Beyond J

We revisit our very first episode, where we we introduce you to Mona, a then-Sacramento State student who persevered and kept her college dream alive despite daunting challenges. She has faced difficulties meeting basic needs such as food and housing as well as domestic violence and severe health challenges.

Our co-host for this episode is Danielle Munoz, then-director of the Sacramento State CARES office. She shares her perspective on how students and others in the community can find themselves in trouble despite making good choices — and how the community can bring resources and support to change lives by changing situations.

Mona's story of challenge and determination will inspire you.

Shortly after the 2024 general election, Sacramento State President Luke Wood met with some of the University’s undocumented students and posed a question.

"He said, ‘We can go two ways. We can go into hiding if that makes you all feel better, or we can be out and we can be proud and we can say that Sac State stands with you,’ ” said Kim Gomez, coordinator of the University’s Dreamer Resource Center. “Everyone unanimously said, 'We don't want to hide. We're done hiding. We want Sac State to show us that they support (us).’

“It’s good for incoming students to see that we’re not hiding. We have so many resources available.”

Following the re-election of Donald Trump, whose campaign rhetoric called for mass deportation and hardline immigration policies, Sac State’s 500-600 undocumented students, as well as those from mixed-status families, face new uncertainties and challenges on their path to graduation.

In this episode of “Beyond J,” Gomez discusses the mood of undocumented students following the election, and the support and resources available to them and their families through the Dreamer Resource Center. Also joining is Basia Ellis, an associate professor in the College of Education, who shares insights from her research into the psychology and experiences of undocumented immigrants, especially in the face of hardline policies.

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Inside 180 bubbling tanks in Biological Sciences Professor Ron Coleman’s lab, fish called cichlids practice complex courtship rituals, build nests and fight to protect their young.

They do so under the watchful eyes of Coleman and his students, who document fish parenting habits for scientific purposes.

“The fish will tell you everything if you know how to read them,” said Coleman, who built the lab in Humboldt Hall from scratch 24 years ago and visits Costa Rica annually to study cichlids in the wild. “We still have much to learn."

In the latest episode of “Beyond J,” Coleman shares how he first became interested in studying fish, adventures in Costa Rica, how he involves students in his research and why he insists that his lab be open to the public.

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Scientific research is “a lot of fun,” Sac State Chemistry Professor Kathie McReynolds insists.

But in her lab, it also has a serious purpose. She and her students are studying agents capable of slowing the spread of deadly viruses, including those with the potential for causing epidemics or even pandemics.

In the latest episode of “Beyond J,” McReynolds discusses her academic journey and career path, the joy of teaching, why she makes sure to involve stuednts in the lab and the implications of her groundbreaking research.

Eventually, her studies of “molecules with purpose” could contribute to the development of nasal or throat sprays that could keep viruses like coronavirus at bay, reducing illnesses and hospitalizations.

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For Erin Kaplan, theater isn’t just a performance. It’s a chance to have a conversation.

At 19 years old, she was a student at the University of Michigan and on track for a career as a lawyer when she participated in a program that taught theater to girls incarcerated at a youth correctional facility.

Kaplan, now a Sacramento State Professor of Theatre and Dance, says she ended up learning just as much from the girls as they learned from her.

The experience led her to change her career from law to teaching and to embrace a tradition of theater known as “Theater of the Oppressed,” which seeks to promote social change by directly engaging and involving audiences.

For example, Kaplan recently directed a student production at Sac State called the “Forum Theater Festival,” where student actors wrote and performed short plays about oppression. Audience members were then invited onto the stage to act out how they would respond in the situations depicted.

In this episode of “Beyond J,” Kaplan discusses with host Phillip Altstatt her journey to this theater tradition, how art can promote social change and the opportunities she is providing to her students to engage in this type of work.

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Mail-in ballots are already trickling in, and voters soon will decide the direction the United States will take – for the next four years, at least.

In a new “Beyond J” podcast episode, Rebekkah Mulholland, Sacramento State Public History Program director, and Kim Nalder, director of the Project for an Informed Electorate, offer their insights on the 2024 election, cutting through the noise of a contentious, high-stakes campaign.

In addition to providing historical context, Mulholland and Nalder touch on the pros and cons of modern-day polling technology and more restrictive voting laws several states have enactede.

They also talk frankly about how the war in Gaza is influencing their students, who represent many of the nation’s newest voters, as well as how political rhetoric and misinformation are raising alarm.

Even Taylor Swift gets a mention as host Phil Alstatt takes this Election 2024 conversation beyond campus to the region, the state and the world.

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Sasha Sidorkin is an artificial intelligence realist. Or, as he puts it, “I know what hype is.”

While the conversation about AI can swing between excitement about its seemingly endless capabilities and concerns about sweeping job losses or, in some circles, the potential end of the world, Sidorkin, Sacramento State’s chief AI officer, takes a more measured approach.

As head of Sac State’s National Institute on AI in Society, Sidorkin speaks frequently in the community about the technology and also hears concerns from faculty about the potential for student cheating. Sidorkin tells “Beyond J” that, yes, some jobs will disappear, but not nearly as many as people think. Yes, AI can write a five-paragraph essay, but it’s not capable of human creativity or agency.

And no, we are not living in a simulation.

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A discussion about the importance of inclusion, and a story about President Luke Wood most still don’t know.

Luke Wood almost didn’t graduate from college. Which means he almost didn’t earn his master’s degree or Ph.D., almost didn’t become a respected college administrator and national leader on antiracism and inclusion.

Which, of course, means he almost wasn’t president of Sacramento State.

The story behind that “almost” is one that, despite the flurry of speeches and press, has flown under the radar during Wood’s first year at the helm of his alma mater. He shared that story and much more when he engaged in an in-depth discussion for a new episode of the “Beyond J” podcast.

Wood also touched on what it means to be a Hornet, why Sac State is pushing ahead with diversity initiatives while many colleges and universities are backing away, and the importance of launching the nation’s first Black Honors College.

Beyond J is back with new episodes, publishing every other Tuesday starting September 24.

Tammy Linn was the child of drug addicts, and grew up with instability and loss. She lived with multiple foster families and bounced around from school to school before ultimately dropping out. Unable to read and write, and eventually turned to crime before landing in prison.

Linn’s determination to turn her life around found her on the path to higher education. In this episode of "Beyond J," she recounts her journey and how Project Rebound, a college equity program on several CSU campuses, helped her along the way. Linn is joined by Sacramento State’s Project Rebound Director, Aaron Green.