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Thursday, March 28, 2024
Volume 162 No. 28 WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
SERVING SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
Forum discusses resolutions By Jonathan Canas STAFF WRITER
Associated Students held an open forum in the Student Union for multiple resolutions to be discussed on Wednesday afternoon. Two of the resolutions covered boycotting certain companies that financially support SJSU and Israel, and call for a total ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Over 40 students came to the meeting, with a great number of them waiting to hear and speak for the boycott resolution. The forum was led by Vice President Chair Ariana Lacson, a biomedical engineering junior. She is also a member of Students for Quality Education (SQE). Students for Quality Education is an organization that aims to fight for free and affordable education, according to its Instagram biography. “We did see the social media posts from SQE, so we were expecting a much higher turnout than our usual board meetings today,” Lacson said. This was the first hearing that SQE presented to Associated Students following the San Jośe divestment protest, according to its Instagram. The divestment protest was held on Feb. 29, in which the SJSU chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) led a march and sent a letter to the Spartan Daily calling for SJSU to “sever ties with war machines and defense companies.” Divestment is the act of selling off a business or businesses, or of no longer investing money in something according to Cambridge Dictionary. Lacson said they will not be voting on these resolutions
yet and that this was just a discussion. “If there’s any amendments, comments or questions, people will be able to ask and we’ll be able to add our suggested amendments,” Lacson said. “We want as much student input as possible.” Ariana Shah, the Associated Students director of intercultural affairs, read out multiple pages of the resolutions regarding Israel and Palestine. Shah said Associated Students purchased products from companies and organizations that directly correlate with human rights violations in Palestine. “Whereas in 2015 the Associated Students of San José State was the first Cal State to pass a divestment resolution targeting the Tower Foundation investment in companies that contribute to the human rights violations of Palestinians,” Shah said. Lacson said Dell was highlighted as one of the companies that SJSU has associated itself with in the past. The company HP Inc. split from the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company and is another company that is associated with Israel, according to Nasdaq. “However as a legal successor of the Hewlett Packard company, HP Inc. has an obligation to remedy the harms created by its predecessor,” Shah said. HP Inc. has held a contract with Israel’s Ministry of Defense under which it has developed and maintained computer hardware, according to the BDS movement. “A lot of companies are entangled with what's going on,
JONATHAN CANAS | SPARTAN DAILY
Audience listens to a speaker wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf at the Student Union on Wednesday.
but I think the right thing to do is at least tackle companies that deliberately participate in violations,” Lacson said. “HP and Dell are the biggest ones.” Ass o c i ate d Stu d e nt s Director of Legislative Affairs Estevan Guzman, a political science sophomore, said he is continuously reviewing the changing situation that many of the companies are in regarding the boycott resolution. Guzman said this resolution could potentially be upheld via the budget policy. “These companies change all the time,” Guzman said. “They acquire companies, they merge, they fail and we need a way to constantly keep them accountable.” Lacson said divesting from HP at the very least can be a basis to boycott other items that the school sells. Shah said SJSU has a long standing tradition of inclusion
and diversity with it being federally recognized as being a minority-serving campus. “The CSSA (California Charter School Association) and Associated Students of SJSU call for an immediate ceasefire, and the safe return of all hostages and unduly imprisoned civilians from Palestine and Israel,” Shah said. The CSSA advances the charter school movement through state and local advocacy according to its website. Shah said the CSSA and Associated Students of SJSU call for all 23 campuses to provide protection and support to students who participate in the organizing of humanitarian rights through emotional support resources and accommodations. Lacson said this was the first meeting of the ceasefire resolution adopted by the Cal States. The Israel-Hamas conflict was
only two of the resolutions being discussed. Political science sophomore and Director of Internal Affairs Katelyn Gambarin said she was expecting a big turnout today due to the reach SQE and Students for Justice in Palestine have. Gambarin said usually they get three to five people who attend these meetings and they don't get a whole lot of visitors other than their advisors. “I think it's really important to hear the student voice since we only have 13 people on the board of directors and we have a 36,000 student population,” Gambarin said. “It’s really important for us to better represent and understand the needs and concerns of our students.” Follow the Spartan Daily on Instagram @SpartanDaily
Panel navigates women in leadership By Ethan Li STAFF WRITER
Student Involvement and the Gender Equity Center hosted a panel discussion exploring how women navigate leadership positions this Wednesday at the Student Union. Jessica Short, program coordinator for the Gender Equity Center, said this event was part of a whole month of programming for Women’s History Month. Short said that the Gender Equity Center wanted to create room for a discussion on women in leadership because there are unique challenges that women face in leadership roles. “I wanted to make sure it was an event that considered intersectionality within that experience,” Short said. “So I'm having folks from a variety of different places, backgrounds and even a variety of different fields.” She said one participant was working in nonprofit organizations, one in sports journalism, one in higher education and another pursuing her Ph.D.
Short said these variety of experiences added to the conversation and allowed women from different backgrounds to uplift each other. Anaiya Williamson, industrial engineering junior and programming coordinator intern for the Gender Equity Center, said she enjoyed moderating the discussion. Williamson said she provided a forum for leaders at the event to talk about their paths to success and experiences being women in those roles. She said while she already knew some of the speakers, she learned new things about them that she had never heard before Alexis Graesser, leadership development coordinator for Student Involvement, said she helps make these events possible. “We tried to reach out to different identity-based centers and campus partners that we rely on to have a greater reach to students and also bring in different areas of expertise,” Graesser said. Graesser said after thinking
about Women's History Month, it seemed like a natural partnership between Student Involvement and the Gender Equity Center. She said this space empowered women and allowed them to ask questions towards people who are in leadership roles — roles to which many students aspire. l“Students were able to see themselves in the panelists today which I think is really cool,” Graesser said. Short said the Women in Leadership panel took place towards the end of Women’s History Month. She said the whole month had great events that aimed to liberate and teach people about women’s rights and equity, which included an open mic night and poetry workshop. Short said the Lunch & Learn on reproductive justice and racial justice was impactful. “(This event) really explored the intersections between reproductive rights and how that ties into racial justice and the experiences of people of color and people of lower socio-economic status,”
ETHAN LI | SPARTAN DAILY
Two panel members (left) and a moderator with Student Involvement and the Gender Equity Center discuss how women navigate leadership in the Student Union.
Short said. She said one misconception people have around Women’s History Month is that it is solely about one thing. Short said the history of women is central to Women’s History Month, however, many other things that also impact the community of women are circulated during this month. “(Women’s History Month
is) also about educating people on things like the patriarchy and reproductive justice and that includes people who identify as any gender, any background and experience,” Short said. Short said she started her job just last July. She said her help was much needed covering for the previous program coordinator who had to cover both the Pride
and Gender Equity Centers. “We just want more people to come through,” Williamson said. “There's a growing community and people should stop by. It's welcoming and for everyone, so a really great space to come hang out.” Follow the Spartan Daily on Instagram @SpartanDaily