NAMED NATIONAL FOUR-YEAR DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR FOR 2020-21 IN THE COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION’S PINNACLE AWARDS
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023
Volume 160 No. 13 WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
War in Ukraine: one year later By Matthew Gonzalez STAFF WRITER
Friday marks the one year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, firing missiles at various locations surrounding the capital city of Kyiv which sparked criticism from world leaders, according to a Feb. 24, 2022 CNN article. Although Kyiv is over 6,000 miles away from the San Jose State campus, Russia’s actions impacted Ukrainian students and faculty. Ulia Gosart, SJSU School of Information assistant professor, said she saw Russia’s invasion of her home country as a call to action. “I have colleagues and libraries in Ukraine and when the war started, I knew that I had to be responding to that situation by contributing something to help my people,” Gosart said. Early into Russia’s invasion, many world leaders condemned President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and were eager to voice they wanted to hold him accountable, according to a Feb. 24, 2022 Axios article. “Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring,” said President Joe Biden in a statement following the invasion. “And the U.S. and its allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way, the world will hold Russia accountable.” While Ukraine saw support from many countries, two political juggernauts chose not to castigate Russia. UKRAINE | Page 2
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Bird flu causes egg prices to break the bank By Brandon Nicolas STAFF WRITER
ENRIQUE GUTIERREZ-SEVILLA | SPARTAN DAILY
Associated students board of directors members pose for a picture with SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson after Wednesday’s meeting in the Student Union.
President meets with A.S. board of directors By Enrique Gutierrez-Sevilla STAFF WRITER
San Jose State President Cynthia TenienteMatson introduced and discussed her vision and goals to the Associated Student Board of Directors during a meeting in the Student Union, on Wednesday. Teniente-Matson, former president of Texas A&M University, San Antonio, was inaugurated as President of SJSU in January 2023, replacing Interim President Steve Perez. Teniente-Matson said she plans to partner with student leaders and share governance to engage with student involvement around campus. “Shared governance is a critical foundation for any university,” Teniente-Matson said. “I think this is a place where students should be part of our overall governance and how we think about the university. And that you bring problems forward or challenges because if someone in this room is having a challenge, it’s likely that someone else is as well.” She said using their collective voices is
critical to move the institution forward. Teniente-Matson emphasized the importance of how tradition creates community by referring to her time with Texas A&M. “I’m not familiar with all of the traditions in existence in San Jose State because I came in the middle of the year. But when I was in Texas, the traditions are what lived on and the students lifted those and moved them forward,” Teniente-Matson said. “Being connected with students is really important to me and everything that I do.” She said the A.S. board has her support to help enable traditions on campus. Teniente-Matson said one area where SJSU has room for improvement is campus safety. “I think one of the areas where we need to work together on is campus safety,” Teniente-Matson said. “I’ve heard this from some of the students and I talked to the mayor about this because the mayor has a real focus on San Jose being a very safe community.” MEETING | Page 2
The ongoing bird flu outbreak in the U.S. has killed nearly 60 million birds since January 2022, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The bird flu, also known as avian influenza, is a viral respiratory disease mainly of poultry and other birds, including migratory waterbirds, and can be transmitted to humans. The first known cases of avian influenza in humans were reported in 1997, according to Britannica. Avian influenza viruses are classified as highly pathogenic or low pathogenic. The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) outbreak was first identified in wild birds in the U.S. in January 2022, the same month the virus was reported globally, according to a Feb. 15, 2023 CDC article. The virus continues to be mostly an animal health issue and is highly contagious among birds and especially deadly in domestic poultry, according to the same CDC article. Avian influenza viruses are more likely to be spread by migratory birds and waterfowl. The virus spreads from bird to bird through feces and mucus, but the current public health threat to humans from A(H5N1) virus is low, according to a Jan. 28, 2015 CDC article. Since 2003, avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) has led to high mortality in poultry and wild birds in Asia,
Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to the same CDC article. While most bird viruses are low pathogenic avian influenza and cause few signs of disease, highly pathogenic avian influenza can cause severe disease and high mortality rates in infected birds and poultry, according to a March 9, 2022 CDC article. “Since 1997, more than 880 human cases, nearly all from previously circulating H5N1 virus clades, have been reported from 21 countries with high mortality, but very few cases have been identified worldwide since 2016,” according to a Jan. 23, 2023 CDC article. “For the general population in the Bay Area, I would say [bird flu is] probably not as much of a concern,” said Scott Shaffer, San Jose State ecology and evolution professor. Shaffer’s research focuses on seabirds from nearby islands where he collects bird bacteria, tracks their flight paths and takes blood samples. Shaffer said since there are no large-scale farms with domestic birds in the Bay Area, the risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza is low and probably won’t be a major issue. He said it is mostly common sense procedures that help people protect themselves from highly pathogenic avian influenza. “If you go visit a potential place that has livestock or domestic poultry, wash your hands and change your clothes BIRD FLU | Page 2