NAMED BEST CAMPUS NEWSPAPER IN CALIFORNIA FOR 2022 BY THE CALIFORNIA COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION AND CALIFORNIA NEWS PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Volume 161 No. 04 WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
ALINA TA | SPARTAN DAILY
IRENE ADELINE MILANEZ | SPARTAN DAILY
ALINA TA | SPARTAN DAILY
ALINA TA | SPARTAN DAILY
ALINA TA | SPARTAN DAILY
ALINA TA | SPARTAN DAILY
Attendees gather to celebrate Silicon Valley Pride with a variety of floats and performances during a parade in downtown San Jose on Sunday morning.
San Jose community shows Pride By Irene Adeline Milanez
Pride, but I think every town, every county should have their NEWS EDITOR own separate pride to celebrate the individuals in their own community,” Vandon said. Concluding a week filled Samantha Quiñones, a with events, from a flag raising teaching assistant for students at City Hall to Queer Night at with learning disabilities, said the Movies, the largest pride she grew up in San Jose and has celebration in the South Bay been coming to Pride since she marched through Downtown was 15-years-old. San Jose on Sunday morning. Silicon Valley Pride celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and its allies in the last week of August and has held parades since 1977 according to its site. Businesses, organizations and associations passed through the intersection of Julian and Market Street and ended at the Pride festival in Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park. “I personally noticed it’s Catinni P. Vandon, a drag definitely gotten a lot bigger,” queen hostess at Splash, said Quiñones said. “There’s a lot they appreciate the San Jose more companies participating, community having a second a lot more communities month to celebrate Pride. participating. I’ve also seen a lot They said Splash is one of more indigenous communities, the largest of the three local a lot more diversity.” gay bars in the San Jose area While Vandon and Quiñones that hosts daily drag shows. are no strangers to SV Pride, “Of course we celebrate all others were attending pride for together in June during world the first time.
Genevie DeLeon, music technology freshman and San Jose State color guard member, said this was the first Pride she has performed in as an SJSU student. “I love it,” DeLeon said. “I’m pansexual, so being able to be out there and everyone being so supportive of my sexuality, it’s nice to see it being celebrated.”
community outreach, helps with policy reform and leads training for diversity topics. She also said it felt good to represent both the queer community and the police department, and that she was in uniform for the first San Jose-based Pride event she ever attended. “The first Pride I ever
policies that reinforced that,” Alvarez said. “I always see it as a representation of progress, and how we can all come together and celebrate something beautiful.” Izabelle Kokkat, Notre Dame High School junior and SV Pride volunteer, also said it’s good to remind people that Pride is not limited to June. “I feel like a lot of people, especially companies, kind of forget about Pride after June,” Kokkat said. Rogue Mermaid, dancer at Splash Video Dance Bar, said she loves staggering Pride throughout the year especially for artists and performers. Catinni P. Vandon “It keeps the energy going Drag Queen throughout this summer, went to here in San Jose was which I don’t think should be in uniform,” Alvarez said. quantified into just one month “So it feels good to be able to or one weekend,” she said. represent, you know, both sides of policing and being part of the community as well.” She said the relationship with police and the queer community has not been the most Follow Irene on X positive historically. (formerly Twitter) “There’s been a lot of @irenadelm discrimination and a lot of
Of course we celebrate all together in June during world Pride, but I think every town, every county should have their own separate pride to celebrate the individuals in their own community.
Melia Means, forensic science freshman and SJSU color guard member, said this was also her first SV Pride parade she has participated in. The parade hosted various companies and organizations, including the San Jose Police Department (SJPD). Denise Alvarez, LGBTQ+ community liaison for the SJPD, said she coordinates