Issuu

Sports

Have a story idea?

Spartans fall short, Rams land freethrows after repeated fouls

Page 3

A&E Pam & Tommy disappoints despite feminist intentions Page 4

NAMED NATIONAL FOUR-YEAR DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR FOR 2020-21 IN THE COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION’S PINNACLE AWARDS

Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022

Volume 158 No. 9 SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934

WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY

INFOGRAPHIC BY LINDSAY VILLAMOR; SOURCES: AUG. 24, 2021 REUTERS ARTICLE, JAN. 23, 2005 WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE, BRITANNICA.COM, MARCH 17, 2020 BROOKINGS EDUCATION ARTICLE, FEB. 15 NPR ARTICLE, FEB. 13 ALJAZEERA ARTICLE

Ukraine braces for conflict By Eva Martin STAFF WRITER

Vova Zhukov, a Ukrainian San Jose State aerospace engineering junior, said he felt the pressure of a potential Russian invasion in his home country while visiting his family over winter break in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. “It was tense, you know, like a small tense you can feel everywhere,” Zhukov said over Zoom. “My mother, for example, was really, I would say, scared about the situation. My father was more calm, and my grandmother too, because they don’t believe that something can

Every [piece of military equipment] the U.S. gives right now is increasing the morale of Ukrainians. We feel the support from the west, that really gives us hope. Vova Zhukov SJSU aerospace engineering junior, Ukrainian international student

happen.” Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded a commitment from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries to refrain from a Ukrainian alliance at his annual news conference on Dec. 23. He mobilized military forces all around Ukraine without officially admitting any plan of invasion. NATO is a military alliance formed in 1949 with the original goal to counter the post-war Russian expansion. It now counts 30 countries from North America and Europe committed by article 5 of the treaty to assist any attacked member with armed force if necessary, according to the

Voters to determine local election cycle By Jennifer Schildge

NATO website. Russian officials could decide to invade Ukraine before the Feb. 20 end of the Winter Olympics said United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday in Melbourne, Australia. Russia has more than 130,000 soldiers massed near Ukraine’s borders as of Sunday, according to an ABC News article. U.S. President Joe Biden said in a Thursday NBC interview that Americans in the Ukraine should leave. “American citizens should leave, should CRISIS | Page 2

MEETING: IN BRIEF San Jose City Council passed a measure that, if passed by voters, would move mayoral elections to U.S. presidential election years.

STAFF WRITER

The San Jose City Council met Tuesday on Zoom and voted 10-1 for a proposed measure that would appear on the June 7 ballot and, if approved by voters, would allow mayoral elections to occur during the same time as presidential elections. While the average mayoral term is four years, if passed the proposal would allow the city charter to shorten the term of the mayor elected in 2022 to two years, according to the memorandum.

This might be one of the single most important policies that we can do to increase voter participation for mayors in the future. Jeﬀrey Buchanan San Jose resident

SJSU political science professor Garrick Percival, who was part of the San Jose City Charter Review Commission and co-authored three op-eds regarding the proposal, said voter turnout is higher during presidential election years.

“By moving the timing of the mayor’s race to presidential years the goal is to significantly increase participation,” Percival said. San Jose resident Jeffrey Buchanan spoke during the ELECTION | Page 2

Many San Jose community members support the measure’s inclusion in the upcoming ballot because they believe it will increase voter turnout in mayoral elections.

If passed, the proposal would permit the city charter to shorten the term of the new mayor, who will be elected this year, from four years to two years.

Councilmember Dev Davis voted against the proposal and said the $617,000 spent to put the measure on the ballot could be spent elsewhere.

sjsunews.com/spartan_daily

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 16, 2022

CRISIS Continued from page 1 leave now,” he said. The Biden administration deployed 3,000 soldiers to Poland and Romania’s western borders with Ukraine on Feb. 2 according to the U.S. Department of Defense updates made that day. Political science professor Karthika Sasikumar said soldier deployment is not the beginning of a military response. “If these American soldiers were supposed to be countering the physical force of Russian soldiers, then clearly it’s not enough,” she said. Sasikumar said U.S. military deployment serves as a deterrent to demonstrate U.S. willingness to help Ukraine in crisis. “We’re in a really weird position right now,” said Sabrina Pinnell, political science lecturer specializing in post-Soviet politics. “We’re a member of NATO, but we’re kind of pushing the idea of an united NATO front, and at the same time we’re not directly at the negotiating table.” Biden and Putin talked over the phone for more than an hour on Saturday but the White House has not given any suggestion that the call decreased the threat of an imminent war in Europe, according to a Saturday Reuters article. Divisions remain about what to expect from Russia in the following days, weeks and months. Sasikumar said she believes diplomatic de-escalation is still the most likely scenario. “I actually do believe that Putin doesn’t want to invade Ukraine,” Sasikumar said. “The reason is that Ukraine, if you look at the map, it’s a very large country right in the heart of Europe and the people are not friendly towards Russia, unlike Crimea.” In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea, a peninsula along the northeastern coast of

PHOTOS COURTESY OF VOVA ZHUKOV

Citizens walk past an orthodox church on Dec. 24, 2021 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The church served as a shelter during the 2013-14 Maidan Revolution.

the Black Sea in Eastern Europe, after civilians in Kyiv protested against the former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych who rejected closer ties with the European Union, according to a CNBC Jan. 27, 2022 article. Zhukov said it’s been 8 years since Ukrainians lived in a war. “It’s not too different from what we had before, it just started to feel more and more dangerous,” Zhukov said. After Russian military forces took control of Crimea, Putin organized a referendum in which a majority of Crimea citizens voted to leave Ukraine. This referendum is still considered illegal by the UN, according to a March 27, 2014 Time article. “In 2014, when Russia basically occupied [Crimea], it was a different issue because the population there was Russian-speaking and wanted

to be part of Russia,” Sasikumar said. “So it would be very difficult for Russia to occupy Ukraine if it invaded it.”

military confrontation. Pinnell said while the nuclear threat remains in the “background,” it wouldn’t

For the moment, this [Russian] mobilization is not a direct invasion, but a massing on the border which means ‘We want to get concessions.’ I mean the stakes for Russia are the equivalent of having, you know, another country established military bases along the border with Mexico. Sabrina Pinnell political science lecturer with post-Soviet politics specialization

She believes the fear of nuclear weapons pushes all the involved states to avoid a

Vova Zhukov stands in front of a decomissioned tank in Pripyat, Ukraine. Pripyat was evacuated after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Chernobyl and the surrounding areas are speculated to be a possible entry point for Russian military forces.

necessarily stop Russia from invading Ukraine. “Is it possible that they could end up marching in Ukraine and eventually leave? Yes, they did that with Georgia,” Pinnell said. In 2008, Putin invaded Georgia, a country located at the intersection between Eastern Europe and Western Asia, during the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics. Pinnell said Putin justified the invasion as a “responsibility to protect Ossetians from Georgian ‘genocide.’ ” Russian officials accused Georgian soldiers of systematically killing hundreds of civilians in the separatist enclave of South Ossetia located near Russia borders, she said. Georgia was close to joining NATO in 2008 and Russian officials were aware, according to a June 7, 2008 The New York Times article. “The case of Ukraine is more complex [than Georgia],” Pinnell said. “These are breakaway regions trying to unite with Russia or get autonomy, so the conditions are different.” According to a February 4 Al Jazeera article, in the Donbass region of Ukraine, located at the eastern border shared with Russia, pro-Russia separatist rebels have declared

ELECTION Continued from page 1 meeting’s public forum encouraging the council to support the measure’s June 2022 ballot appearance. “This might be one of the single most important policies that we can do to increase voter participation or mayors in the future,” Buchanan said. Lifelong San Jose resident Hector Moreno said the proposal would give the community a better opportunity to build a “San Jose that works for everyone.” “This common-sense report should stand alone as a ballot measure. This

By moving the timing of the mayor’s race to presidential years, the goal is to significantly increase participation. Garrick Percival SJSU political science professor

will benefit our community by creating representation in representatives,” Moreno said. The council has been looking at this for a very long time and a tremendous amount of support and research has gone into the ballot, councilmember Magdalena

Carrasco said during the meeting. Councilmember Dev Davis voted against the proposed ballot measure because she said the $617,000 spent to include the measure in the ballot could be used in other ways, including “get out the vote.” “Get out the vote” or “getting out the

a Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic. Pinnell said there is a real division between Western and Eastern Ukraine. She said the western side would support the idea of joining NATO, but the eastern part would not, even if they don’t favor uniting with Russia. “For the moment, this [Russian] mobilization is not a direct invasion, but a massing on the border which means ‘We want to get concessions,’ ” Pinnell said. “I mean the stakes for Russia are the equivalent of having, you know, another country established military bases along the border with Mexico,” said Pinnell. She described how Russia sees a Ukraine/NATO alliance as a direct threat. “They now want a commitment that this is never going to happen,” she added. Accepting Russia’s conditions would send a signal of weakness to the rest of the world, said Sasikumar. “It would be very difficult for NATO to publicly say to Russia that ‘okay, we agree that we will not allow Ukraine to join because you don’t want Ukraine to join it,’ Sasikumar said. The U.S. gave $200 million of defensive aid to the Ukrainian army, according to a Jan. 23 Reuters article. “Every [piece of military equipment] the U.S. gives right now is increasing the morale of Ukrainians,” Zhukov said. “We feel the support from the west, that really gives us hope.” In Kyiv, Zhukov said he witnessed weapon shops run out of bullets because civilians went to buy some, “just in case.” Zhukov said he believes that Russia won’t invade his country for now but if it happens, his people would fight to keep their independence and democracy. “I see [the] bright future of Ukraine,” he said. Follow the Spartan Daily on Twitter @SpartanDaily

vote” refers to efforts aimed at increasing the turnout in elections. Carrasco agreed with the idea that using the money to support “getting out the vote” would be a good idea but she doesn’t think it would be that sufficient. “I don’t think that’s enough. I don’t think we go far enough,” Carrasco said. “Doing everything that we can . . . in moving the election to a presidential cycle we know that that increases the voter turnout.”

Follow Jennifer on Twitter @kyIojen

sjsunews.com/spartan_daily

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 16, 2022

Spartans rack up fouls against Rams By Jamie Bennett STAFF WRITER

The San Jose State women’s basketball team (4-19, 1-11 Mountain West) faced the Colorado State Rams (15-7, 6-6 Mountain West) during a high intensity game Saturday at the Provident Credit Union Event Center. The game looked to go either way but Colorado took advantage of its chances at the free throw line, leading the team to an 84-70 victory. SJSU fell behind by failing to capitalize on free throws, only making 12-17 free throws. The SJSU marching band amplified the team spirit throughout the game. As each player was introduced, team and audience members showed their support by dancing for the crowd. Although the game started off with enthusiasm, the first half did not go well for SJSU, as they were out-scored in both the first and second quarters entering halftime. In the third quarter, the Spartans and Rams duked it out, draining shots from behind the arch and ending an exciting quarter scoring 23 points each. The second half of the game resulted in Colorado capitalizing on 21-22 free throws, compared to SJSU’s 10-14 from the line. During the fourth quarter, SJSU fouled Colorado State nine times, which made it even more difficult to close the score gap. The Rams made 30 out of 31 free throws for the night when put on the line while the Spartans had difficulties capitalizing when given second-chance buckets, which cost them valuable points. Head coach Jamie Craighead Turner, said during a Saturday press conference that the game

TRAVIS WYNN | SPARTAN DAILY

SJSU guard Ella Ogier slices her way through the Rams defense against Colorado State in a Mountain West Conference game Saturday.

had the most fouls she had ever seen. “I’ve never seen us in that bad of foul trouble, I think it puts us on our heels,” Turner said. “We don’t have the deepest bench. You have to give them credit for 30 points on the free throw line.” Turner said the team disagreed with some of the foul calls because it prevented SJSU from standing its ground against strong offensive players including Colorado State point guard Upe Atosu. Atosu was a force to be reckoned with on the court, dodging and weaving through the defense.

Turner said Atosu was the best opponent the team had faced in the Mountain West as she dominated the court and made the game difficult for the Spartans. She said the Spartans need to work on their defense because they were unable to prevent the Rams from scoring. “It seemed like it was harder for us to score than it was for them,” Turner said. It put a little pressure on us. Some fatigue sets in, some frustration with some foul calls.” Tensions rose as Jamie Craighead Turner SJSU continued to make women’s basketball head coach “aggressive fouls” on defense,

I’ve never seen us in that bad of foul trouble, I think it puts us on our heels. We don’t have the deepest bench. You have to give them credit for 30 points on the free throw line.

CLASSIFIEDS CROSSWORD PUZZLE

SUDOKU PUZZLE Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

leading to confusion and disagreement with referee calls. The Spartans were frustrated with the result of the game and showed it. “It’s hard to lose, you don’t play sports to lose,” Turner said.“You have to find some joy in competing and that’s what we’ve been focusing on: staying resilient.” The Spartans are set to play against San Diego State at the SJSU Provident Credit Union Event Center 6:00 p.m. today.

Follow the Spartan Daily on Twitter @SpartanDaily

-2.,1· AROUND “How do you make a tissue dance?”

“You put a little boogie in it!”

SOLUTIONS

ACROSS 1. General trade agreement 5. Expletive 10. Immediately 14. Wreckage 15. Come together 16. Impish 17. Eloquent 19. Tibetan monk 21. Pirate’s pal 22. Trainee 23. Bondage 25. Foam 27. Era 28. Caveats 31. 8th Greek letter 34. Groin 35. Dandy 36. Female chickens 37. Pious 38. Distant 39. Hearing organ 40. Angers 41. Suspicious 42. Occurring at irregular intervals 44. Craze 45. Elegance 46. Control surface on a plane

50. Orchard pest 52. Stories 54. Avenue (abbrev.) 55. Shower 56. Instigator 58. Drop down 59. Group of eight 60. Not soft 61. Jittery 62. S S S S 63. Anagram of “Star” DOWN 1. Becomes larger 2. Hearing-related 3. Crown 4. Explosive 5. Neuromuscular blocking agent 6. Accord 7. Type of cereal grass 8. Fore-and-aft sails 10. Highly seasoned fatty sausage 11. Compromises 12. Heyday 13. Not this 18. Alpha’s opposite 22. Gashes 24. Tanks

26. Small and weak 28. Data stream manipulator 29. Ark builder 30. Agile 31. You (archaic) 32. Pile 33. Improving 34. Provision 37. Spurs 38. Assistant 40. Street 41. Not true 43. Seductive 44. Meadows 46. Seaweed 47. Radiolocation 48. Blatant 49. Geeks 50. Backside 51. Gave money 53. Picnic insects 56. Caviar 57. “Eureka!”

Feb.15

PLACE YOUR AD HERE Place your Ads Online at Spartandaily. CampusAve.com

SpartanDailyAdvertising @sjsu.edu

DBH 213 is closed because of the pandemic.

sjsunews.com/spartan_daily

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 16, 2022

ILLUSTRATION BY HANNAH GREGORIC

Sex, mayhem in ‘Pam & Tommy’ New Hulu series exploits rather than entertains By Jennifer Schildge STAFF WRITER

Based on an awfully entertaining true story, Hulu’s “Pam and Tommy” is more exploitative and inconsistent than enticing. The limited series follows Pamela Anderson, played by Lily James, and then-husband Tommy Lee, played by Sebastian Stan, as their sex tape gets leaked by angry electrician Rand Gauthier, played by Seth Rogan, who worked on their house but was fired in 1995. Anderson, a model and actress known mostly for her character C.J. Parker in 1989 TV show “Baywatch,” suddenly became a prominent public figure after the leak of her and Lee’s sex tape. The show is based on an article published in Rolling Stone in 2014 which chronicles the sex tape saga that traumatized the couple. The show opens with an interview between Jay Leno, played by Adam Ray, and Anderson. Leno pesters her about the tape and it’s clear that she’s uncomfortable. Leno jokes that he hasn’t watched the tape but only because he hasn’t found a copy. The scene started a serious tone I thought the show would carry.

movie review “Pam and Tommy” Rating:

Network: Hulu Starring: Lily James, Sebastian Stan Genre: Biographical drama Release date: February 2, 2022

When behind the scenes photos were shared of James and Stan, my jaw dropped, staring at my screen as my brain tried to convince me that the woman I was looking at was Lily James. This role is so different for James, who usually plays into the sweet kind of girl-next-door vibe. She’s probably best known for her role as young Donna in “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.”

Anderson never replied after they reached out about her portrayal on the show, according to a Sept. 13, 2021 Entertainment Tonight article. “Considering what she’s been through and the time that we were reaching out, that was understandable,” he said in the same ET interview. Why make the show? Why put someone’s trauma out there again if you know the amount of effort it took for her to get over it?

The show focuses on Anderson, a woman who’s been exploited and objectified her entire life. The cast claims consent is key and that the story is feminist but doesn’t treat the real Anderson with respect.

Barry Lee Moe, head of the show’s hair and makeup department, told Variety in an August 2021 article that James spent anywhere from three to five hours in hair and makeup each morning. The hair and makeup would be the only five star rating I’d give for the show until I saw the appalling prosthetic breasts they slapped on James’ chest. The show focuses on Anderson, a woman who’s been exploited and objectified her entire life. The cast claims consent is key and that the story is feminist but doesn’t treat the real Anderson with respect. The tape was labeled “PAMELA’S HARDCORE SEXTAPE” and Lee wasn’t used to promote the corrupt sales. It was all about Anderson. A show about the horror of a nonconsensual sex tape being shared was without the main character’s real-life consent. Neither Lee nor Anderson are affiliated with the series. Lee said the television portrayal of the story was “cool” and he was “stoked” it was being made, according to a Sept. 13, 2021 Entertainment Tonight (ET) article. Entertainment Tonight is a talk show that sources on entertainment and celebrity news. Lee’s still in the same mindset as he was in the 90s, a mindset where any publicity is good publicity. While Anderson has not spoken about any aspects of the show. If Pam and Tommy is such a movement for her, why make it without her input? Why not come up with an original idea for a show instead of another biopic? Showrunner D.V. DeVincentis said

Something doesn’t sit right with me about how DeVincentis reached out to Anderson but when there was no response, producers continued to make the show without her input. The Hulu character is supposedly giving her a voice, but I guess the real Anderson doesn’t deserve privacy because she’s a symbol. The show missed out on portraying feminist themes but hit the nail on the head for creating an entertaining show. I do applaud the use of puppetry in the form of Lee’s talking penis, but at what cost? In episode three, Lee talks to his penis about his love for Anderson, which was creative and authentic since Lee has actually admitted to it in his 2001 book “The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band.” But on that note, the show itself has no consistent tone. Am I supposed to laugh? When am I supposed to start crying? It claims to be a biographical drama with dark humor, but I don’t see any dark humor. If I laugh, it’s because of the irony or because of Gauthier’s mullet hairstyle.

In episode four, the couple realizes their tape is stolen and decides to take action. This takes a toll on Anderson because her world unravels in front of her. She says to Lee that she feels “violated,” to which Lee replies that he just feels anger. The couple gets into a fight because Anderson said it’s a bigger deal for her. Lee will be called cool and be congratulated while she gets called a slut, which is something anyone with a brain would realize. I’m glad that the show is taking on an “I, Tonya” feel in the sense that the show is depicting a man ruining a woman’s life because he feels belittled. “I, Tonya” is a 2017 film that takes on the story of Tonya Harding. It centers on the incident with Nancy Kerrigan that claims Harding didn’t have a say in, it was all her ex-husband and his goofy friend claiming to be her bodyguard. It’s nice to see people talk about Anderson in a more significant way. I hope that after the latest episode, which was about Anderson feeling violated, upset and shameful, the show can take a more serious tone. The fourth episode also sold me on the cinematography. I loved when Lee and Anderson went to the public library to see if their tape was really being sold online. Lee has a black hat on, sideways of course, and Anderson has her hood up. They are both wearing dark sunglasses as they hold hands frantically trying to find a computer in the library. As they manually enter the website URL and the computer takes forever to load, the shot lingers on their faces of frustration and shock. Anderson takes off her sunglasses in disbelief, breaking the fourth wall. After four episodes, I’d give the show two and a half stars out of five. One for cinematography, another for acting and half for hair, makeup and costumes. The show is released every Wednesday on Hulu. So sure, continue to watch weekly to see how cool Stan and James look, but the show itself is ironic and ill-favored. Follow Jennifer on Twitter @kyIojen

Correction On Tuesday, Feb. 15, the Spartan Daily published a story titled “Groups push for immigration reform” in which Luis Aquino and Patricia and Miguel Vazquez were misidentified. The Spartan Daily regrets this error.

sjsunews.com/spartan_daily

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 16, 2022

ABOUT The Spartan Daily prides itself on being the San Jose State community’s top news source. New issues are published every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday throughout the academic year and online content updated daily. The Spartan Daily is written and published by San Jose State students as an expression of their First Amendment rights. Reader feedback may be submitted as letters to the editor or online comments.

EDITORIAL STAFF EXECUTIVE EDITOR MADILYNNE MEDINA MANAGING EDITOR CHRISTINA CASILLAS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AMANI HAMED PRODUCTION EDITOR BRYANNA BARTLETT MULTIMEDIA & ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR EVAN REINHARDT A&E EDITOR SAUMYA MONGA ASSISTANT A&E EDITOR JOVANNA OLIVARES OPINION EDITOR MADISON FAGUNDES SPORTS EDITOR ESTEVAN LOPEZ SCIENCE & TECH EDITOR ROYVI HERNADNEZ SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR SAMANTHA HERRERA PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR TRAVIS WYNN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS AI BLY SANDRA SANTOS-CRUZ COPY EDITORS REBECCA LEE CHRISTINE STEVENS ALAN BAEZ BRIANA CONTE ISALIA GALIO SAVANNAH NATIVIDAD GRAPHICS EDITORS NICK YBARRA LINDSAY VILLAMOR BIANCA RADER AUDREY TSENG DAISHA SHERMAN AARON CHEUNG HANNAH GREGORIC XENA SEO SENIOR STAFF WRITERS DONE LE CHRISTOPHER NGUYEN JAMIE BENNETT STAFF WRITERS D’NETRUS CHEVIS-ROSE JENNIFER SCHILDGE JOAQUIN DE LA TORRE HAILEY FARGO GIO GAXIOLA EVA MARTIN PRODUCTION CHIEF MIKE CORPOS NEWS ADVISER RICHARD CRAIG

ADVERTISING STAFF ADVERTISING DIRECTOR MIA WICKS CREATIVE DIRECTOR SHANALL SNEEDI

ADVERTISING STAFF ABAS ALTUWARISH ASHLEY BARCELON BRANDON VU DONOVAN FRANCIS ENSIYAH SYED ISABELLA VICTORIA HAGGERTY JOHAN ROMANI-CACERES JOSHUA TORRES JUAN TAPIA ZAVALA KENNETH TRIEU LINH LAM LINH THIEU MOISES CARATACHEA SAM LEE SEAN MARTIN SEVERIANO MENDEZ YULIAN FRANKIV ADVERTISING ADVISER TIM HENDRICK BUSINESS MANAGER CINDY LUU

ADVERTISING – TELEPHONE: 408-924-3240 EMAIL: spartandailyadvertising @gmail.com

CORRECTIONS POLICY The Spartan Daily corrects all significant errors that are brought to our attention. If you suspect we have made such an error, please send an email to spartandaily@gmail.com.

EDITORIAL POLICY Columns are the opinion of individual writers and not that of the Spartan Daily. Editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Editorial Board, which is made up of student editors.

ILLUSTRATION BY JOVANNA OLIVARES

Raveena channels space royalty By Saumya Monga

women around her. She ends the song with Hindi lyrics, “dil mera A Punjabi princess taam lo, kehna to maan named Asha lands back lo, baaki sab jaane tho, on Earth after a thousand oh,” which translates to, years of meditating in “hold on to my heart, say space. She’s thrown into a you agree, let everything world she barely knows, else go.” one that is filled with pain Almost every track but also love. on the album features This narrative sounds Hindi lyrics which pay more like it could be a homage to the music futuristic film than a she grew up with: classic conceptual album, but if anyone is capable of surprising listeners, it’s 27-year-old American singer Raveena Aurora. Raveena’s second album “Asha’s Awakening,” has listeners view the world from the perspective of a Punjabi princess. As she travels down from another plane, she experiences our foreign, strange world. Raveena was raised with Sikhism, a religion Bollywood songs. practiced in the northern Many other firstIndian state of Punjab, generation Indianand much of her music Americans have the draws on her culture. Bollywood songs of Through “Asha’s their parents’ era and Awakening,” Raveena fuses today’s modern songs on her New York and Punjabi their playlists. identities. The result is Raveena intricately an ethereal, angelic and weaves both sounds, visceral expression of the singing in a style similar beauty around us. to Ariana Grande Raveena’s voice drips with Hindi lyrics. The like honey on every track instrumentation is a fusion as her breathy vocals of classic Bollywood dance over a mix of Indian and R&B beats. drums, harps and mellow The sounds of traditional guitar harmonies. Indian bells ring gently On the opening track in the background with “Rush,” Raveena sings, an energetic backbone of “American fantasy, she’s beats on “Rush.” winding to the rhythm,” The poetic lyrics as Asha experiences the from Asha’s perspective magnetic pull of the are a departure from A&E EDITOR

her 2019 debut album “Lucid” in which many of the songs revolve around the chaos and depression that followed a toxic relationship. “Asha’s Awakening” is her return to peace and finding solace within herself and the world around her. Through Asha, Raveena finds the tranquility that was once lost.

on a joyful journey on “Asha’s Awakening.” On “Kathy Left 4 Kathmandu,” Raveena sings about a lover following her to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. It’s a trippy song that opens with a warped synthesizer and continues the funky theme of some of the songs. She sings, “she wants to fuck and trip and eat them

Raveena’s voice drips like honey on every track as her breathy vocals dance over a mix of Indian drums, harps and mellow guitar harmonies.

On “Kismet,” which translates to fate in Hindi, Raveena calls us in to accept life’s bigger plan. Behind a funky bassline and the sounds of a record scratching, Raveena reminds us that not everything is in our control, but life is more interesting when it sounds psychedelic. Towards the end, a warped guitar solo plays into the bridge as she sighs in satisfaction, showing us that everything becomes much easier when you decide to let go. It isn’t easy, and Raveena’s musical trajectory shows us exactly that. She went from the hopeless lyrics in “Lucid” to embarking

album review “Asha’s Awakening” Rating:

Artist: Raveena Release Date: Feb. 11, 2022 Genre: [ R&B/soul ]

flowers ‘til she ain’t blue,” celebrating the exploration of everywhere our minds can go. There is so much we don’t know about life and the expanse of the human mind but it’s the exploration that makes the unknown more exciting. Although her breathy voice can be hard to understand at times, the psychedelic vibes and Indian-American fusion make the album a transcendent experience. “Asha’s Kiss” makes the listener feel as though they are hammocking in a garden filled with the brightest, most colorful flowers. A tender flute sways behind her airy vocals singing “akhon mein, akhon mein, dekho” which translates to “look me in the eyes.” In between verses, she deeply sighs while a subtle tabla and harp play in the background. The song ends with giggles and chimes as the listener floats away into a land of fairies where magic is

the norm. It’s easy to see the metaphor. The world is as otherworldly as it’s perceived. Asha isn’t accustomed to our planet so she views the world in its purest form: natural and beautiful. The last song is a 13–minute guided meditation which is an abnormal but also perfect way to end an album that is all about slowing down and appreciating what is around you. Raveena whispers to us to “let [our] breath become like a flower” while the sounds of chirping birds and a magical sitar play in the background. The listener is once again transported back to the land of fairies, but instead of imagining another world, they realize that it has been in front of them this entire time. The entire album feels like a guided meditation: peaceful, serene and pure. Raveena is grounded but divine. She explores psychedelics but also finds happiness in the natural world. She celebrates duality, showing us that there is an abundance of things to appreciate and explore from mind-altering drugs to peaceful walks in nature. Sometimes, we all need to act like space royalty and pretend like we are viewing our surroundings for the first time so we can fully see the celestial beauty of our world.

Follow Saumya on Twitter @MongaSaumya