NOTE: Faculty, if you are interviewed and quoted by news media, or if your work has been cited, and you have an online link to the article or video, please let us know. Contact us at news@csusb.edu.     


San Bernardino artist, a CSUSB alumnus, finds inspiration through culture
Inland Empire Community News
Dec. 14, 2022

Andrew Thompson, a lecturer in the CSUSB Department of Art and Design, was interviewed for a profile feature on Ricardo Moctezuma, a 2022 CSUSB graduate.

Among the works of Moctezuma, there are vibrantly colored axolotls, jaguars and coyotes that can easily catch the attention of passersby. Aside from celebrating his culture, creating is also therapeutic for Moctezuma. He describes himself as an emotional person, and this occasionally made him feel inadequate.

“After my college years, when I was able to focus on myself, I went into a reflective state where I looked into my past and how I was feeling,” Moctezuma said. “Through my art I illustrated what was going on with me.”

While attending CSUSB Moctezuma took an art in activism course led by Thompson. During his time in Thompson’s class, Moctezuma painted his “Tianguis de Tenochtitlan” piece. Thompson saw the piece as a turning point in Moctezuma’s artistic journey.

“I was like okay, now you’re talking, now you’re communicating,” Thompson said. “I think of his development as finding his voice and focus through delving into the indigenous side of himself”.

Thompson also believes that the piece can benefit the Latinx community.

“It offers representation, reflection and helping people reconnect because not everybody speaks an individual language, but many people have similar feelings and desires,” Thompson said. While Moctezuma hopes to enrich people’s views of pre-colonial communities, he also has a drive in him to encourage all young artists.


U.S. Air Force Capt. Joanne Whitlock, a CSUSB instructor, on stepping up and standing out
EIN Newswire
Dec. 14, 2022

U.S. Air Force Capt. Joanne Whitlock, assistant professor of aerospace studies and operations officer at Cal State San Bernardino, was the subject of a feature article about the challenges she faces as a woman and Asian American serving in the military. At CSUSB she’ll be working with the Air Force ROTC program there, directly influencing the next generation of officers, leading and guiding them into their commissioning into the military.

Her story is part of the new book, “Inspiring Women Professionals Who Boss Up," part of the series, “Women Who Boss Up,” a collection of interviews with female entrepreneurs.


FBI reports drop in hate crimes, but lack of data casts doubt on figures
The New York Times
Dec. 12, 2022

As the FBI published its latest hate crime report, the newspaper reported that

a separate survey conducted by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, a research institute based at California State University, San Bernardino, found that between 2020 and 2021, hate crimes increased 15 to 25 percent in 52 jurisdictions that presented more comprehensive data. The steepest increases were in attacks against Asian Americans, said the center’s director, Brian H. Levin.

Some states that filed incomplete data with the F.B.I. had already released preliminary estimates that showed major increases in hate crimes. California, for example, has reported only 72 hate crimes to the federal government for 2021, even though the state’s attorney general’s office had previously logged that figure as 1,763.

“These new numbers are not only incomplete,” Mr. Levin said in an interview, “but it gives the false impression that things are getting better.”


FBI report shows high hate crime levels, but data missing
Associated Press
Dec. 13, 2022

Brian Levin, director of CSUSB’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, said that data not reported for the FBI’s latest hate crime tally poses a problem.

“We’re talking about, quite possibly, a record for 2021 that America just doesn’t know,” said Levin, a professor of criminal justice. “All data has limitations, but this data is so incomplete as to leave out heavy swaths of places where the most terrorized communities live.”


A new FBI report says hate crimes went down in 2021 — but data from most of California is missing
KXTV Sacramento/KFMB San Diego
Dec. 14, 2022

Brian Levin, director of CSUSB’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, was interviewed by ABC10/CBS8 political reporter Morgan Rynor about the incomplete reporting in the latest FBI hate crime report.


As hate crimes continue to rise, LAPD chief blames social media, Kanye West
Los Angeles Times
Dec. 14, 2022

Hate crime reports across Los Angeles are up 13% over last year’s record-setting levels, according to LAPD Chief Michel Moore, who said he believes inflammatory rhetoric on social media was contributing to the increase.
Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, said the most recent statistics put L.A. in line with other major cities across the U.S., which have seen their own increases in reported hate crimes. He said that a significant number of offenders in Los Angeles are people with mental health issues.


6 leg press mistakes making your lower-body workouts less effective and how to fix them
Livestrong via MSN
Dec. 13, 2022

Guillermo Escalante, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and associate professor of kinesiology at California State University, San Bernardino, was one of the experts for an article about the six mistakes people make when using a leg press machine at the gym. He advises against locking out the knees at the end of the movement; locking out the knees transfers the weight from the leg muscles to the bones and joints, which can result in pain and injury.


CSUSB art instructor served as illustrator for graphic novel, ‘Uzo’
Harlem World
Dec. 14, 2022

Eric Koda, an adjunct art instructor at CSU San Bernardino and an artist and illustrator who works in comics and tv/film pre-production, served as the illustrator for the new graphic novel "Uzo" by Jason Derulo and Z2 Comics. Koda has worked at Marvel Comics, IDW and on multiple indie titles.


These news clips and others may be viewed at “In the Headlines.”