This year, Valentine’s Day happens to fall on a Tuesday, but you can still celebrate on either the weekend before or after if this better suites your schedule. With conflicting schedules and late nights, the weekend may be a better option for many people. If you choose to celebrate on the weekend, you and your loved one can have more time to enjoy your date, especially if it includes traveling or requires more than just a few hours. For some, however, it may be a better choice, or even preferred, to celebrate on the actual day.

Here are a few date suggestions for this Valentine’s Day.

For the romantics:

A picnic on the beach and watching the sunset is very romantic. El Matador Beach in Malibu is one of the most beautiful beaches in L.A. Located along the Pacific Coast Highway, El Matador has a myriad of hidden sea coves perfect for a picnic, and cliffs to watch the sun set. This date can be relatively inexpensive since you will only really be paying for food and gas. Parking is $2 for an all-day pass at a parking meter, or free if you can find a spot along PCH.

Buying a few great records and taking them home to dance the night away with your loved one is a thoughtful idea. At Amoeba Music in Hollywood, one of the world’s independent record stores,  you can buy music in all formats. Not only can you find music to buy, there are also opportunities to see live bands, DJs, parades and record events, according to their website. The cost of the date varies depending on the music you choose.

For the young at heart:
Sherman Oaks Castle Park offers a variety of fun activities including miniature golfing, an arcade, and batting cages. Should you choose to battle it out in mini golf, you can pick from three courses, each of which is landscaped differently. The price is just $6.50 per person, and tokens for the arcade start at $1 for four tokens.

Downtown Disney, located only minutes from Disneyland and California Adventure, is offering a free way to “Dazzle Your Valentine” from Feb. 11-14. Each night, different bands will perform live music at the main stage. If live music is not your scene, the AMC theater will be playing “Gone With the Wind” from Feb. 10 to 16. As far as dining options go, select eateries will be offering special menus, including Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen, Catal, and the House of Blues.

For the thrill seekers, adventurous and outdoorsy:

If you have the need for speed, you should try go-karting. At K1 Speed in Torrance, you can race go-karts on an indoor asphalt track in electric karts. After purchasing a racing license for $6, you can go on a 14-lap standard race for $20.

Horseback riding is another great option for a date. Los Angeles Horseback Riding, located in Topanga, has a great economy package that allows for a minimum of two riders to go on a 30-minute trail ride where they will have views of mountains and the ocean.

A hot air balloon ride may be the perfect idea for a thrilling adventure. California Dreamin’ in Temecula offers rides lasting 50 to 75 minutes. During these rides, you and your loved one can enjoy the beautiful vineyards below. Prices begin at $138 per person, but if you go on Valentine’s Day the price is $168 per person with a complimentary bottle of wine for the couple.

The show will be hosted by two-time Grammy winner LL Cool J. This is the first time in seven years that the event will have an official host. Past hosts include artists such as Queen Latifah and comedian/television host Jon Stewart.

The awards are divided into 78 genre-specific categories except for the general field, or the “Big Four.”  Many of last year’s prominent artists will compete in this field, which consists of record of the year (one particular song), song of the year (for the writers/composers), album of the year, and best new artist.

British singer Adele is nominated for six awards, three of which include the prestigious record, album, and song of the year.

Her second studio album, “21,” has been predicted to win album of the year by Chief Pop Critic Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times and Maura Johnston, music editor from The Village Voice.

Adele’s album, ranked best selling album of 2011 by Nielsen SoundScan’s year-end data, includes the hit song “Rolling In The Deep,” which both Roberts and Johnston also predict will win record and song of the year.

Other nominees for record of the year are “Holocene” by Bon Iver, Bruno Mars’ “Grenade,” “The Cave” by Mumford and Sons, and Katy Perry’s “Firework.”

“Rolling In The Deep,” “The Cave,” “Grenade,” “Holocene” and Kanye West’s “All of the Lights” song from his critically acclaimed album, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” will compete in the song of the year category.

But who can forget about Rihanna who has come out with several hits such as “Only Girl (In the World)” and “What’s My Name?” Her album “Loud” earned her a nomination for album of the year. The eccentric Lady Gaga has also been nominated for her “Born This Way” album.

The Foo Fighters’ “Wasting Light,” Bruno Mars’ “Doo Wops and Hooligans,” and Adele’s “21” are also contenders for the album of the year award.

Best new artists nominees are The Band Perry, Bon Iver, J. Cole, Nicki Minaj and Skrillex.

Best rap album is another top category. Kanye West holds two nominations for his “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” album and “Watch the Throne,” his collaborative album with Jay-Z. Lil Wayne’s “The Carter IV,” Lupe Fiasco’s “Lazers,” and Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday” are also nominated.

There will be performances from country pop singer Taylor Swift, The Foo Fighters, Nicki Minaj, and Bruno  Mars. Coldplay and Rihanna will also perform live together for the first time.

Adele is also scheduled to perform for the first time after having undergone surgery for vocal cord trauma last November, according to a Los Angeles Times blog. Reports state the singer was unsure if she was going to be cleared to sing but was excited for her first performance in months.

The broadcast will be aired on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.

Photo Illustration by Tessie Navarro / Multimedia Editor

Imagine walking up to the counter to pay for a $12 meal, handing the cashier a piece of paper and walking out paying only a fraction of that price. Now imagine doing that every time you had to pay for something, think of how much more money would be sitting in your bank account that could pay for school, movies, a round of drinks, and more food. Let that dream become a reality.

Cutting coupons is not just for the moms anymore. With higher tuition increases and the pressure of student loans, more students are turning to coupons to save a shiny penny and more places are throwing them at their consumers to get them in the door.

Coupons have been coming out in the spotlight recently and have even become the star of their own television show. The TLC show, “Extreme Couponing,” features people who spend hours on end cutting, downloading and printing, organizing and planning out how to best use their coupons. Though it takes the role of a full-time job, these extreme couponers save thousands of dollars on everyday items. The extreme part comes when the stores end up paying the customer after the effect of hundreds of coupons takes place.

Kinesiology major Jessie Gomez, 21, is one student who turned to coupons after transferring to CSUN this school year. She said she didn’t realize how expensive living on your own can be.

“I love coupons. I especially love grocery coupons, which are usually good deals,” she said. “The two-for-one food deals are so helpful when you’re a broke college student like me.”

Child adolescent development major Michelle Karlinsky said she uses coupons from the newspaper, such as Daily News, to save money on food and at restaurants, which include mainly Black Angus, Denny’s and Target.

“My mom got me involved in using coupons, plus I would looks at the newspaper on Sundays,” Karlinsky said. “I use them whenever I can remember that I have one for a store or a restaurant I’m at.”

Karlinsky’s advice to other college students is, “If you want to save money, then you should start cutting out coupons.”

Newspapers are just one of the many ways students can save a dollar. There are now more ways than ever to save money with the advances of cell phones and technology. Several different applications for download that involve coupons have become popular for phones. It’s become as easy as showing your cell phone to the cashier to save yourself money.

“I absolutely love coupon apps,” said 24-year-old CTVA major Liz Jones. “It’s so much easier to just whip out your phone and flash your discount than having to cut and clip paper coupons.”

One popular site and app for coupons is Groupon, which features deals on almost anything imaginable in any given local area.

“Groupon is a personal favorite of mine,” Jones said.

Another popular app among students is the Yelp application, which has deals just for checking in to places. For example, students can receive a free Kamikaze shot at the Stovepiper Lounge and half off Boba at Bun Me for simply checking into these shops on their mobile devices. Sometimes it’s as easy as showing your CSUN identification card and saving 10 or 15 percent around campus.

Barclays Coffee is just one location among the many which uses these apps to their advantage. Barclays barista Allison McKay said she noticed a rise in customers using the Yelp check-in app to save 10 percent on smoothies over the summer months.

Department of marketing faculty member Deborah Cours said that the new-found popularity of coupons stems from the poor economic times. “In this economic time, people become focused on being frugal and saving money,” she said. It has come to a point where people are proud of saving money, “it’s cool to save money,” she said.

Though the thrill of saving can empower a consumer, Cours cautions care when using coupons. “Only use coupons to buy products you would otherwise buy, things that you would actually use or consume,” she said.

Stores will put out coupons to get the consumer to try new products or switch brands and the consumer will end up buying products they don’t usually need or use. “You end up spending money and not saving money,” she said.

Another tip of advice Cours gives is to check different prices online. Many times another retailer will have a lower price on specific products without involving coupons.

“Sometimes I’ll get coupons for discounted grocery items at Vons, but then I’ll check the Fresh and Easy website and find out that store is selling the same things at a cheaper price,” said 23-year-old communications major Jennalyn Ramirez.

Cours also warns students about the buzz factor with sites such as Groupon. People get excited by sharing with friends and because their deals are prepaid, you end up buying deals and never use it, therefore wasting money.

So the next time you go out for a cup of coffee or pick up some food on your way home, think twice before handing over your money so willingly.

“I’ve certainly wasted a good chunk of money on prepaid deals,” Ramirez said. “Sometimes discounts sound too good to be true that I immediately jump on them before really weighing other options.”

Coupon clipping has become the norm for college students living on a tight budget, and with new ways to receive discounts, students show no sign of ditching the coupon craze.

“Coupons are convenient, resourceful and fun,” Ramirez said. “They’re worth it.”

The California Health and Safety Code requires the university to put out an annual notification to alert people of exactly where the asbestos is located in the buildings.

“As long as the asbestos is not disturbed, it is not a health hazard,” said Antonio Pepe, assistant director of environmental health and safety. “This notification is to give folks an idea of where these materials are so they don’t disturb them.”

Faculty and students are advised to avoid drilling holes, or hanging objects from walls or ceilings where asbestos has been found, according to the report.

Over the past 15 years, asbestos has been taken out by building renovation projects, according to an email from the environmental health & safety department.

“A large majority of the asbestos was removed in these buildings as a result of the 1994 earthquake,” said Lynn Wiegers, interim executive director of physical plant management.

The asbestos remnants were discovered through detailed building inspections, material sampling and laboratory analysis that met the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health and Environmental Protection Agency standards, according to the annual report.

Specific contaminated building parts include: floor and ceiling tiles, thermal pipe insulation, weather stripping, putty, and both hot and cold water pipes. Not every building contains asbestos in all of the listed areas.

According to the report, asbestos-containing materials pose no health threats unless its fibers become airborne due to deterioration, or as a result of damage.

“I didn’t believe it was really that harmful to be around. I thought everyone was over-exaggerating,” said Frank LeClair, a contractor who suffers from lung problems possibly related to asbestos exposure.

To see which areas of specific buildings are contaminated, a notification is an available resource online.

As of now, CSUN has no plans to completely remove all of the asbestos.

“It’s not a hazard as it is where it’s located. As we go through various projects and we work in various areas we take the opportunity to remove it as part of those projects,” Pepe said

View Buildings on campus affected with Asbestos in a larger map

Courtesy of Heidi Calvert

Raw Vegan Lemon Blackberry Cheesecake

Raw vegan, organic cheesecake. Say what?!

Valentine’s Day is a time for decadence. Delicious, sinful decadence. But wait! This cheesecake can not only satisfy sweet-toothed heathens, but it’s a breeze to make.

Crust:

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup macadamia nuts

1 cup medjool dates

dried shredded coconut

Filling:

3 cups raw cashews (soaked for at least an hour)

½ cup fresh lemon juice

¾ cup agave nectar

¾ cup cold-pressed coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:

1 package fresh blackberries

½ cup medjool dates

Instructions:

Spread some dried coconut flakes over bottom of spring form pan to prevent crust from sticking. Process dates, almonds and macadamia nuts, make a loose crumble and press into a spring form pan to form crust. Put all ingredients for filling in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. As creamy of a consistency is best. Pour cheese filling over crust and place in fridge for an hour. Blend berries and dates creating a smooth glaze and set aside. After cheesecake is firm, pull out of fridge and pour glaze on top. Garnish with fresh berries for a nice presentation.

Recipe adapted from Food.com.

Unless you are one of the few individuals who won the genetic lottery or have the self-efficacy to a follow a strict workout routine, this fear might already be lurking within.

Not everyone has the time or desire to work out on a daily basis, so it can be an alienating experience when one begins to exercise at the gym.

When I first fearfully stepped in to the new Student Recreational Center and saw the enormous rock climbing wall looming by the entrance, I felt I had entered a small steel city within CSUN.

“The whole place is amazing,” says Pejum Adeli, an accounting major who was also working out at the SRC for the first time. “Everything is new and the area is convenient for students.”

From the three floors full of workout equipment to the helpful staff workers who found my lost gym bag one night, the SRC has exceeded all of my expectations.

For the following five days that I worked out at the gym, I divided my time between rumba classes at noon, running a few miles in the indoor track and attempting to lift weights.

The rumba classes, led by the instructor Isabel in one of the Motivation Studios, were tiring and entertaining. It was a liberating experience that never turned embarrassing even though I was part of the male minority in the class.

One room that has become a quick favorite of mine is the Total Training Zone, located on the first floor of the SRC.

A large room with wall-to-wall mirrors and sprawling with treadmills and strength-training equipment, the room does (thankfully) miss one detail that thousands of other gyms in the United States have—a funky smell.

At the topmost floor lies the indoor track, a large circular path that offers students the option to run in a comfortable environment regardless of weather outside.

The fact that it is carpeted certainly aids the runner attempting to add an extra mile to their run.

But there are downsides to the SRC that might stop an aspiring fitness guru in their tracks.

The SRC requires all registered members to input their nine digit student ID number and have their right hand scanned in order to gain entry. The process, promoted on the opening day as a modern and time-saving check-in system, tends to create a long line of students that extends to the outside.

“I lost my reservation at the racquetball court after waiting in line for nearly 30 minutes,” said Julie Guillen, a liberal studies major who works out a few times a week.

Jennifer Sierra, Guillen’s friend and a computer engineering major, remarked on how time consuming lines can be especially if one exercises between classes.

Another downside to attending the SRC if unprepared is the lack of locks for the lockers. During all my sessions, I never managed to get a lock because they had always been checked out by others.

By the large number of people eagerly waiting to get inside, one can’t help but think of the SRC as a nightclub that offers its minor share of problems if caught unprepared but is still completely worth the wait.

CSUN Associated Students feel the current smoking policy is sufficient enough according to Billy Ryder, senator for the College of Business and Economics. A.S. agrees that banning a personal freedom and a legal substance is for political reasons.

“Going after smoking is an easy target; UCs and Cal States need to worry about bigger issues like financial instability,” Ryder said. “We were concerned about the cost it would take to enforce the policy.”

A.S. provided a resolution that points out a strong contrast to what the UC system is doing, Ryder said. It supports the A.S. stance about smoking on campus.

“President Yudof directed chancellors to assemble steering committees tasked with implementing the policy at their locations,” said Steve Montiel, UC media relations director, in an email interview. “UC will ban both smoking and chewing tobacco on campuses, including parking lots and housing, as part of its commitment to cut tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.”

Currently, 585 colleges and universities in California have already banned smoking.

“It’s a long implementation to quit smoking and change behavior,” said Kim Homer-Vagadori, project director of California Youth Advocacy Network. “Two years gives colleges time for policies to take effect and adjust to policy.”

Furthermore, the hope is to have other colleges follow in the same footsteps and encourage a smoke free campus.

“Smoking not only has health risks for smokers, but nonsmokers, as well. By allowing smoking designated areas, it just makes it OK to smoke,” Homer-Vagadori said. “UC’s are not trying to promote this idea at all.”

Even designated smoking areas aren’t OK, said Homer-Vagadori.

“We don’t support designated smoking areas because it encourages smokers to smoke socially, and it supports their addiction,” Homer-Vagadori said. “In California, we’ve tried to decrease smoking areas and increase tobacco costs.”

CSU schools have not decided to make all their campuses smoke-free, but they do have designated smoking areas around campuses.

“The CSU follows the state law on smoking regulations, but there is no CSU system-wide policy on smoking,” said Stephanie Thara, public affairs  communications specialist for the CSU in an email interview. “One campus might enforce smoking 30 feet away, and another campus might enforce a ‘50-feet regulation.’”

AB 795 Assembly Bill is the state law on smoking regulations specifically dealing with post secondary education. It “prohibits smoking inside a public building or in an outdoor area within 20 feet of a main exit, entrance, or window of a public building or in a state-owned vehicle.”

Each campus varies how far an individual needs to be away from a building while they are smoking, Thara said.

CSUN’s current smoking policy makes it permissible 30 feet away from any building, according to CSUN Police Department.

While CSU campuses have not banned smoking, help is provided for those who have an addiction to smoking. Self-help links are available online through the Klotz Health Center.

One CSUN student feels indifferent on the UC smoking ban.

“It’s not a big issue (for me), since I’m not a tobacco smoker. But if I was, I would be ticked off since smoking is legal at 18,” said Fernando Muro, a freshman undecided major.

“Some school campuses sell alcohol, so, what’s worse? It’s a personal choice to smoke,” Muro said.

“Tobacco users are in support of banning smoking because the policy would help,” Homer-Vagadori said.

CSUN coach Bobby Braswell doesn’t want to give the Aggies their second win of the year. Photo Credit: Mariela Molina / Photo Editor

To say the Aggies are struggling in 2011-12 would be a bit of an understatement. Boasting a 1-21 record that includes not a single win against a Division-I opponent, not many can be faulted for considering UC Davis the laughing stock of the Big West Conference.

And that is the exact reason CSUN head coach Bobby Braswell is concerned heading into tonight’s rematch against these Aggies (8 p.m.).

“They call these ‘trap games,’” Braswell said. “That’s a trap you can fall into.”

Though every team but Division-III UC Santa Cruz has managed to escape the Aggie trap thus far, it hasn’t always been an easy mission. Six of UC Davis’ losses this season have been by five points or less. Two of those were one-point defeats.

One of those close losses came on Jan. 14 at the hands of the Matadors, who obtained the 84-80 win only after digging themselves out of an 11-point second-half hole.

Due to illness, Braswell wasn’t at the Matadome then to presence the near-upset. He watched enough of the tape to note where the Aggies’ strong point lied that night, though.

“They shot the mess out of it,” Braswell said. “They really shoot the ball well. They spread you out. They got a lot of guys who can shoot threes.

“Their shooting is clearly the thing that concerns us the most.”

The second-best three-point shooting team in the conference at .387, UC Davis has three of the top eight long-range shooters in the Big West (Les Tyler, Josh Ritchart and Ryan Howley). They all shoot better than 40 percent.

“We got to know who their shooters are,” CSUN guard Stephan Hicks said. “We got to make it tough on them.”

CSUN, which also faces Pacific on Saturday, is dead last in three-point shooting in the conference. Their percentage took quite a hit during a 100-54 loss at Cal Poly on Jan. 21. CSUN shot 0-for-10 in threes then. Since, Northirdge has made seven or more 3-pointers per game.

Despite the Aggies’ awful record, CSUN can’t look down on them too much. In a season where they’re ineligible to make the postseason, the Matadors are only 6-15 overall and 2-8 in the Big West.

The Matadors have shown signs of maturing at times, but still rank near the bottom of many categories in the conference.

“At this point, we know we’re not going to win a championship this year,” Braswell said. “So at this point, for us, we just have to make sure we’re getting better.”

Let’s not get it twisted, though. The Matadors feel they should win this game. They just aren’t taking the woeful Aggies lightly. That’s also a sign of maturing.

“We got to treat them like a Long Beach State or a UC Santa Barbara,” Hicks said. “Don’t worry about them not having beaten anybody in Division I.”