NAMED NATIONAL FOUR-YEAR DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR FOR 2020-21 IN THE COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION’S PINNACLE AWARDS
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023
Volume 160 No. 2 WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
SJSU introduces new president By Carolyn Brown PRODUCTION EDITOR
Cynthia Teniente-Matson, San Jose State’s new president, was inaugurated on January 16, replacing former Interim President Steve Perez. Teniente-Matson said part of her plan for her first 100 days as president is listening to many constituent groups, including students. “I’m wanting to understand and maintain the momentum of things that we’re doing well, for our students,” Teniente-Matson said. The newly appointed president has a vision for SJSU. Teniente-Matson said the juxtaposition of being the oldest campus in the West, in an area with the newest innovation and technologies made SJSU attractive. She also said SJSU’s commitment to justice, social justice, racial justice, equity and inclusion were all important to her. “What that means for the students who come here and the experiences that you have and the chance we really have to shape the world,” she said. Perez said the newly nominee president knows what she needs to do in order to be successful at SJSU. “She’s a tremendously intelligent and accomplished person already,” he said in a Jan. 20 interview with the Spartan Daily. Prior to being hired at SJSU, TenienteMatson was president at Texas A&M University - San Antonio for eight years. LEADERSHIP | Page 2
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ALEXIA FREDERICKSON | SPARTAN DAILY
SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson speaks to student media on Thursday in her office in Robert D. Clark Hall.
ANALYSIS
A.S. approves $1,000 Family Emergency Fund By Matthew Gonzalez STAFF WRITER
Haley
Mills
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PHOTO COURTESY OF MEMPHIS POLICE DEPARTMENT
SJ leaders condemn Tyre Nichols killing By Nathan Canilao EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Protests around the country broke out this weekend after five Memphis police officers were charged in the killing of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, who was pulled over for allegedly driving recklessly in a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee on Jan. 7. On Thursday, officers Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean were charged on seven felony counts, the highest count being second-degree murder. Along with the five officers, three emergency medical technicians were terminated after an internal investigation by the Memphis Fire Department determined that it violated
multiple policies when giving Nichols medical attention, according to a Monday NBC article. On Friday, the Memphis Police Department released body cam footage of Nichols’ death which showed officers beating Nichols after he was dragged out of his car. The video showed police officers pulling over Nichols and attempting to remove him from his vehicle. Officers then pulled Nichols out of his car as he repeatedly told them,“I just want to get home,” according to a Friday New York Times article. The officers pepper-sprayed Nichols while one of them shot a taser at him before he escaped and ran on foot. The officers pursued Nichols for eight minutes before catching him in a suburban MEMPHIS | Page 2
The Associated Students held their first official meeting of the spring semester on Wednesday. Among the points discussed, the board passed a family emergency fund for Francesca Ramona Arriaga, a San Jose State University nursing junior who died on Dec. 8, 2022.
I think that it’s really important for us to take a position of empathy and respect and honor of the students and their experience here at San Jose State. Nina Chuang A.S. President
“I think that it’s important that the school can show support,” said Dillon Gadoury, A.S. director of communications. “I think that it’s awesome that
Associated Students also has this backup, emergency family budget in cases where there is tragedy on campus.” A.S. President Nina Chuang said providing the fund plays an integral role in respectfully acknowledging the experiences San Jose State students share. “I think that it’s really important for us to take a position of empathy and respect and honor of the students and their experience here at San Jose State,” Chuang said. The family emergency fund will allocate $1,000 to the Arriaga family. A.S. Vice President Ikaika Rapanot said the fund was also used by the board in 2021 after the death of Saul Schrader, a junior SJSU business major. It was also used in October 2022 when freshman football player Camdan McWright died. “I knew of this emergency fund as we have used it in the past, with people such as Camdan McWright and Saul Schrader who unfortunately passed away,” Rapanot said. “I figured as a member of our community in San Jose State, that it was only right to do our due diligence to help the family, as much as we can.” MEETING | Page 2