WINNER OF 2023 ASSOCIATED COLLEGIATE PRESS PACEMAKER AWARD, NEWSPAPER/NEWSMAGAZINE NAMED BEST CAMPUS NEWSPAPER IN CALIFORNIA FOR 2022 BY THE CALIFORNIA COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION AND CALIFORNIA NEWS PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Volume 162 No. 27 SERVING SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
Downtown Victorian house catches fire By Aaliyah Roman A&E EDITOR
The San José Fire Department (SJFD) arrived on the scene of a fire that started in a Victorian house at the intersection of Fourth Street and E St. James St in Downtown San José on Monday afternoon. SJFD battalion chief Robert Culbertson said the cause of the fire is unknown. Eileen Johnson, San José citizen and witness of the scene, said she drove past the scene around noon. Johnson said she has lived in San José for 13 years and thinks the house is about 70 years old. “I always look to the sky to see if I see a fire and I saw the black smoke and I told my passenger, ‘Give me the details,’ ” Johnson said. Culbertson said it will take some time for the fire
department to find out what caused the fire because the scene was unsafe. He said SJFD has to determine what potential factors may have caused the fire, and they cannot do that until they are able to get inside the building. “It's gonna be very difficult for us to determine (the) cause on this, because it's so dangerous when we can't get in there,” Culbertson said. He said the firefighters found one person inside the house to the right of the fire and were able to get them out before the house was destroyed. Culbertson also said the house to the left of the one caught on fire was fully occupied and successfully saved by the fire department. “I just like to commend the fire department on a good job that they've done,” Johnson said.
Another witness at the scene, Kin Chan, an aviation senior at San José State, said he saw a cloud of black smoke as he was walking out of one of his classes in the Industrial Studies Building at around 11:50-11:55 a.m. Chan said he saw what looked like an explosion 10 to 15 minutes after noon when he saw a crane shoot water towards the power lines in the area. “They (the firefighters) might not have considered that the water is shooting through the telephone lines (and) would have caught sparks, so there was like a boom for a split second,” Chan said. Culbertson said Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) shut off the power for over 400 residents in the area of the fire. He said there was unusual activity coming from the
KAYA HENKES-POWER | SPARTAN DAILY
Firefighters spray water on a Victorian house fire on Monday afternoon in San José.
power lines that posed a safety threat to the firefighters on the scene and passersby. Culbertson also said he did not see any explosion or sparking of any kind when at
the scene. kind of utility involvement at “They're (PG&E) gonna go all.” ahead and try to restore it as soon as they can safely get Follow Aaliyah close to that building,” he said. on Instagram “And rule out that there's any @aaliyahcr_
United Farm Workers spark talk of conditions By Nikita Bankar
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
In hopes of sparking conversations and action surrounding the treatment and conditions of farmworkers, the San José State Campus Community Garden hosted a group discussion to talk about the importance of United Farm Workers on Tuesday afternoon. United Farm Workers (UFW) was founded in 1962 by César Chávez, Dolores Huerta, Gilbert Padilla and other early organizers, and is the nation’s first enduring and largest farmworkers union, according to its website. The UFW continues organizing in major agricultural sectors, mainly in California, according to the same site. During the discussion, students sat at benches, ate slices of vegan pizza from Sammy G’s Pizzeria and shared personal stories and opinions about farmworkers being taken advantage of, despite their tedious efforts. Matthew Mangoni, Associated Students Community Garden coordinator, started the conversation by asking the group to consider where the food on their plates came from, leading to conversations about how to take action. He said there are already great organizations that exist supporting farmworkers, but there is still very little public support or awareness for the workers that feed us all. “The biggest thing I think that we can do is have more conversations and raise public awareness of the struggles farmworkers face, and make farm work more front of mind, instead of completely forgetting about,” he said. “Additionally, we can support the
organizations that already have close connections with farmworker communities.” Mangoni s aid farmworkers endure various obstacles while working including unstable citizenship status, language barriers, educational attainment and more. “It is important specifically for us as college students to have these discussions, because we will all soon have influence in our circles as we start our careers, and we have a responsibility to change the current system for the better,” he said. Farmworkers are paid less than even some of the lowest-paid workers in the U.S. labor force, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The majority of farm laborers in the United States are Latiné, while more than 40% are undocumented, according to the same site. In 36 of the 50 states in this country, farmworkers are either excluded entirely or partially from workers’ compensation coverage for occupational injuries, illnesses and deaths, according to Farmworker Justice. Environmental studies junior Jillian Clavette sat at a bench with multiple students in the corner of the garden, with a wooden fence and a collection of plants and vegetables growing behind her. Clavette said it is important to start discussions about farmworker conditions with a simple question, to get individuals to start considering how they feel. “I might just start with, ‘Have you ever thought about where your food comes from?’ ” Clavette said. “The Bay Area was the Valley of Heart’s Delight, and was huge for agricultural practices because of the soil.”
NIKITA BANKAR | SPARTAN DAILY
Matthew Mangoni, Associated Students Community Garden coordinator, starts a discussion on sustainability.
The southern region of the San Francisco Bay, now commonly known as Silicon Valley, was known as the Valley of Heart's Delight, a name inspired by the region's orchards and acres filled with ripening fruit, according to Business Insider. Clavette also said a lot of people think about farmworkers and the way they are being treated. “If I start off a conversation with a simple fun fact, I can then get the discussion moving and then eventually ask the person what they think,” she said. “It is important to talk about farmworker conditions not only here at San José State, but universally as well.” Liberal studies alumna Megan Yee said farmworkers are the reason we are able to eat, and they are unseen in our day-to-day lives. Yee said the garden has
done a great job providing a space for discussion. The Campus Community Garden, created in 2014, provides the SJSU students, staff, faculty and the community with an opportunity to participate in food justice, gain accessibility to fresh and healthy food and engage in cultural exchange and cooperation, according to the SJSU website. “Having these workshops and holding conversations with peers and family members is really helpful in spreading awareness and starting programs to help with workers’ healthcare and heat protection,” Yee said. “It is something that we as a society need to work on.” She said finding common ground and sharing a similarity with someone can make it easier to discuss such a topic. “If you and a friend are
both eating, you could say, ‘where do these tomatoes come from?’ ” she said. “You could also ask the person if they know anything about the conditions of farmworkers, and if they have any personal relatives who work in farms.” The UFW has created dozens of contracts to protect thousands of farmworkers, including agreements with California based tomato, dairy, mushroom and winery companies, according to its website. Many recent UFWsponsored laws and regulations protect all farm workers in California, including protection from death and fatigue from intense heat, according to the same site. Nutritional science freshman Esha Dhillon said from the discussion in the garden, she was able to learn more about ways in which
farmworkers are taken advantage of. “It is so important to speak with others in open spaces like these, so we can not only understand one another but also raise awareness about something that is not really highlighted,” Dhillon said. “These people are how we get our food, which is why they need to be recognized.” Mangoni said farmworker struggles are a large issue, which will not easily be disrupted or altered. “However, there are a lot of people that want to make a change,” he said. “You can be part of that.”
Follow Nikita on Instagram @nikitabankar