Michelle Armas


Japan Today •

Restoring ‘kominka’ in Chiba: A quiet resistance to Japan’s rural exodus

In Chiba, a quiet revival is taking shape, where creatives are reimagining Japan’s forgotten kominka — traditional folk homes — inviting people to slow down, reconnect with the land and question what it means to live.
Perched on a hillside in Chiba, the whimsical heritage home of artist and craftsman Kazunori Hamana offers visitors a respite from the hum of Tokyo. For one day, thanks to the Lento initiative, visitors traded crowded metros for rice fields and untamed forests, discovering a piece...
Adobe Express •

San Diego Farmers Stay Rooted

SAN DIEGO—Small farmers in San Diego agree that it's hard to be a small fish in a vast industrial ocean. So, how do small and regenerative farms compete with dominating corporations? The answer is that they can't, so they create their own pathways to success.

San Diego County is home to over 5,000 farms, 96% of which are family-run and 69% of which range between 1-9 acres. San Diego seems like an agricultural haven on paper, but these small farmers face endless obstacles. Everything from weathe
Issuu •

Amor Zine

Please see pages 8, 9, 12, 13

Welcome to the first issue of AMOR Magazine, a student-run publication dedicated to exploring the contemporary art scene at San Diego State University.
AMOR, which translates to "love" in Spanish, embodies our deep admiration for the arts. As a publication, we are committed to spotlighting rising talent that thrives on campus. SDSU has been the birthplace of limitless creativity and its students have fearlessly pushed the boundaries of art.
The Daily Aztec •

MFA student Sarah Garcia braids, unbraids the past with clay

“Do-un-do” is the name of a clay sculpture showcased in the student art gallery in the upper level of Art North at San Diego State University.

On a white platform, there are four clay hands clasping thickly woven braids. The plaque underneath reads the name of the piece and the name of the artist, Sarah Garcia. There is no description.

Garcia is a Master of Fine Arts student, ceramics artist and mother of a daughter named Frida, who is 13 years old.

She wears a braid that cascades down her ba
The Daily Aztec •

SDSU students unite for a rare sky spectacle: A solar eclipse

On April 8, the air bubbled with excitement around the Mediterranean gardens at San Diego State University as students woke up early — even with some missing their classes — to experience a rare spectacle in the sky: the solar eclipse.

While San Diego was not in the path of totality — the area where viewers could see the sun fully covered by the moon — that didn’t stop astronomy students and professors from lugging out their telescopes. By hosting a watch party for students, staff and faculty a
The Daily Aztec •

SDSU students share mixed feelings about proposed TikTok ban

On March 13, the U.S. Congress voted to ban TikTok if its China-based company, ByteDance, doesn’t sell the app to an owner who satisfies the U.S. government.

During a live hearing, U.S. officials agreed that TikTok poses a national security risk. Two-thirds of the legislation was in favor of the bill being passed.

A few days prior, President Joe Biden expressed his plan to endorse the legislation. When reporters questioned him about the bill, Biden said “If they pass it, I’ll sign it.”

The Se
The Daily Aztec •

SDSU hosts 51st annual Pow Wow

Last Saturday, April 8, San Diego State University held a Pow Wow to honor and recognize Native American Communities and First Nation tribes around the United States. This was the 51st annual event by SDSU. During the celebration, Indigenous people came together and shared their traditions and rituals with the San Diego community.

Native American artwork was displayed, children danced to tribal Pow Wow drums, women wove traditional baskets and Indigenous people walked around draped in feathered