A&E
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Common talks social justice at Spartan Speaks event
Opinion
Sports
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Traveling to Hawaii in a global pandemic supports neocolonialism
Page 5
Editorial
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The CSU Board of Trustees, Mary Papazian and Marie Tuite need to be held accountable for their actions
Beyond Football podcast uplifts student-athletes
Thursday, April 29, 2021
Volume 156 No. 37 SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
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ILLUSTRATION BY RYAN JOHNSON
Breaking through barriers Scientists struggle with COVID-19 misinformation Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a Aug. 25, 2020 WHO newsroom article. “We’re also battling the trolls and conspiracy theorists that push misinformation and undermine the outbreak response.” The largest driver behind this infodemic was former president emember those pre-pandemic days when everyone walked Donald Trump and the media under his administration, according to a around maskless, had physical contact with strangers without September 2020 study titled “Coronavirus misinformation: quantifying fear of contagion and the words “social distancing” had sources and themes in the COVID-19 ‘infodemic.’ ” no significance? “Trump mentions comprised 37.9% of Now that roughly 29% of Americans have the overall misinformation conversation, been fully vaccinated and vaccine eligibility well ahead of any other topics,” study’s has expanded to everyone 16 and older, researchers state. “Only 16.4% of the according to the Centers for Disease Control misinformation conversation was ‘fact and Prevention (CDC), familiar routines checking’ in nature, suggesting that the seem to be coming back. majority of COVID misinformation is But while the U.S. moves closer to conveyed by the media without question its return to normality, there are still or correction.” people who believe masks are useless According to various experts and sources, and COVID-19 vaccines do more harm the battle against misinformation is a than good. multifaceted and complex issue. Many could Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, argue this was one of the leading causes for World Health Organization (WHO) new cases and deaths over the year, which Director-General, explained that as the makes having to fight an ever-evolving virus pandemic unfolded, so did an “infodemic” that much harder for scientists. of misinformation. “It is just extraordinary what we’ve Eric Topol An “infodemic” is the rapid spreading been through in the past year,” said Scripps Research Translational Institute founder of misleading or false news and media, Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps and director according to WHO’s Infodemic webpage. MISINFORMATION | Page 2 “We’re not just battling the virus,” By Christian Trujano SENIOR STAFF WRITER
R
It is just extraordinary what we’ve been through in the past year. If you were to write a script about how to destroy the credibility of science, we just saw it. It couldn’t have been more of a comprehensive, systematic takedown, because it happened at every level.
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NEWS
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THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021
INFOGRAPHIC BY LINDSAY VILLAMOR; SOURCE: NOV. 12, 2020 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM ARTICLE; MARCH 9, 2021 PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY ARTICLE
MISINFORMATION Continued from page 1 Research Translational Institute in a Jan. 25 Chemical & Engineering News article. “If you were to write a script about how to destroy the credibility of science, we just saw it. It couldn’t have been more of a comprehensive, systematic takedown, because it happened at every level.” But it was this distrust in science that caused more than half a million U.S. deaths. So the question remains – why are people believing misinformation about the virus and how can the public trust scientists so the world can be better prepared against future global pandemics?
Politics and personal beliefs play a role Resa Kelly, a San Jose State chemical education professor, said while there are scientists and news outlets doing their best to relay accurate COVID-19 information, politics contributes to fostering echo chambers. According to the Oxford Dictionary, Echo chambers are closed environments where people’s beliefs are amplified or reinforced by communication and repetition inside a closed system. Kelly said these echo chambers play a huge role in limiting the information people are exposed to regarding COVID-19. According to a November 2020 Pew Research Center survey, 84% of Democrats said COVID-19 was a major threat to public health, compared to 43% of Republicans. Kelly said despite this politicization, scientists are having a hard time informing the public about the virus because it can require changing people’s pre-existing beliefs about COVID-19. “[People] are trying to take what they’ve learned, what’s in their background and they’re trying to apply it to figure out the problem,” Kelly said through Zoom. “But sometimes that background that we have, misdirects us and we don’t know it, because we trust it.” She said people accept information that feeds into their biases because it reinforces their beliefs. “I can’t just tell you you’re wrong because you’re going to say, ‘No I’m not,’ ” Kelly said. “You’re not compelled to change because you don’t maybe trust a person who’s telling you to change or you’re not convinced.” She said misinformation could confirm someone’s understanding of the vaccine and the virus, even if it’s not based on facts. Kelly also said people
choose who they want to listen to, adding that many people decided to listen to Trump and the misinformation he spread about COVID-19. For example, Trump said at a May 18, 2020 roundhouse table event at the White House he took the drug hydroxychloroquine to prevent COVID-19 infection. Hydroxychloroquine is an immunosuppressive drug used to treat lupus and is not a proven treatment against the virus, according to an April 29, 2020 research letter by JAMA Internal Medicine regarding COVID-19 therapies. Kelly said the idea of people viewing political figures like Trump as a trustful source is especially important when discussing the vaccine. Trump’s attempts to accelerate authorization of COVID-19 vaccines created distrust among the public who were already hesitant about the shots, according to the Jan. 25 Chemical & Engineering News article. He predominantly consulted sources who had opinions aligned with his instead of the scientific consensus, which led to more than 400,000 U.S. deaths by the end of his term, according to the same Jan. 25 article. Janet Stemwedel, chair of the SJSU department of philosophy, said there was uncertainty and debate about the severity of the pandemic even before COVID-19 “really hit hard” and forced everyone to shelter in place.
There’s this disconnect between the ideal science and the real science. Those of us that are in scientific areas [need to] make an effort to understand the motivations and the drivers of people that do not want to comply. Gustavo Valbuena UC Berkeley clinical associate professor
Stemwedel is an expert in responsible conduct of scientific research, ethical implications of science, communication between scientists and non-scientists and effective strategies for teaching science and ethics.
Changing information creates trust issues People’s lack of trust in COVID-19 research can be
traced to the nation’s responses to the pandemic, including how information was shared between scientists and the public, Stemwedel said. She said scientists should’ve taken more time at the start of the pandemic to slow down and really look at the data regarding safety precautions and how the virus spreads before issuing preemptive health measures. One example was at the start of the pandemic last March, when the CDC and WHO recommended people to social distance rather than wear masks. At the time, wearing masks wasn’t seen as an effective measure to prevent the virus. However months later, scientists said wearing masks were important as the virus mainly spreads through microscopic aerosols, according to the Chemical & Engineering News article. Stemwedel said people can become distrustful of science because of rapidly evolving circumstances and mixed messaging between political leaders and public health authorities. A June 2020 Pew study found one in four U.S. adults thought the pandemic was definitely or probably “planned by powerful people.” A Yahoo News and YouGov poll in May 2020 found 28% of U.S. adults believed Bill Gates wanted to use COVID-19 vaccines to implant microchips to track people. So where were scientists to disprove all of this misinformation? Both Kelly and Stemwedel agree that there’s always been a disconnect between the public and scientists because the average person will not do their own research and blindly believe statements on social media. Many researchers and experts noted the absence of timely and trustworthy guidelines from authorities and tried to fill the void themselves by communicating their findings directly to the public on social media, according to a Feb. 26 article by The Atlantic. There’s a “gap” between how academic research operates verus how the public understands that research, according to the article. The “psychology of coping” with the effects of the pandemic have warped the public’s understanding of research. Gustavo Valbuena, a UC Berkeley clinical associate professor, said part of the problem is not having enough people, such as science journalists, who can communicate complex scientific issues to the public. Valbuena said other causes for the lack of communication between scientists and the
public is that many experienced worsened depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses during the pandemic, causing frequent low energy and inability to investigate information and sift through misinformation.
When you’re graded and you’re told ‘you did that wrong’ you get feedback that tells you ‘oh maybe I need to change the way that I think.’ Nobody is giving people feedback about that with the virus. Resa Kelly SJSU chemical education professor
More feedback needed SJSU chemical education professor Resa Kelly said scientists can start by asking the public what their worries are regarding the virus and start building a sense of scientific literacy through simplified information. Valbuena also said scientists need to improve their methods of communicating information to the public, especially with simple language because science is messy and the scientific method is not linear. “There’s this disconnect between the ideal science and the real science,” Valbuena said. “Those of us that are in scientific areas [need to] make an effort to understand the motivations and the drivers of people that do not want to comply.” Kelly said there needs to be a unified approach in discovering what people don’t trust about COVID-19 and its vaccines and how they can be properly informed. Regarding the COVID-19 vaccines, SJSU department of philosophy chair Janet Stemwedel said there’s
always been a general history of vaccine mistrust, but the public needs to start looking at historical benefits of vaccines. “[Vaccines have] been hugely beneficial. We’ve essentially wiped out smallpox, which used to kill lots of people every year,” Stemwedel said. “There’s a lot of really significant improvements in the health of humanity on the planet that are because of vaccines.” She said people need to take a “little bit of individual risk” to stop the virus from spreading for themselves, their families and their communities. One analogy Kelly used to explain how communication should be between scientists and the public is akin to how teachers give feedback on homework. “When you’re graded and you’re told ‘you did that wrong’ you get feedback that tells you ‘oh maybe I need to change the way that I think,’ ” Kelly said. “Nobody is giving people feedback about that with the virus.” In regards to changing someone’s beliefs about COVID-19 information, she said there is a good chance they take it as a “political jab.” Valbuena said he aims to have non-judgemental conversations with people who have a distrust of COVID-19 science and hear out their feelings and discuss how they got their information. He said the conversation has to be conducted in a way that doesn’t attack or challenge the person, but rather understand how those people reached their specific conclusions. He said it’s about educating people and helping them ask more questions, especially for young minds. “That is the moment when we can help kids form real strong structures of how to think critically, how to question, how to come to conclusions and not take the first piece of information given to you,” Valbuena said.
Follow Christian on Twitter @ChristianTruja2
Crime Blotter Burglary April 24, 10:21 p.m. at Interdisciplinary Science Building Adult arrest
Unlawful possesion, paraphernalia April 23, 9:44 p.m. at North Garage Adult arrest
Annoying phone calls April 23, 1:11 p.m. at Simpkins Stadium Center Active investigation
Battery on a person April 22, 2:49 p.m. at Student Union Adult cited
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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3
Common inspires youth activism By Jacqueline Vela STAFF WRITER
Rapper, actor and activist Lonnie Rashid Lynn, better known by his stage name Common, encouraged students to look within themselves for change during an online webinar Tuesday. The event, hosted by SJSU’s Associated Students, was an inaugural event meaning it was the first of the “Spartan Talks” series, which the A.S. events team plans to host annually during the spring semester. Event coordinator and SJSU alumna Jade Bordenave oversees A.S. events and said her goal is to plan events that would matter most to students. “We didn’t want to pigeonhole ourselves into one specific type of person,” Bordenave said. “We wanted to have the versatility to choose anything.” When it came time to decide who would speak at the event, she said she was methodical with her decisions, and with Common having a multifaceted career, Bordenave felt he could unite people through his many endeavors. “We basically wanted to create some type of program that was special to AS,” Bordenave said during a Zoom interview. “We wanted to make something that was similar [to fire on the fountain] in the sense that it would end off the semester on a good note.” She also said A.S. hopes to bring people to campus who are relevant for the time, especially with everything that has happened in the last year including the large rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. The event was co-facilitated by Dr. William Armaline, associate professor and director of the SJSU Human Rights Program. Armaline expressed how fortunate he is to have had
IMAGE FROM INVISION/AP/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
Common at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles on Sept. 9, 2017.
opportunities to coordinate with high-profile people and said he does his best to prepare for these types of events. “[I] do my homework on the guest, so you’re treating them with the respect they deserve,” Armaline said during a Zoom interview. He handled portions of the webinar and asked Common questions about his social justice involvement, favorite music and upcoming projects. Common responded with insightful answers and even explained the work he’s been doing for people who are incarcerated. He talked about the Hope and Redemption Tour which started as small concerts at prisons and a community engagement campaign, but grew into an opportunity to create a bill for juvenile sentences. “This tour eventually became something where we invited political officials to come [to] see
I think it’s great to see someone come and speak to us who has that hope and who is doing stuff to better the society. It’s great to see that you can be inspired by someone and you can do what they do. Aleena Ma theatre arts freshmen
and so they could be proximate,” Common said. “That resulted in us working on a bill.” The bill SB-394 is aimed at helping kids who are in juvenile
detention centers. Under this bill, teenagers who are under the age of 18 in a juvenile detention center would have a second chance at getting a shorter sentence. Juvenile offenders would no longer be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison without the opportunity to have their case re-examined. He said the work has been a fulfilling journey and he hopes to continue it. Theater freshman Aleena Ma attended the event and expressed how shocked she was when she found out how active Common is in the community work as well as prison reform. “I am glad he is trying to change [the prison system]. ” Ma said during a zoom interview. “Kids do stupid stuff all the time, like why would you put them in prison for decades?” Common continued the conversation by sharing his passion for helping others.
“I want to be a part of liberating them [prisoners] mentally and spiritually,” Common said. Armaline also asked Common about his upcoming projects and he spilled some exclusive details about an upcoming movie project. “What we are working on right now is a score for a movie that I am a part of. It’s a movie called ‘Alice,’ ” Common said during the webinar. “It’s a beautiful movie, starring Keke Palmer and myself.” The artist expressed his excitement for what is to come and encouraged students that now is the time to be a part of the change for their future. After the event, Armaline discussed how he grew up listening to Common and wouldn’t forget debating their top five musical artists. “That’s what I’ll remember and appreciate,” Armaline said. “Getting to have a debate on the top five with, you know, an artist like that. That you listen to.” Ma said the event was inspiring and gave her hope. “I think it’s great to see someone come and speak to us who has that hope and who is doing stuff to better the society,” Ma said during a Zoom interview. “It’s great to see that you can be inspired by someone and you can do what they do.” As for the future of the series, she is hoping to see a female speaker to help her feel more empowered. She even suggested someone like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Follow Jacqueline on Twitter @Jacqueline_v20
ANALYSIS
New gaming genre gains popularity By Christopher Padilla SENIOR STAFF WRITER
With more than 30 games in the last five years and more on the way, there’s an undeniable charm to the roguelike video game genre allowing it to proliferate in popularity. The genre, which takes its name from the 1985 game “Rogue” has altered its characteristics during the last 36 years. Many gamers agree permanent death (or starting over entirely), randomly generated levels, random powerups and incremental progress are hallmarks of the modern roguelike genre, sometimes called “rogue-lites” to denote a difference from older forms of the genre. This type of gaming was a mainstay in indie-game development and influenced games such as “Spelunky” and “The Binding of Isaac” and has garnered the attention of Triple-A developers too. For example, it was added as an element in the Downloadable Content for the 2017 game “Prey” and more recently, Housemarque’s “Returnal” which releases on April 30. So what’s the appeal? Part of it is likely because of its somewhat ephemeral nature. Upon death, you tend to lose weapons, power-ups and progress. It sounds like it could be frustrating but it provides a lot of freedom to start fresh and perhaps do better. Even after players die, they can take what they’ve learned and use it to improve next time. Roguelikes are paced around small bursts of play, making the genre distinctively suitable for a
quick game or a marathon session, both equally satisfying. Jacob Moreno, SJSU Dungeons and Dragons club member and psychology junior, has more than 300 hours in just two Roguelike games, “Risk of Rain 2” and “Gunfire Reborn.” He said he enjoys how different each experience is. “I think the reason I have so many hours in them is because of the replayability, also . . . great mechanics,” Moreno said in a Discord interview. “Each run feels unique.” Paradoxically, another aspect that makes the genre so appealing is how rewarding long-term play is. Though death and starting over happens in the modern roguelike,
It’s the fact that I can see myself getting better or making progress. It’s the whole . . . appeal of roguelike to be honest, where every loss empowers your next attempt either through you learning new skills and knowledge or the system giving you power-ups. Minh Pham computer science senior
ILLUSTRATION BY YUE XIN
so does progress, even if only incrementally. Characters may drop their equipment and power-ups on a failed session, but there are game-altering upgrades that can affect future attempts. The “Risk of Rain” series is an example. After doing certain tasks or completing achievements, players can unlock weapons and items that could appear in future runs. In the award-winning game “Hades,” certain currencies are retained upon death and are used to upgrade characters before the next run. Also in a novel approach to game storytelling, every death unlocks new dialogues between characters or an opportunity to bribe them with certain items. Minh Pham, a computer science senior and Spartan Gaming club
member, confessed he’s not the best at the roguelike genre but can’t keep away from it. “It’s the fact that I can see myself getting better or making progress,” Pham said through Discord. “It’s the whole . . . appeal of roguelike to be honest, where every loss empowers your next attempt either through you learning new skills and knowledge or the system giving you power-ups.” Pham also said when playing a roguelike game, if his play is less than exceptional it isn’t as devastating to lose as it is with other genres. Though the appeal of roguelike is easy enough to understand, some may scratch their heads at its proliferation but perhaps the greatest strength of the genre is how flexible and easy it
is to combine with other types of games. Modern roguelikes can encompass so many genres: from card games to role-playing games to action games and shooters of all kinds. Most game genres can also be roguelikes, which is why there have been so many since the genre’s inception and why there will be so many more. Or maybe the genre’s true strength lies in the adage: “If at first you don’t succeed, die and die again.”
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4
OPINION
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COVID-19 tourism hurts native people Alan Baez COPY EDITOR
From the green hills of the Ka’au Crater on Oahu to the crystal sand beaches of Kauai, traveling to these destinations amid a pandemic is a direct act of neocolonialism. Neocolonialism was defined by Ghanian revolutionary Kwane Nkrumah as “an established super power nation having domestic and economic control over a smaller territory’s resources.” In his 1965 essay “Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of Imperialism” Nkrumah states, “in reality its economic system and thus its political policy is directed from outside.” From the dethroning of Queen Lili‘uokalani in 1893 to the imperial planting of U.S. naval bases, Hawaii has become a safe haven for white escapism. Meaning for many Americans, Hawaii is immediately recognized as a destination for vacationing instead of a rural island suffering from gentrification. Through this, the Hawaiian tourism industry disregards native inhabitants to appease paying visitors. The islands are home to many indigenous people, but countless cultures and lives are threatened by the parasite that is tourism. Only 10% of residents are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. U.S. officials annexed Hawaii in 1898 eventually leading to the territory becoming the 50th state, according to Facing History, a nonprofit that promotes education and historical knowledge. The annexation led to a boom in sugar production by U.S. companies. This market boom eventually turned Hawaii into the military base, factory and vacation destination it is today. The island’s seizure for U.S exploitation has had long-term effects that are seen today through the number of tourists Hawaii sees a year. Neocolonialism dehumanizes the land and prioritizes profits over people, putting the benefits of the colonizer first. Tourism is responsible for occupying a majority Hawaiian land with corporations privatizing entire beaches while the houseless population grows annually. According to Hawaii’s government facts and figures webpage, the current unhoused population is at 15,000 individuals. The tourism industry has taken advantage of the land. For example when Disney created the Aulani Disney Resort and Spa, which neighbors an indigenous community in Ko Olina, Oahu.
INFOGRAPHIC BY PAULA PIVA SOURCES: FACING HISTORY; U.S. CENSUS BUREAU; HAWAIIAN TOURIST AUTHORITY; THE BUSINESS JOURNALS
Aulani has raised property values by 400% and land taxes as well, which has pushed the indigenous community out, according to a Honolulu Civil Beat article. Visitors often defend their trip as a simple getaway vacation and claim their actions are safe because they publicly wear masks and social distance. People can follow as many wavering COVID-19 procedures as they like but non-natives traveling to Hawaii is a problem. Vacationing in Hawaii as a non-native reinforces illusions that the islands are an exotic destination strictly for vacationing. However, they’re real locations suffering from gentrification created by U.S companies. The Hawaii Tourism Authority found 90,776 people traveled to Hawaii for vacation on any given day in February 2021 alone. From April 23-25, Hawaii saw 68,658 visitors with 43,578
CLASSIFIEDS CROSSWORD PUZZLE
of those visitors coming for vacationing purposes, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 tracker. Even during a global pandemic, thousands of Americans sought to “escape” their troubled, quarantine lifestyle for a fresh landscape where they can infect people who don’t look like them. Native Hawaiians shouldn’t be exposed to disease because you want to get away for your twenty-something birthday or because you’re bored. You can wear your mask and socially distance all you want, but your physical presence perpetuates oppression and puts paying visitors first and residents second. It traps Hawaiian locals into the same harm you attempt to escape from, further pushing minority communities into a state of disadvantage. Follow Alan on Twitter @Thebrownsinatra
SUDOKU PUZZLE Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.
JOKIN’ AROUND How does a scientist freshen their breath?
With experimints.
SOLUTIONS SOLUTIONS
ACROSS
1. Small goat antelope 6. Annul 10. Airhead 14. Sheeplike 15. French for “Black” 16. Colored part of an eye 17. Confuse 18. Informed 19. Informer 20. Incapable of failure 22. Mists 23. Center of a storm 24. Rhinoceros 26. Flow out 30. Of a pelvic bone 32. Anagram of “Arson” 33. Large long-armed ape 37. Diva’s solo 38. Directly (archaic) 39. City in Peru 40. Napkin 42. A throat infection 43. Licoricelike flavor 44. No particular person 45. Seeking damages 47. South southeast 48. Tab
49. Causing irritation 56. Against 57. Reflected sound 58. A radioactive gaseous element 59. Small slender gull 60. Murres 61. Make improvements 62. Booty 63. Iron oxide 64. Davenports DOWN
1. Mongolian desert 2. Baking appliance 3. Jazz phrase 4. Dwarf buffalo 5. Very drunk (British slang) 6. Loosen, as laces 7. Newbie (slang) 8. Pickle flavoring 9. Issuing commands 10. Lack of ease 11. Heavenly hunter 12. Vernacular 13. Sounds of disapproval 21. Alkaline liquid
25. Witch 26. Historical periods 27. Not aft 28. Reasonable 29. Ineffectual 30. Angry 31. Alley 33. Chooses 34. Novice 35. So be it 36. Back of the neck 38. Feudal lord 41. Hotel 42. Smiled contemptuously 44. American Sign Language 45. Tendon 46. Extreme 47. Brown ermine 48. Flying mammals 50. Beige 51. Not that 52. Alike 53. Poems 54. A religious figure 55. Terminates
4/28/2021
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5
SCREENSHOT TAKEN FROM THE BEYOND FOOTBALL SHOW
Student podcast talks post-sports life By Christina Casillas STAFF WRITER
Two San Jose State students’ creativity and innovation led them to start a podcast to uplift student-athletes who are transitioning from college sports to the real world. The Beyond Football Show, a podcast that streams on YouTube and Spotify, gives coaches and community speakers a platform while hosting workshops that help give athletes resources from the field to post-football life. The show is an extension of the Beyond Football program, a student-athlete development program created in July 2017 to prepare SJSU football players for their future. Public relations sophomore Kate Le is a creative operations intern for the program and initially had the idea to start a podcast in January. “What I really, really like is kind of just getting to know these athletes and these coaches just because I’m not a college student-athlete,” Le said. “It’s kind of
It’s kind of just really cool to see the dedication that these athletes have and then also the dedication these coaches have for their own athletes. Kate Le public relations sophomore
just really cool to see the dedication that these athletes have and then also the dedication these coaches have for their own athletes.” Le co-hosts the Beyond Football Show with Hannah Hall, a communication studies junior. Hall is a medically retired women’s soccer player who said the show has a deep connection to her because she knows firsthand the importance of preparing for a career post-sports. “Being a medically retired athlete, I had to focus on life after sports a little sooner than others on my other teammates,” Hall said
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during a phone call. “So I think I’m able to share that aspect and that importance of the professional development.” Beyond Football Director Tobruk Blaine said the podcast was an innovative way to highlight the program’s mission. She hopes Hall and Le’s drive can inspire students to take initiative. “They came up with an idea and they didn’t have any reservations on bringing that idea to the person who makes the decisions,” Blaine said. “Being bold and courageous in their kind of approach to doing something that hadn’t been done before and didn’t exist, I think that is what’s inspiring about them.”
Le believes student-athlete development programs don’t exist at many universities and student-athletes are unprepared for post-college life. “There’s really no direction for [student-athletes without development programs] and I think that it’s super cool that we have this program to help these guys [at SJSU] out,” Le said. Hall said one of the most crucial aspects of the Beyond Football Show is showing student-athletes and their supporters they can succeed on and off the field with the support of the Beyond Football program. “It’s important to really talk about the message of Beyond Football and what they are trying to deliver for a football player,” Hall said. “It is so important for donors, supporters, coaches, parents to hear about the work that we are doing to help these players get to the next level of life.”
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.
– send a letter to the editor – Letters to the Editor may be placed in the letters to the editor box in the Spartan Daily office in Dwight Bentel Hall, Room 209 or emailed to spartandaily@gmail.com to the attention of the Spartan Daily Opinion Editor. Letters to the Editor must contain the author’s name, year and major. Letters become property of the Spartan Daily and may be edited for clarity, grammar, libel and length. Only letters of 300 words or less will be considered for publication. Published opinions and advertisements do not necessarily reflect the views of the Spartan Daily, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication or SJSU. The Spartan Daily is a public forum.
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EDITORIAL
sjsunews.com/spartan_daily
THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021
Time for Tuite to go S
an Jose State administrators and the California State University Board of Trustees should be ashamed of their mishandling of Scott Shaw’s decade-long sexual misconduct allegations and must terminate administrators who allowed it to happen. The university’s lack of action has made it painfully obvious it doesn’t care about its students. Shaw is the former sports medicine director who was employed from 2008 until his August 2020 resignation, according to an April 27 Spartan Daily article. He was still employed after SJSU investigated allegations of abuse involving Shaw in 2009 after swimming and diving athletes reported Shaw touched them inappropriately during physical therapy. The university’s initial investigation found “no wrongdoing,” according to an April 17, 2020 USA Today article. Current Athletic Director Marie Tuite enabled Shaw after becoming employed at SJSU in 2010 as athletics chief operations officer. While the investigation closed the same year, numerous allegations from 17 athletes about sexual misconduct should’ve raised concern. In a 2012 email to Tuite, Shaw agreed to no longer treat swimming and diving athletes unless in an emergency situation, according to a March 2 Spartan Daily article. The email suggests Tuite was aware of Shaw’s actions toward female athletes yet she did nothing to protect them. In December 2019, years after Tuite was promoted to athletic director, swimming and diving coach Sage Hopkins sent a 300-page dossier of allegations against Shaw to the university’s Title IX office, Mountain West Conference officials and NCAA officials. It wasn’t until Hopkins was forced to take action and speak out against the alleged ongoing sexual misconduct that the investigation was reopened and the CSU found Shaw responsible for at least five accounts so far. Tuite is supposed to serve and protect student-athletes but she endangered their well-being by allowing Shaw to remain in his position for years and continue his alleged sexual abuse. Tuite even went as far as to retaliate against employees including Hopkins who took action to protect student-athletes and speak out against Shaw. Tuite, top SJSU administrators and the CSU are facing not one, not two, but three separate retaliation lawsuits following the reinvestigation. Former SJSU deputy athletic director Steve O’Brien filed a suit against the university in March, alleging he was wrongfully terminated after he refused to engage in retaliation against Hopkins according to a March 3 San Francisco Chronicle article.
The reckoning shouldn’t end with Tuite. Papazian and the entire CSU board of trustees need to take responsibility for their missteps, lack of transparency and failure to protect students. Unsurprisingly, O’Brien was not the only member of the athletics department to come forward. Former softball coach Peter Turner also filed a lawsuit against the university, claiming his contract was not renewed in 2020 as retaliation for whistleblowing in Shaw’s case, according to an April 26 Daily Mail article. Hopkins has also filed suit against Tuite and the CSU board of trustees for attempting to damage his reputation in retaliation for his persistence in investigating Shaw, according to his lawsuit obtained by the Spartan Daily. According to the lawsuit, Tuite said it was unprofessional of Hopkins to report Shaw’s actions to the NCAA because it embarrassed her and the university. Tuite gave him an “adverse job performance/review” which was deemed retailatory by the CSU. Tuite demanded his complaints against her be dropped in exchange for continued employment around May 2020, according to the suit. These are just some of the numerous documented acts of retaliation Tuite has committed, according to the three lawsuits. This is not the first time Tuite has prioritized public image over the safety of students. When she was employed at the University of Washington as the senior associate athletic director, a female student-athlete informed Tuite she was sexually assaulted, according to a Feb. 12, 2008 article by The Seattle Times. Tuite told the athlete not to contact police and if the assault spread, “it would reflect poorly” on the university. The fact that things have spiralled so far without her removal is baffling. SJSU President Mary Papazian acknowledged Shaw’s misconduct and apologized for the breach of trust and stated, “The safety and well-being of our community are of paramount importance at SJSU,” in an April 15 campuswide email. If Papazian is serious about the well-being of students, then she must fire Tuite. Under Papazian’s leadership, countless athletes have been abused and their truths have been neglected. Sexual abuse is associated with negative mental health outcomes including PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance use disorders and suicidal behavior, according to a 2019 Journal of Behavioral Sciences study. A 2008 UNICEF analysis found 98% of abused athletes were harmed at the hands of teachers, coaches and other authority figures. Our student-athletes have suffered mentally and emotionally because of the trauma of their abuse that Papazian and Tuite could’ve stopped. But money talks, isn’t that correct, Papazian and Tuite? Our administrators know well that allegations of misconduct like Shaw’s can be incredibly damaging to the university’s reputation, enrollment and above all else – limit the money flowing into university coffers. Clearly, Papazian and her administration are more interested in silencing faculty and staff instead of protecting students. The reckoning shouldn’t end with Tuite. Papazian and the entire CSU board of trustees need to take responsibility for their missteps, lack of transparency and failure to protect students. For Tuite to be served three different retaliation lawsuits and still keep a position that oversees several administrators, coaches, employees and students is deplorable for the university and the CSU system as a whole. Drastic changes must be made immediately. Reparations are needed not just for Shaw’s victims, but also for the victims of Tuite’s retaliation and the wider CSU community that is watching this unfold without substantial action from the university to stop this from happening again. Follow the Spartan Daily on Twitter @SpartanDaily
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THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021
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