Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021
Volume 157 No. 18 SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
PHOTO COLLAGE BY NICK YBARRA | SPARTAN DAILY ARCHIVES
University disputes DOJ findings By Madilynne Medina & Christina Casillas NEWS EDITORS
San Jose State administrators don’t agree with certain aspects of the Department of Justice’s findings regarding Title IX investigations into former director of sports medicine Scott Shaw. SJSU inadequately responded to reports of sexual harassment by Shaw including assault, according to a Sept. 21 Justice Department report. The report also confirmed instances of retaliation against whistleblowers. Shaw was director of sports medicine from 2008 to his resignation in August 2020. Kenneth Mashinchi, senior director of strategic communications and media relations, said while the university agreed the 2009-10 investigation into Shaw and cases of sexual harassment and/or assault didn’t meet current Title IX standards, it’s crucial to keep the policies of the time in mind. “It is important to recognize that the federal law and
We do not agree that there was ‘widespread knowledge’ because there were no new reports of harassment against Mr. Shaw by student-athletes between the conclusion of the 2009-2010 investigation and the beginning of the external 2019-2020 investigation. Kenneth Mashinchi senior director of strategic communications and media relations
guidelines have evolved significantly in the past 12 years,” Mashinchi said in an email. He said the university disagreed with claims of “widespread knowledge” of student-athlete reports of harassment from Shaw, disputing the Justice Department’s claims of heightened risk of sexual harassment while Shaw still worked at the university. Sage Hopkins, swimming and diving head coach, alerted university officials of accusations from more than a dozen swimming and diving athletes in 2009, according to the department report. An initial investigation into assault claims against Shaw was opened in 2009 but former equal opportunity manager Arthur Dunklin found Shaw’s trigger-point therapy to be a “bona fide” muscle injury treatment, according to the SJSU For Your Information (FYI) webpage. President Mary Papazian reopened the investigation in 2020-21 according to the Justice Department’s investigation summary. ATHLETICS | Page 2
City council apologizes to San Jose Chinese community By Christopher Nguyen STAFF WRITER
San Jose City Councilmembers unanimously voted Tuesday to adopt a resolution to apologize to Chinese immigrants and their descendants for the city’s role in systemic racism and oppression, and the 1887 Chinatown destruction.
I felt all these years, anger, an annoying sense of injustice and something unresolved. Connie Young Yu Chinese Historical Society of America board emeritus, local historian
District 3 Councilmember Raul Peralez said he believes the resolution is a profound
moment for San Jose. District 3 includes San Jose Downtown, encompassing various neighborhoods, San Jose State, the SAP Center at West Santa Clara Street and Barack Obama Boulevard and the Mineta San Jose International Airport, according to its website. “This is not actually our first time acknowledging our mistakes to the Chinese community,” Peralez said. “There was a plaque there in the Fairmont Hotel to honor that but we have not done a formal resolution.” The Fairmont hotel is located on South Market Street, three blocks adjacent to San Jose State’s main campus. Peralez said it’ll be important to continue recalling this effort, both with Fairmont’s plaque and this resolution. Since the 1800s, San Jose has hosted five Chinatowns: First Market Street Chinatown (1866 -70), Vine Street Chinatown (1870-72), Second Market CHINATOWN | Page 2
SAUMYA MONGA | SPARTAN DAILY
The nonprofit’s executive director Tamsen Burke (left) and it’s finance committee student chair Hoon Cho listen as Charlie Faas, SJSU vice president for administration and finance, presents overall budget, fees and costs Monday.
Student Union, Inc. settles its funding By Saumya Monga STAFF WRITER
The San Jose State Student Union, Inc. Finance Committee decided on pulling $4 million from the university trust fund to pay for the nonprofit’s operations, passing with a 3-1-1 vote in its hybrid meeting Monday. The Student Union, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that oversees the Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center, Event Center, the Student Union and ATM facility, according to its website. David Alves, the nonprofit’s associate accounting director, said there will only be $9,801 left in the Student Union, Inc. checking account by Friday. The organization needs at least $4 million to maintain
its operating budget, Alves said. Charlie Faas, SJSU vice president for administration and finance, differed in opinion from the rest of the nonprofit’s finance committee, which is composed of student chair Hoon Cho, student chair Soumya Trivedi, student chair Aarushi Sharma and university Associate Vice President Sonja Daniels. Faas, who voted against taking out $4 million from the university trust fund to operate the nonprofit’s facilities, vied for dipping into Student Union, Inc. reserves instead. Faas said the board of directors should spend the nearly $8 million of reserves before tapping into SJSU’s trust-fund money. UNIVERSITY | Page 2