- Arts & Lectures Explores Historic Lemon Grove CaseThe final Arts & Lectures event of the spring semester features a lecture on the 1931 landmark case Roberto Alvarez v. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District, which was the first successful school desegregation court decision in U.S. history. The event is at 6 p.m. on April 23 in the USU Ballroom. Reserve tickets online via the Arts & Lectures website. This lecture by Dr. Robert R. Alvarez Jr., a professor emeritus of ethnic studies at UC San Diego and the son of the lead plaintiff in the case, will review the specific struggle by the Mexican families of Lemon Grove in the greater context of the Mexican challenge to U.S. school desegregation. The case established the rights of children of Mexican immigrants to equal education, despite local, regional and national sentiment that favored not only segregation, but the actual deportation of the Mexican population in the United States. Current educational equity issues for Mexican immigrant and Latino communities will be contextualized through regional data compiled by the National Latino Research Center at CSUSM. CSUSM’s Arts & Lectures series offers a diverse lineup of artistic, cultural and scholarly events every semester based on input and proposals from students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. What: Arts & Lectures event, “Educational Equality Now!” Who: Robert R. Alvarez Jr., a professor emeritus of ethnic studies at UC San Diego and the son of the lead plaintiff in the case Roberto Alvarez v. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District. When: 6 p.m., Wednesday, April 23 Where: USU Ballroom Tickets: Visit the Arts & Lectures ticket webpage Cost: Free for CSUSM students; $5 for faculty, staff and alumni; $10 for community members Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314
- CSUSM Earns Military Friendly® School DesignationCal State San Marcos has earned the 2025-2026 Military Friendly® School designation, receiving a Gold Award for its exemplary work on behalf of military-connected students and their families. Institutions earning the Military Friendly® School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2025-2026 survey, with 830 earning special awards for going above the standard. CSUSM is the only California State University school, and one of just two California four-year public universities, to receive the designation. UC Riverside is the other. CSUSM earned a Silver Award designation in 2018. “At Cal State San Marcos, we are deeply honored to serve those who have served our country,” CSUSM President Ellen Neufeldt said. “With one in 10 of our students identifying as military-connected, we’ve built a strong, supportive community centered at the Epstein Family Veterans Center, where students can access resources tailored to their unique journeys. Earning this designation reflects our continued commitment to ensuring that military-connected students and their families have the tools, support and opportunities they need to thrive in their academic and professional lives.” The 2025-2026 Military Friendly® Schools list will be published in the May and October issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and found at www.militaryfriendly.com. Methodology, criteria and weightings were determined by Viqtory with input from the Military Friendly® Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community. Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, persistence (degree advancement or transfer) and loan default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans. “I am very proud of what Cal State San Marcos is doing for our military community," said Josh Loop, director of CSUSM's Veterans to Naval Careers program. “The results of the MFS survey reinforce that this is a campuswide effort and that the entire university is dedicated to serving and supporting our active-duty service members, our veterans and their families.” In addition to the Veterans to Naval Careers program, CSUSM supports the military community through Extended Learning, which offers bachelor's degree programs at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, including in cybersecurity and supply chain management. “Military Friendly® is committed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards in our designation process,” said Kayla Lopez, vice president of Military Friendly®. “Our standards provide a benchmark that promotes positive outcomes and support services that better the educational landscape and provide opportunity for the military community. This creates a competitive atmosphere that encourages institutions to evolve and invest in their programs consistently. Schools that achieve awards designation show true commitment in their efforts, exceeding the standard.” For more information about CSUSM's student veteran programs, go to the Veterans Services website. About Military Friendly® Schools The Military Friendly® Schools list is created each year based on extensive research using public data sources from more than 8,800 schools nationwide, input from student veterans and responses to the proprietary, data-driven Military Friendly® Schools survey from participating institutions. The survey questions, methodology, criteria and weighting were developed with the assistance of an independent research firm and an advisory council of educators and employers. The survey is administered for free and is open to all postsecondary schools that wish to participate. Criteria for consideration can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.
- Arts & Lectures Explores Historic Lemon Grove CaseThe final Arts & Lectures event of the spring semester features a lecture on the 1931 landmark case Roberto Alvarez v. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District, which was the first successful school desegregation court decision in U.S. history. The event is at 6 p.m. on April 23 in the USU Ballroom. Reserve tickets online via the Arts & Lectures website. This lecture by Dr. Robert R. Alvarez Jr., a professor emeritus of ethnic studies at UC San Diego and the son of the lead plaintiff in the case, will review the specific struggle by the Mexican families of Lemon Grove in the greater context of the Mexican challenge to U.S. school desegregation. The case established the rights of children of Mexican immigrants to equal education, despite local, regional and national sentiment that favored not only segregation, but the actual deportation of the Mexican population in the United States. Current educational equity issues for Mexican immigrant and Latino communities will be contextualized through regional data compiled by the National Latino Research Center at CSUSM. CSUSM’s Arts & Lectures series offers a diverse lineup of artistic, cultural and scholarly events every semester based on input and proposals from students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. What: Arts & Lectures event, “Educational Equality Now!” Who: Robert R. Alvarez Jr., a professor emeritus of ethnic studies at UC San Diego and the son of the lead plaintiff in the case Roberto Alvarez v. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District. When: 6 p.m., Wednesday, April 23 Where: USU Ballroom Tickets: Visit the Arts & Lectures ticket webpage Cost: Free for CSUSM students; $5 for faculty, staff and alumni; $10 for community members Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314
- CSUSM Earns Military Friendly® School DesignationCal State San Marcos has earned the 2025-2026 Military Friendly® School designation, receiving a Gold Award for its exemplary work on behalf of military-connected students and their families. Institutions earning the Military Friendly® School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2025-2026 survey, with 830 earning special awards for going above the standard. CSUSM is the only California State University school, and one of just two California four-year public universities, to receive the designation. UC Riverside is the other. CSUSM earned a Silver Award designation in 2018. “At Cal State San Marcos, we are deeply honored to serve those who have served our country,” CSUSM President Ellen Neufeldt said. “With one in 10 of our students identifying as military-connected, we’ve built a strong, supportive community centered at the Epstein Family Veterans Center, where students can access resources tailored to their unique journeys. Earning this designation reflects our continued commitment to ensuring that military-connected students and their families have the tools, support and opportunities they need to thrive in their academic and professional lives.” The 2025-2026 Military Friendly® Schools list will be published in the May and October issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and found at www.militaryfriendly.com. Methodology, criteria and weightings were determined by Viqtory with input from the Military Friendly® Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community. Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, persistence (degree advancement or transfer) and loan default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans. “I am very proud of what Cal State San Marcos is doing for our military community," said Josh Loop, director of CSUSM's Veterans to Naval Careers program. “The results of the MFS survey reinforce that this is a campuswide effort and that the entire university is dedicated to serving and supporting our active-duty service members, our veterans and their families.” In addition to the Veterans to Naval Careers program, CSUSM supports the military community through Extended Learning, which offers bachelor's degree programs at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, including in cybersecurity and supply chain management. “Military Friendly® is committed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards in our designation process,” said Kayla Lopez, vice president of Military Friendly®. “Our standards provide a benchmark that promotes positive outcomes and support services that better the educational landscape and provide opportunity for the military community. This creates a competitive atmosphere that encourages institutions to evolve and invest in their programs consistently. Schools that achieve awards designation show true commitment in their efforts, exceeding the standard.” For more information about CSUSM's student veteran programs, go to the Veterans Services website. About Military Friendly® Schools The Military Friendly® Schools list is created each year based on extensive research using public data sources from more than 8,800 schools nationwide, input from student veterans and responses to the proprietary, data-driven Military Friendly® Schools survey from participating institutions. The survey questions, methodology, criteria and weighting were developed with the assistance of an independent research firm and an advisory council of educators and employers. The survey is administered for free and is open to all postsecondary schools that wish to participate. Criteria for consideration can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.
- Highly Ranked Lacrosse Clubs Gearing Up for Title RunsThe 2025 spring season has been one to remember for the Cal State San Marcos men’s and women’s lacrosse clubs. But the best, they hope, is still to come. The CSUSM men’s team has a record of 11-2 and is ranked eighth nationally among Division II schools in the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association. The Cougars have one game left in the regular season, and it’s a big one – Friday, April 18 at home against their top rival, UC San Diego, which is undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the MCLA Division II poll. “We have a lot of transfers that have played at a higher level in the NCAA who have come in and have really helped with the team chemistry,” men’s coach Tim Puls said. “We all have one goal on our team, and that is to win a national championship.” The CSUSM women have been even better. They are unbeaten at 10-0 and ranked first nationally among D-II schools in the Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association. Their regular season has finished, with the next challenge upcoming in the WCLA regionals, April 12-13 in Santa Cruz. “At the beginning of this season, we struggled with offensive communication and showing up to game days focused and ready,” women’s coach Jillian Dohrmann said. “Late fall, our whole offense met outside of practice and talked about their disconnect, and ever since then we have been excelling and have had great communication and collaboration.” The Cougars’ men are led by sophomore midfielder Colin Dobbins, a Carlsbad native who transferred to CSUSM from Stevenson University, a NCAA Division III power. Dobbins paces the team with 52 goals, and none of them were more significant than the six he scored in an upset win over then-No. 1 Air Force last month. For his efforts, he was named the MCLA Division II Warrior Player of the Week. “He is the backbone of our offense,” Puls said of Dobbins. “He wants to make his teammates better and makes them work hard day in and day out in practice, and it shows during games. He is our go-to guy, and when we need someone to make a play, we call his number.” Dobbins has accomplished all of this after recovering from a broken collarbone. “Having the team’s support really gave me confidence and helped me recover faster and stronger,” Dobbins said. For the women’s team, the top scorer is Shea Morgan with 44 goals, but the heart of the team is goaltender Cierra Warfield. She has posted one shutout and four other games in which she allowed three or fewer goals. “The key to my success this season has been staying consistent with my game and practice and having a great community around me to lift me up when I fall,” Warfield said. After the rivalry game against UCSD at Mangrum Track & Field, the men’s team next will head to Santa Barbara for the Southwestern Lacrosse Conference tournament April 25-27, with a goal of advancing to the MCLA national championships from May 5-10 in Round Rock, Texas. The women, meanwhile, are gearing up for regionals, where they hope to qualify for the WCLA nationals from May 6-9 in Wichita, Kansas. The Cougars finished third at nationals last year. “This year we are aiming for first place,” Dohrmann said. “The team is looking forward to playing and traveling. We have worked hard in fundraising throughout the year to afford these trips.” Media Contact Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306
