NAMED NATIONAL FOUR-YEAR DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR FOR 2020-21 IN THE COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION’S PINNACLE AWARDS
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023
Volume 160 No. 5 SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
Students oppose SDS protest By Mat Bejarano STAFF WRITER
MAT BEJARANO | SPARTAN DAILY
On Thursday, San Jose State Students for a Democratic Society held a protest against the killing of Tyre Nichols by Memphis police officers with one thing missing: the voices of Black students. Protestors from the organization formed a small group in front of the Olympic Black Power statue in the early afternoon. Students for a Democratic Society is a student activist organization that seeks to fight against police terror, racism and women’s oppression, according to their instagram. As members of the group began to speak using megaphones, more and more Black students openly voiced their frustrations with the event. Biochemistry junior Kemi Kaka was one of those students who went up to group members to voice their frustrations with the lack of inclusion. “It’s kind of bullshit, It’s performative at its highest,” Kaka said. “They could have done a coalition with the Black sororities or fraternities that are here, or even the athletes or the students.” Kaka said she knew about the event, but other students spectating were left unaware of what was taking place. Political science junior Seyahmi Currie was another student who was demanding more representation of Black students. “Their hearts are in the right place, but the way that they’re going about it is
Biochemistry junior Kemi Kaka speaks to members of Students for Democratic Society during a protest for Tyre Nichols. Kaka said she was disappointed that the protest did not include Black student coalitions.
PROTEST | Page 2
BLOC party launches Black History Month By Christine Tran STAFF WRITER
The Black Leadership and Opportunity Center (BLOC) hosted the Black History Month Kick Off Event at the Student Union Theater on Thursday. The kickoff was the first of several events planned throughout February to celebrate this year’s theme, “Existence is Resistance,” which was chosen to empower Black voices and identities. Attendees passed through a gallery walk featuring prominent Black figures such as Huey Newton, who was the Black Panther Party’s co-founder. The event started with a program that explores visual and verbal concepts relating to oppression and violence towards Black bodies. “We acknowledge with respect that this content is not the sole representation of experiences of the Black African diasporic community,” said BLOC Program Director Emerald Green. The first guest speaker, Leon Beauchman serves as president of the Santa Clara County Alliance of Black Educators, an all-volunteer organization organizing events to prepare Black students for the present and future. Beauchman led a libation, the act of pouring a liquid offering, for Black victims of police brutality. “It is through community that we have survived. When we were brutally beaten, it was our love for
each other that was the healing bond. When we were lost in the underworld of self loathing, it was our love for each other that was the guiding light of redemption,” Beauchman said. He said it is important to acknowledge those who lost their lives as a way to combat public erasure of Black victims. Travis Boyce, department chair of African American studies and director of Ethnic Studies Collaborative, shared his thoughts on the importance of Black history during the event. Boyce condemned public schools that curtailed racial history for how it has affected the present. “Today, parents can remove their children from Black History Month curriculum,” Boyce said. “School districts are considering banning or have already banned books by Black authors on topics that address systemic racism.” Boyce says he advocates for teaching truth and education that’s inclusive of the full American experience. Ada Ochuru, child and adolescent development sophomore with a double minor in African American studies and Black women studies, performed a dance at the event. Ochuru performed a selfchoreographed piece using elements of ballet, lyrical, contemporary and jazz. Ochuru said she has been KICKOFF | Page 2
JENNIFER YIN | SPARTAN DAILY
From left to right: Panelist entrepreneurs Alora Fredricks, Quency Phillips, Jason Fox, and Sameer Saran with SpartUp Incubator Launch Director Micheal Ashley discuss ideas in MLK library on Thursday.
SpartUp empowers innovation and ideas By Jennifer Yin STAFF WRITER
The San Jose State’s Office of Innovation hosted the SpartUp Incubator Program Speaker Series, an event where successful entrepreneurs participated as panelists, on Thursday inside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. SpartUp Incubator launch director Michael Ashley said the event is the third of a four part speaker series. He said the series themes are designed as “four pillars” which include ideation, prototyping, startup planning and pitching. “The reason pitching is the last pillar of the incubator is because there are a lot of pitch competitions coming up for the startups,” Ashley said. “People who have been working
on their startups all year long are now ready to talk to investors.” The event showcased Forward Inception founder and CEO Alora Frederick, ParkStash founder and CEO Sameer Saran, Inquis Medical Inc. CTO Jason Fox and Quency Phillips, executive director and CEO of Lighthouse Silicon Valley shared their experience with startups in the Bay Area. Each panelist had the opportunity to input their own ideas on conversations ranging from building technologies, understanding the market, creating capital and business planning. Saran shared a personal anecdote regarding the importance of marketing. “I had a seven slide deck and that’s all I had. SPARTUP | Page2