NAMED BEST CAMPUS NEWSPAPER IN CALIFORNIA FOR 2022 BY THE CALIFORNIA COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Volume 160 No. 23 WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
Individual dies by suicide at SJSU North Garage was closed for several hours on Monday afternoon By Rainier de Fort-Menares NEWS EDITOR
An individual died by suicide falling from the North Garage on 10th and San Fernando streets, at around 2:15 p.m. on Monday. Frank Belcastro, San Jose State UPD Captain, confirmed that the individual took their own life. The individual “was not a faculty member, staff member or a currently enrolled SJSU student,” wrote Charlie Faas, vice president for administration and finance, in a campuswide email Monday. “Our common humanity means that we feel this tragedy acutely, and it also serves to remind us of the importance of community and being open to asking for and accepting help,” Faas wrote. Belcastro said there was no criminal activity or threat to campus following the events. AlertSJSU notified the campus community that the North Garage was closed for police activity in the afternoon. After the garage was DEATH | Page 2
ALESSIO CAVALCA | SPARTAN DAILY
SJPD police cars sit parked in front of the North Garage on the intersection of 10th and San Fernando on Monday afternoon.
Title IX forum addresses student, faculty concerns By Alina Ta
STAFF WRITER
INFOGRAPHIC BY VANESSA TRAN SOURCE: SJSU WEBSITE
The Title IX Office and San Jose State’s Chief of Staff, Lisa Millora, hosted a listening session for students to share what they want to see in SJSU’s new Title IX and Gender Equity Officer on Tuesday and Thursday. SJSU’s Interim Title IX and Gender Equity Officer, Peter Lim, is helping the university rebuild its Title IX Office since Feb. 21, 2022, according to a May 30, 2022 email by the university’s former Interim President, Steve Perez. Title IX is a federal law that protects students and employees in educational settings from discrimination based on sex or gender, according to a California Department of Education webpage. Lim said the Title IX Office’s role is to respond to reports of any form of discrimination that is done based on sex or gender, including sexual assault, sexual harrassment, stalking and more. “Our goal, of course, is always to foster gender equity across our campus and in all of our education programs or activities,” Lim said. Lim said as SJSU’s current Title IX Officer, his role has four main functions. He oversees the university’s response to reports of sex or gender discrimination, ensures investigations are done thoroughly within a reasonable timeframe and raises awareness on issues related to Title IX.
Lim also communicates with external agencies that interact with the Title IX Office. He said he hopes the school will find a candidate to replace him by the summer. “I think each individual that applies for the position will have a unique set of attributes that will evaluate and determine whether or not they are a qualified candidate to serve in this role,” Lim said. Lim said no single individual will be in charge of deciding who will replace him. He said instead, staff in the Title IX Office and Millora are aiming to include input from the campus community first. “We want to include as many individuals as possible who have the technical expertise and who know the campus, to be part of the search process,” Lim said. He said the listening sessions are meant to give the campus community an opportunity to share what they want from the Title IX Office and to share ideas on how it can improve. “[Students] have a very specific perspective to bring,” Millora said. The department and SJSU reached a $1.6 million settlement after concluding the university failed for more than a decade to respond adequately to reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault against female student athletes, according to a Sept. 21, 2021 news release TITLE IX | Page 2