Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020
Volume 155 No. 20 WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
A&E
Sports
Follow @SpartanDaily for live updates
Pop-up birria taco shop offers authentic Mexican taste
SJSU football team hopes fans stream its games
Page 2
Page 4
Pinching pennies COVID-19 is anticipated to create a $92.7 million deficit in the 2020-21 SJSU budget -$3.4 million -$5 million Unforeseen costs or deferred costs
Online teaching costs
-$11.1 million
-$10 million Spring refunds: housing, meal plans and parking
Enrollment changes net
-$2.4 million Campus physical safety measures
-$10 million Unfulfilled new operating support
-$30 million -$20.8 million
2020-21 revenue losses ($27M in housing, $3M in athletics)
State support reduction
SOURCE: SJSU ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE DIVISION; INFOGRAPHIC BY CHELSEA NGUYEN FLEIGE, VECTORS FROM FREEPIK.COM
University handles budget deficit Pandemic causes decrease in housing revenue and international student enrollment By Shiri Marwaha STAFF WRITER
Several San Jose State students and administrators voiced their concerns regarding the university’s $92.7 million budget deficit for the 2020-21 fiscal year, which involves various cuts to campus services while tuition fees remain unchanged. Political science senior Helena Almazar, spoke on a low enrollment issue and said she knows several people who are choosing not to enroll in college during the coronavirus pandemic. “There are definitely areas that [the university] could downsize, such as the continuous building and renovations that [administrators] make, [versus] to help us with our tuition,” Almazar said. She said SJSU students shouldn’t be forced to pay full-priced fees for buildings that are not fully operating during the Fall semester, like the Student Union and the Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center. “By the time [the university] gouges us out of all of our money, [students] won’t even have money to have a car to put in their fancy new parking lots that [administrators] keep building,” Almazar said. The more than $92 million budget deficit includes changes in the enrollment net, Spring refunds like housing, meals and parking, as well as a $3 million athletics revenue loss. Charlie Faas, vice president for administration and finance, and Kenneth Mashinchi, senior director of media relations, both discussed the effects of the pandemic on the university’s budget in a Sept. 23 SJSU Newsroom video post.
“Let’s see how we can get out of this deficit,” Faas said. He said in the video this is the largest and most serious budget deficit the university has ever faced. The financial shortfall is partially because of tuition loss from international students and out-ofstate students in Fall 2020. Faas said the budget reductions are tied to the COVID-19-related expenses, which add “huge deficits” to the university revenue streams. He said fewer students living in the dorms accounts for nearly half of the university’s financial losses. The other half of the deficit comes from parking, dining, athletics and canceled events. Fass said, moving ahead, the university has to make changes and compromises. He said in the Sept. 23 Newsroom post, that even though financial shortfalls are expected over the next three years, SJSU will continue to work toward achieving the goals stated in the Transformation 2030 strategic plan, which entails the university’s goals to educate, engage and renew the infrastructure of buildings on campus. “A lot of students that I know have taken gap years because being taught online isn’t worth the money to them,” Almazar said. “And I agree.” About 80% of the university’s $26 million budget is for labor-related costs, which accounts for salary and benefit expenses for faculty members, staff and student employees. This percentage will remain relatively fixed and flat throughout the 2020-21 school year, according to the CSU Operating Budget Updates website.
By the time [the university] gouges us out of all of our money, [students] won’t even have money to have a car to put in their fancy new parking lots that [administrators] keep building. Helena Almazar political science senior
including the Chancellor’s Office and are considering a furlough program for the next fiscal year. White said he expects there to be some layoffs during the 2021-22 school year in a Sept. 7 article in The Poly Post, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona’s student newspaper. White assigned each CSU campus president the responsibility of implementing local campus layoff plans, which would be determined by the campus. He said these plans should be consistent with applicable collective bargaining agreements with the California Faculty Association union. White taking into account input from all 23 CSU campus presidents, system administrators and other stakeholders before making his decision in July. During a remote town hall meeting on Aug. 19, White said that the CSU system began building a budget reserve after the 2008 financial crisis to combat situations CSU system budget overview In July, California State University like this, according to a Sept. 7 article in Chancellor Timothy P. White wrote to The Poly Post. White said these reserves helped the CSU faculty members and staff over email that the financial challenges were caused CSU system to minimize the economic effects of the pandemic, but layoffs and by the COVID-19 pandemic. He added how the pandemics’ effects pay cuts are anticipated and are, “not just a would be felt by the CSU system for at least problem for this Fall.” He emphasized this is at least a three-year the next three years, according to a July 20 letter from the chancellor of the California issue and added that the CSU campuses State University, San Marcos News Center. have gone into the first year reasonably White said the CSU system is planning well-prepared in terms of finances. In a July 20 letter from the chancellor to reduce expenses by slowing down systemwide hiring. He also said they addressing CSU faculty members will reduce travel for all campus activity, and staff, White put forth a multi-year
IN BRIEF San Jose State faces its largest budget deficit because of a decline in on-campus student housing. The university plans to use reserves it set aside during the 2008 recession. California State University Chancellor Timothy P. White said employee layoffs and pay cuts aren’t just a problem for Fall 2020. plan that was drawn out to mitigate budget shortfalls.
SJSU budget overview Senior Director of Media Relations Mashinchi said over email that each campus has its own separate budget reserves to manage its individual expenses. “SJSU will utilize a significant portion [60%] of its reserves, currently $161 million from the general fund and enterprise reserves, which amount to less than five months of funding to support all university operations,” he said. Faas said in the newsroom video that because this is going to be a multi-year plan, the remaining reserves will be spent on university expenses over the next two years. The reserved funds enable the university to hire and train new faculty members, improve the campus and provide additional student advising services Mashinchi said. “By continuing to do these things, we are keeping the student experience as consistent as possible during these trying times,” Mashinchi said.
Follow Shiri on Twitter @Marwaha5Shiri
2
sjsunews.com/spartan_daily
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 7, 2020
Birria tacos bring authentic flavors By Jovanna Olivares STAFF WRITER
The social media craze for quesabirria tacos is completely justified as its mouthwatering spices and juicy meat had my taste buds craving for more after the first bite. Third Street Birria, located at Third and Santa Clara streets, is a local Mexican food pop-up shop that opens every Sunday at noon and runs until it sells out of food. The pop-up shop is located inside Mexico Bakery, which offers a traditional dessert menu ranging from pan dulce, sweet Mexican bread, to its popular tortas de asada. However, Sundays are reserved for the pop-up birria vendor. The quesabirria was adapted by combining a regular quesadilla and birria tacos. It is served with consomé on the side for one to dip the quesabirria. Birria is a traditional goat or lamb stew, but the dish varies between Mexican states. Third Street Birria’s tacos are made Michoacán style, a western state which uses beef rather than goat. The dish is time consuming and labor intensive to make and worth the $4 per taco for the savory roller coaster ride in each bite. Depending on the quantity of the meat it can take several hours to prepare. The goal is for the meat to boil in the various spices and become tender enough to fall right off the bone. This recipe takes patience and love to produce a flavorful dish to enjoy. Birria originates from the state of Jalisco and the meat is commonly served with consomé, a rich, thickened broth made from meat stock and dried roasted peppers and
topped with onion and cilantro. The consomé is sold separately, but is highly recommended to purchase in order to fully enjoy the quesataco experience. My housemates and I were excited to try a new location of birria cuisine on Sunday afternoon. We joked in the short line about how the dish would be perfect “para la cruda,” meaning “for the hangover,” in Spanish. Sundays are known as recovery days in many Latinx cultures and birria is perfect for this because of its strong flavors and rich broth. There were two people ahead of us but the line kept growing behind us as we waited for our orders to be taken. The pop-up only takes cash or Venmo payments. With every purchase, the “cha-ching” of the Venmo notification briefly interrupted Los Tigres del Norte music as I heard the mouthwatering sizzle of the grill as the gooey cheese from the quesabirria dripped on the sides of each red tortilla. Even though the bakery was small, it felt spacious and well sanitized. The strong savory smell of birria and the ambiance of the traditional Mexican music blasting in the shop took me back to childhood Mexican parties as I was served a plate of birria with a side of beans, rice and nopales. When I got my order, it was difficult to hold myself back from immediately devouring the aromatic quesabirria, but I patiently waited to get home to relish its rich flavors. According to an article published by Vallarta Eats, a food tour website for Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, birria’s gastronomic definition is “exquisite savory dish, full of culture and tradition.”
JOVANNA OLIVARES | SPARTAN DAILY
Quesabirria de res is a crunchy beef taco with melted cheese paired with a side of hearty dipping broth.
food review Cuisine: Mexican
Third Street Birria Rating:
Location: 87 East Santa Clara St. Price: $$
The taste of the quesabirria on its own is amazing but I added their green spicy salsa and finely chopped onions and cilantro, creating a perfect balance between fresh ingredients and the hot meat and cheese. The first dip into the consomé broth was both a visual and flavorful treat. I added lime juice which made the broth more tangy. Each bite was savory and
CLASSIFIEDS CROSSWORD PUZZLE
the broth perfectly soaked the tortilla, giving it a deeper red tint that slowly marinated with the cheese upon every dip. You can tell a lot about a Mexican business based on its aguas frescas, or traditional refreshments because there is nothing worse than grainy horchata. If not filtered properly, the drink becomes granulated and chalky.
SUDOKU PUZZLE Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.
However, Third Street’s horchata was creamy and milky and it had me sipping through a sweet cinnamon sensation. Third Street Birria separates itself from other similar style food businesses as its crispy tortilla’s hold together perfectly seasoned shreds of meat glued together by gooey cheese. The crunchy golden tortilla is crispy enough to make it difficult for your taco to become soggy when dipped into the flavorful consomé. Even after finishing my quesatacos, I ate the consomé as a soup. Third Street Birrias’ authenticity shined through with its remarkable Michoacán take on quesabirria tacos. This quickly became a new favorite food spot of mine and I would love to see it be established into a permanent business with an expanded menu. Follow Jovanna on Twitter @joo_zuniga
JOKIN’ AROUND What did the calculator say to the math student?
You can count on me.
SOLUTIONS
ACROSS 1. “All _____ on deck!” 6. Inflexible 11. Disney mermaid 12. Causing erosion 15. A light noise 16. Emits 17. Beer 18. Teach 20. Startled cry 21. Moist 23. Achy 24. Terminates 25. Food thickener 26. Length of yarn 27. Destiny 28. Depend 29. Conceit 30. Fathered 31. Replaced 34. Destined 36. 3 in Roman numerals 37. Whacks 41. Eager 42. Russian emperor 43. Leer at 44. Small songbird 45. Gladly (archaic)
46. Jetty 47. Be unwell 48. Flatbread 51. Children’s game 52. Expressive of contempt 54. Ventilate 56. Grazing land 57. Hackneyed 58. Nymph chaser 59. Ceased DOWN 1. Cargo transport 2. Armory 3. Louse-to-be 4. Expunge 5. Sleigh 6. Statement 7. Angry 8. Departed 9. Actress Lupino 10. The easing of tensions 13. Required 14. Sounds of disapproval 15. Radiolocation 16. Conserving 19. Habitual practice 22. Superman’s home planet
24. Pendant earring 26. Pay attention to 27. Cry of disgust 30. Blend 32. Regulation (abbrev.) 33. A keyboard instrument 34. Fine wheat meal 35. Eternal 38. Incite 39. Ruffled 40. Twilled fabric 42. Leather maker 44. Stinging insect 45. Sprite 48. Very dry, as wine 49. Provisions 50. Composer Jerome ____ 53. Estimated time of arrival 55. To discard
10/06/2020
PLACE YOUR AD HERE Place your Classified Ads Online at Spartandaily. CampusAve.com
Contact us at 408.924.3240 or email us at
SpartanDailyAdvertising @gmail.com
Visit our office at DBH 213 Office Hours: 1:30 - 4:15 P.M.
EDITORIAL
sjsunews.com/spartan_daily
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 7, 2020
3
SJSU Athletics risks student safety University sends players to Humboldt County to bypass Santa Clara County health guidelines The San Jose State athletics department has put the health and safety of the university’s football program and residents of several counties at risk by moving players and staff to Humboldt State to practice for the upcoming season. In a Sept. 30 news release, SJSU Athletics announced the plan to move 135 players, coaches and support staff to Humboldt State. The team will remain at HSU until Santa Clara County Public Health’s guidelines align with the team’s need to practice for the new eight-game season announced by the Mountain West Conference. This means SJSU Athletics decided to prioritize making money by participating in this upcoming football season over the well-being of the community and the HSU residents. However, Lawrence Fan, associate athletics director for football communications and special projects, and offensive tackle Jack Snyder revealed in an interview with the Spartan Daily that the football team would be staying at HSU for only one week of practices. This contradicts the original three-week stay in Arcata which SJSU Athletics suggested in the Sept. 30 news release. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, travel increases your chances of contracting and spreading COVID-19. Head coach Brent Brennan also revealed in a news conference Tuesday that 141 individuals, not 135 as previously stated, were transported to HSU. The primary goal of transporting 141 people more than 300 miles? To avoid budget cuts by playing a football season at all costs, even at the
expense of the health and safety of student-athletes. SJSU is currently looking at a $92.7 million budget deficit, with athletics making up $3 million of the deficit according to the August 2020 update on the CSU Operating Budgets webpage. Yet, the athletics department still spends its budget on this move to Humboldt. “Based on current projections relative to length of stay at Humboldt State University, SJSU estimates expenses – including meals, housing, use of their facilities, and round trip bus fare – will fall between $100,000-$150,000,” said Kenneth Mashinchi, senior director of media relations in an email. “All costs for temporarily relocating to Humboldt State University will be paid for through the SJSU Athletics’ budget, similar to all football expenditures.” If someone asked the coaches and players why the team is going to Humboldt, they would most likely say it’s to prepare for the upcoming season. This is because the athletics department heavily relies on revenue from the football program. The money the team makes through games and donations is used on needless things like the CEFCU Stadium scoreboard, which cost the department roughly $1 million, according to a 2011 article from the Silicon Valley Business Journal. SJSU football made over $32 million in revenue between 2018 and 2019 according to an NCAA finance report. The SJSU athletics department is desperate to garner income by competing in the Mountain West Conference this season because it has such high costs to cover, like
THOMAS LAL | THE LUMBERJACK
Top: SJSU football players head to the Humboldt State dorms on Oct. 2 with their belongings in hand. Bottom: SJSU football players unload their luggage from the buses after arriving on campus in Arcata on Oct. 2.
the CEFCU Stadium renovations which are projected to cost $40 million. Nonetheless, by moving a large number of people to a different county in order to conduct player-contact practices, SJSU Athletics is saying that money is worth more than the well-being of its players, coaches, staff and the HSU community. Santa Clara County alone has had a total of 21,000 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to the County’s public health website. Meanwhile, Humboldt County reported 524 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, according to its public health website. These numbers are different largely because of the contrasting population densities in each county. However, two football players tested positive for COVID-19 as asymptomatic cases in more than two months of testing, according to an SJSU Athletics
news release from Sept. 30. With this in mind, transporting that many staff members, coaches and student-athletes puts both of these counties at a higher risk for new COVID-19 cases. To ensure the safety of everyone involved in the move, the SJSU athletics department explained it would test the players, coaches and staff once a week at HSU according to a Sept. 30 news release. Yet, this promise by SJSU Athletics actually fails to fulfill the Mountain West COVID-19 testing guidelines. In a Sept. 25 news release, the Mountain West Conference stated it requires all football players, coaches, trainers and other staff that are on the field to be tested three times per week. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s FAQ page, someone can still test negative in the early stages of infection
and later test positive in which they will have unknowingly infected individuals they come into contact with during that entire week between tests. Similar to Mountain West Conference’s protocol, SJSU Athletics would have to test members of the football program every day in order to ensure the safety of everyone transported and the community at HSU. It is already becoming apparent in the NFL that even with constant testing and a COVID-19 injured reserve list, players are still being infected because their safety is not deemed as important as the profits made from the games. According to an Oct. 3 Associated Press article, a total of 20 coronavirus infections have broken out among several NFL teams. The Tennessee Titans reported 18 COVID-19 cases within the team, but instead of the league canceling the Titans’ Sunday game against the
Pittsburgh Steelers, they just rescheduled it. The New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs each reported one confirmed COVID-19 case on Saturday including Patriots quarterback Cam Newton. However, both teams still played their scheduled game against each other Sunday. The Mountain West Conference and the SJSU athletics department need to take the health of its players seriously because the infection rates of traveling NFL teams serve as an example for the future of collegiate players and teams in the conference. SJSU Athletics is only increasing COVID-19 exposure risk to both San Jose and Humboldt communities by moving the entire football program to HSU just so it can avoid Santa Clara County’s COVID-19 public health guidelines and make a quick buck. Follow The Spartan Daily on Twitter @SpartanDaily
4
sjsunews.com/spartan_daily
SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 7, 2020
SJSU football hopes fans stream games By Jovanna Olivares STAFF WRITER
The San Jose State football team will be facing a nontraditional season amid the coronavirus pandemic. There will be no fans allowed in the CEFCU Stadium stands and this upcoming collegiate football season will be eight games rather than 12 according to a Sept. 24 news release from the Mountain West Conference. Despite the Santa Clara County Public Health Department not allowing the SJSU football team to play, the Spartans’ first game is scheduled for Oct. 24 against the Air Force Falcons at the CEFCU Stadium with limited in-person attendance according to the Mountain West Conference football schedule. With such unusual circumstances because of the pandemic, SJSU fans are wondering how they can watch upcoming games. Javan Hedlund, associate commissioner and external communications strategy for Mountain West, said over the phone that Mountain West signed a six-year TV deal with CBS and Fox in January. He said SJSU football games will be broadcasted through those networks if the Santa Clara County Health Department approves the team to play. In an Oct. 5 Zoom news conference at Humboldt State, SJSU football head coach Brent Brennan discussed people’s excitement to watch the Spartans play. “I talk to parents, players, fans, alums, faculty, anyone I bump into. The first question is ‘Will I get to come to the games?’ ” Brennan said. SJSU hopes to provide a similar experience for regular game attendees and
ILLUSTRATION BY HANZ PACHECO
If you already went to the games in-person before COVID, there was already low attendance. I’d rather see [SJSU] invest and put all those economical resources to something more useful like the health center or student homelessness. Moises Caratachea graphic design junior
first-year students wanting to experience a Saturday night college football game. “I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to get a lot of them streamed because we have a lot of people that are excited about watching Spartan football,” Brennan said. Safety Tre Webb said in
the news conference that the team appreciates HSU for opening its campus to them in preparation for the upcoming season. He expressed how the change of venue has been helpful for the team to bond and has further motivated them to start the season.
SPORTS EDITOR KATHRYN HOEDT
JOEL CEJA MENDOZA ERIN COONEY KYLE JOHNSON SHAMSIA MIRWAIS HYEONJEONG PARK ARWINDER SINGH BHULLAR MIA WICKS NATALIE ACOSTA
PHOTO EDITOR BLUE NGUYEN SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR ALYSON CHUYANG
ABOUT
COPY EDITORS HAILEY FARGO JAMIE BENNETT DESTINEE VARGAS
The Spartan Daily serves as
San Jose State’s top news source and was named the best student newspaper in the state. New issues are published Tuesday through Thursday during the academic year with the website updated daily. The Spartan Daily is written and published by San Jose State students as an expression of their First Amendment rights. Reader feedback may be submitted as letters to the editor or online comments.
EDITORIAL STAFF EXECUTIVE EDITOR CHRISTIAN TRUJANO MANAGING EDITOR OLIVIA BOWMAN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER JESUS TELLITUD NEWS EDITOR ANDREA BRISEÑO ASST. NEWS EDITOR BRYANNA BARTLETT PRODUCTION EDITOR CHELSEA NGUYEN FLEIGE
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS GIA PHAM AHMAD ALIABIDI YANN LAPNET SANJUANITA GARZA GRAPHICS EDITORS NICK YBARRA BRIANA CONTE HANZ PACHECO RAQUEL GARCIA
STAFF WRITERS LAURA FIELDS SAMANTHA HERRERA RUTH NOEMI AGUILAR ESMERALDA BAUTISTA ISALIA GALLO OLIVIA GERBER SHIRI MARWAHA JOVANNA OLIVARES FELIX OLIVEROS ALEXANDRA SHEZIFI STEPHANIE LAM PRODUCTION CHIEF MIKE CORPOS NEWS ADVISER RICHARD CRAIG
ADVERTISING STAFF
A&E EDITOR ERICA LIZARRAGO
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR JESSICA CHAO
OPINION EDITOR CHRIS PADILLA
CREATIVE DIRECTOR JOHN BRICKER ADVERTISING REPS MELINA CAMPOS
The group is staying in HSU’s dorms while quarantining, Brennan said. “They’re wearing masks 100% of the time,” said Brennan in regards to COVID-19 precautions. “The moments when they’re not wearing masks, they’re getting chewed out by me or one of the other coaches or one of the other teammates.” In an Oct. 4 phone interview with Moises Caratachea, an SJSU graphic design junior, he said he felt that the high rates of COVID-19 cases in the Bay Area is sufficient enough reason to postpone the season like all the other SJSU sports have. “The school’s priority should be the players’ health and their communities,” Caratachea said. “The chances of getting sick and furthering the spread of
the virus is too significant to ignore.” Though the team is excited about the upcoming season, some SJSU students feel that the money spent on transporting, housing and renting space for the football team to practice at HSU was a waste. Caratachea said he personally will not watch Spartan football and does not expect other students to watch games either. “If you already went to the games in-person before COVID, there was already low attendance,” Caratachea said. “I’d rather see [SJSU] invest and put all those economical resources to something more useful like the health center or student homelessness.” Follow Jovanna on Twitter @joo_zuniga
Have a story idea? Contact us at spartandaily@gmail.com.
ADVERTISING ADVISER TIM HENDRICK BUSINESS MANAGER CINDY LUU
CONTACT US EDITORIAL – MAIN TELEPHONE: (408) 924-3281
EMAIL:
spartandaily@gmail.com SENIOR STAFF WRITERS JONATHAN AUSTIN JOCLYN AGUIRRE ANDREW GLENN
“We’re so excited for this upcoming season that it doesn’t matter where we play, we’re gonna get after it no matter what,” Webb said. However, Humboldt community members and public health officials expressed concern because of SJSU’s football team’s sudden arrival. Lawrence Fan, SJSU associate athletics director for football communications and special projects, said that according to Ben Thienes, SJSU assistant athletics director for football operations, about 141 people including players, athletic management, camera crew and equipment crew traveled to Humboldt. This runs contrary to the 135 people reported to have gone to Humboldt in the SJSU athletics department news release.
ADVERTISING – TELEPHONE:
(408) 924-3270
EMAIL:
spartandailyadvertising @gmail.com
CORRECTIONS POLICY The Spartan Daily corrects all significant errors that are brought to our attention. If you suspect we have made such an error, please send an email to spartandaily@gmail.com. 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.