, and students shared their thoughts on the President Sakaki Scandal and the vote of no confidence referendum. The Senate did not vote no confidence in Thursday’s meeting, and the purpose of the senate proposal was to approve allowing the faculty to vote at all.

Laurel Holstrom-Keyes, SSU’s Academic Senate Analyst, explained how the referendum process will proceed in a Friday morning email to all eligible voters. “Pro and con comments will be posted on the Senate website. The comment period will close on May 5th. We will only accept comments from faculty, staff, students, and administrators at SSU,” Holstrom-Keyes stated.

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Wine Business Institute celebrates 25 years

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Sonoma State’s school of business decided 25 years ago to offer an undergraduate degree focused on the business of wine, making them the first school to do that in the United States. To celebrate, there will be an event held at the Wine Business Institute (WBI) on May 31.

In its 25 years, the WBI has had three major achievements that they wish to celebrate. These include awarding 257 wine MBAs, the launch of the Global Wine EMBA and the opening of the Wine Spectator Learning Center, where the event will be held.

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PG&E to pay $55 million in settlement for Kincade and Dixie fires

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On April 11, Pacific Gas and Electric announced that they will be paying a $55 million settlement due to the 2019 Kincade Fire and the 2021 Dixie Fire. According to a release made by PG&E themselves, both fires were caused by faulty equipment. In the settlement, PG&E will have their criminal charges for the Kincade Fire dismissed, as well as no criminal charges handed out for the Dixie Fire. This deal was negotiated over many months, specifically by the district attorneys of the counties that were affected by the fires.

“I look at [the settlement] as doing the best that we could under the circumstances,” said Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch, via abc10.com. “Governor Newsom has decided that PG&E is going to continue, and so we are going to have to deal with PG&E in our community.”

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Seawolf Decision Day welcomes incoming students

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Sonoma State University opened its arms to potential incoming freshmen Saturday, April 23, for Seawolf Decision Day. The event, hosted by the university, acted as a campus open house for incoming freshmen. Undecided or not on choice of college, soon-to-be high school graduates had the opportunity to meet current students, faculty, and staff, as wel​​l as SSU alumni.

The event included sessions and presentations about various aspects of the school such as academic programs, student life, campus housing, and financial aid. A strong highlight of this event was the featured academic departments and their presentations.

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Sakaki faces vote of no confidence

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A referendum vote of no confidence resolution regarding Sonoma State University President Judy Sakaki’s leadership is on the Academic Senate agenda for Thursday, April 28.

The resolution requesting a Vote of No Confidence in President Sakaki's leadership was drafted by a group of faculty from Social Sciences, Arts & Humanities, and Business & Economics and discussed in last week's Executive Committee meeting with a Time Certain of 3:35 p.m.

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SSU students victimized in new form of online sexual harassment

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Last month, one Sonoma State alumna and one student fell victim to the internet’s newest sexual harassment trend: “cum tributing”. This alarming new trend has caused new concern to arise within the SSU community surrounding internet safety.

Tributing is a form of online sexual harassment where predators screenshot a photo of their victim from their social media account, photoshop the photo to make the figures look nude, and send videos to their victims of themselves masturbating to the photo. The name comes from the harasser’s belief that doing this is a form of tributing their attraction to the victims

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Leaked budget advisory group document shocks campus

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A dramatic plan outlining $5.5 million in budget cuts at Sonoma State University (SSU) created by an appointed campus committee was leaked on March 30, 2022 to the STAR and other groups, setting off a cascade of fearful reactions in the campus community last week.

Campus faculty and students have alleged that the leaked confidential report contained factual inaccuracies, dramatic changes to SSU programs, was made without adequate representation for the programs that may be affected and was conducted without the knowledge of many high-ranking Deans, Chairs and professors. The committee also lacked a student representative.

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Sakaki announces split from husband

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On Sunday, April 17, new information was published from a rambling and inflammatory email sent by SSU President Judy Sakaki’s husband, Patrick McCallum, defending his behavior to “friends and family.” On Monday morning, President Sakaki announced she would be separating from McCallum, her spouse of around seven years.

The lengthy email released by The Press Democrat, was McCallum’s first public response since the allegations were brought to light. In it, amid many typographical errors, McCallum claimed lawyers had lifted the restrictions that were keeping both him and Sakaki from speaking out and sharing their sides of the story.

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