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The Cougar Chronicle

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The independent student news site of San Marcos, California

The Cougar Chronicle

The independent student news site of San Marcos, California

The Cougar Chronicle

Columns

Edited by Nahomi Garcia Alarcon

It’s Time for Another Tone-deaf Ad

Nahomi Garcia Alarcon, Arts and Entertainment Editor November 20, 2025

Every October 31, once it hits midnight, Mariah Carey defrosts and reappears on social media to announce the start of the holiday season with her famous words: “It’s tiiiiiime!” For years, this has been a lighthearted online tradition. But this year, something about it felt different.   Carey’s...

Milpa Communidad's ofrenda in the USU Forum Plaza.

Milpa Comunidad Celebrates Día de Los Muertos at CSUSM

Justin Gans, Staff Writer November 12, 2025

On Thursday Oct. 30, students gathered on campus to celebrate Día de Los Muertos with ofrendas (altars), food, art, music, and dance.  The Latinx Center hosted over a dozen groups across campus in the USU Forum Plaza, including the Women and Gender Equity Center, the Pride Center, the Black Student...

Proposed Integrated Science and Engineering Building

Ongoing Projects on Campus

Lola Ferguson October 13, 2025

CSUSM is a growing campus with new opportunities and experiences every day. Our school started with 600 students in Fall 1990 on a six-building campus, and it has evolved into the lively campus we see today. But has CSUSM caught up with its students’ needs?   According to Fall 2025 Housing Statistics,...

Rise in gas price is an opportunity for environmental change

Rise in gas price is an opportunity for environmental change

Sayna Nassertorabi, Opinion Editor April 20, 2022

It is no surprise that since the war between Russia and Ukraine started, the United States has seen a big jump in gas prices. Prices are double what they were 18 months ago. They are up 20 percent since the war started six weeks ago, according to a cbsnews.com report. They are different theories...

Banning books endangers educational power

Banning books endangers educational power

Tim Peterson March 8, 2022

Tim Petersen wrote this article for Cal State Fullerton’s Daily Titan. It is available for republication or reference. If you think their work is important, you can support it here. Banning books in American schools is a foolish mistake. In particular, banning books with educational value weakens...

Self-care 101: learn how to prioritize your mental health

Kristin Bergmann, Staff Writer March 8, 2022

In all honesty: the past two years were among the worst years of my life. I have always been an anxious person, but the pandemic fueled my anxiety and dragged me into a downwards-spiral. Especially in 2021 I struggled with my mental health so bad that panic attacks and obsessive thoughts were daily occurrences....

Russia's movements have put many nations on alert, including the United States

USA doesn’t have time for war

Sayna Nassertorabi, Opinion Editor February 24, 2022

Russia and the United States have had an unstable relationship for decades, evident throughout the cold war, however, was there ever an end to the coldness? Just when the world thought that their 2022 was the year things became calm after fighting a pandemic that seemed never ending, latest updates...

The latest update on the mask mandate has many saying "sayonara" to safety amid Omicron's reign

Reversing the mask mandate is not as good as it sounds

Natalie Navarro, Staff Writer February 24, 2022

As of Feb. 15, California will be reversing its mask mandate for indoor places due to decreasing COVID-19 cases nationwide. This will be the second time the California government has done so throughout the pandemic, with the last mandate ending in June 2021. The mask mandate regained traction in the...

Column: What I look forward to

Column: What I look forward to

Jaiden Quiroz, Staff Writer December 8, 2021

Winter break is right around the corner and I am here for it!  I am counting down the days till I can go on vacation again because traveling is not only one of my main priorities, but it is also my favorite thing to do.  The excitement I get from planning out a trip, to the experiences I have...

To the Cougar Chronicle: thank you

Tania Ortiz, Editor-in-Chief December 8, 2021

The past two and half years have been eventful. My time here at Cal State San Marcos started during the fall 2019 semester; I had just transferred from MiraCosta College, eager to start this new chapter in my academic career.  If you would’ve asked 2019 Tania where she would imagine herself in...

President Biden has plenty of work to do, despite changes.

Despite progress, President Biden has plenty work ahead

Jaden Whitehead, Staff Writer November 15, 2021

Last week  marked  a full year since the 2020 Presidential Election where Joe Biden defeated the incumbent President Donald Trump. President Biden has done plenty within his first year in office to separate himself from his tumultuous predecessor, but while progress has been made, he still has a ways...

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