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Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021

Volume 157 No. 31 SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934

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‘You never know who can be a witch’

CHRISTINA CASILLAS | SPARTAN DAILY

Dance junior Andres Alas, who’s identified as a witch for two years, often uses his practice to support other people by interpreting their energy through Tarot card readings.

San Jose State community members explain diverse witchcraft practices

By Christina Casillas

early in her practice, she’s recently become more open about her beliefs because of witchcraft’s rise in media, especially on TikTok or “WitchTok.” While many may envision an older woman hunched over a WitchTok is a niche section of the video-sharing app that burbling, bubbling cauldron when they hear the term “witch,” revolves around magic and witchcraft. several San Jose State community members are breaking the The hashtag, #witchtok, alone has amassed more than 19.8 preconceived witch-shaped mould. billion views, according to an Oct. 14 USA Today article. English ‘20 alumna Gabrielle LaFrank said she’s felt “As more people started talking about witchcraft recently, compelled to witchcraft since she concocted potions in her and it’s become a lot more popular in media, I also felt more childhood home. open to talk about it and to explore and expand my own “It really began as what I thought were childhood games: practice,” LaFrank said. playing witch and mixing spells out of stuff in the kitchen,” Varieties of witchcraft LaFrank said in a phone call. “As I grew older . . . I began doing that in different ways and it became little rituals, little Gilmore said a prevalent witchcraft religion is Wicca, which ways of connecting with the natural world. It became more was founded in England by Gerald Gardner, that rose to than pretend.” popularity in the ’50s and arrived in the U.S. in the ’60s. LaFrank said as she’s been mindfully practicing for more “[Gardner] was a retired English guy who had been involved than five years, she considers herself an eclectic and hereditary in various esoteric, spiritual traditions and took inspiration witch whose practice is influenced by nature. from those and basically invented Wicca as a religion,” Gilmore Humanities lecturer Lee Gilmore described eclectic said. “And then he wrote a book about it. He popularized it. witchcraft as an individualized witchcraft practice. He pulled a little bit of Western esotericism, he pulled a little “When people say they’re an eclectic witch, that usually bit of Eastern spirituality and a little bit of his own, and a little means they use whatever works [for them],” said Gilmore, who bit of pre-Christian European religion.” specializes in the study of ritual and new religious movements, Western esotericism focuses on the relationship between in a Zoom call. “[They] take a little bit of this and a little bit nature, philosophy, mythology and mysticism, according to of that.” LaFrank said while she was private about being a witch WITCHES | Page 2 NEWS EDITOR

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NEWS

THURSDAY, OCT. 28, 2021

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WITCHES Continued from page 1 The Open Center, a spiritual learning and growth center in New York City. Glimore said Wicca was one of the many U.S. counterculture movements in the ’60s that became popular with the women’s rights movement. The women’s rights movement of the ’60s and ’70s was a push for freedom and equal opportunities for women, according to a Nov. 6, 2020 Encyclopedia Britannica article. “So then [Wicca] becomes a way for women to find a new religious movement, where they can see themselves and see the divine in themselves and the divine as themselves as women,” Gilmore said. “So that becomes another significant influence and sort of how Wicca has evolved here in the United States.” Gilmore said there are many different types of Wiccan witches including but not limited to those who practice Dianic and Faery Wicca. Dianic Wicca includes the worship of a goddess while Faery Wicca integrates Celtic mythology and works with Faeries and Faery deities. She also said there are many forms of witchcraft besides Wicca including the Asatru tradition and Hermeticism. The Asatru tradition includes the worship of multiple gods and Hermeticism includes spiritualism and the occult, according to an April 22, 2013 Encyclopedia Britannica article. The occult includes matters regarded as involving action or influence of supernatural or supernormal powers or some secret knowledge of them, according to Merriam-Webster.

“I think [Sabbaths] are really what kind of drive me, the seasonality of the craft and what I use,” LaFrank said. “So lately I’ve been using a lot of fall materials, things I find outside like branches, leaves, pine cones.” She said she also integrates candles, incense and the moon into her practice. LaFrank described “ancestral work” as remembering ancestors, which she said can be emotional but aids her with her spiritual energy. “I want to make sure I’m doing everything respectfully, not only just out of respect [for their] spirits but because I loved these people who passed on and it’s like a way of visiting,” LaFrank said. “So it means a lot. It’s very personal and it’s so beautiful.”

Spirituality versus religion Gilmore said the understanding of spirituality and religion varies from person to person but some witches refer to practices outside of normative religious institutions, including Christianity, as spirituality or spiritualism. “I think that when people are rejecting a religious institution and seeking something else, they are still looking for something that is an awful lot like what we call religion,” Gilmore said. “They just don’t want to use that term and that label because of negative associations that people sometimes have and negative experiences that people sometimes have within . . . the normative religious institutions.” LaFrank described her witchcraft form as spiritual but she said she knows many witches whose practices are also religious. “I think a lot of people believe that

One of the biggest goals that I feel like I practice in my witchcraft is really tuning into my sense of self and how I can be really aware of others around me and the energies that come with that. I think a lot of people don’t necessarily realize, or it’s just not talked about enough, that energy transfers from people. Andres Alas dance junior In her eclectic practice, LaFrank said she integrates Wiccan Sabbaths, ancestral work, elements and nature. Witch and Wiccan Sabbaths are seasonal celebrations that occur during summer and fall equinoxes and spring and winter solstices, according to the Harvard Pluralism Project website. The Pluralism Project includes a team of religious researchers who study interfaith connections and religious diversity, according to its website.

witchcraft cannot exist alongside other beliefs and that is totally not true,” LaFrank said. “Most of the witches that I know also very much believe in science . . . or are religious folks in pagan religions and monotheistic religions.” Pagans are those who follow polytheistic religions, which include multiple gods, and monotheists follow religions with only one God. Gilmore said however, some “syncretic” religions, which are a blend of different

religions together, have been called witchcraft to oppress groups of people. “The word witchcraft is used to mark a religious tradition as ‘other,’ right, as something that is marked as other that is forbidden,” Gilmore said. “It’s often a way of stigmatizing or stereotyping marginalized peoples.” She said the term syncretic is problematic because it diminishes the

Alas, who’s identified as a witch for two years, said one of his practices is calling upon his deceased grandmother, who practiced Santeria, and his sister, who died when he was 11 years old, for direction. “I feel like they offered me a lot of guidance when they were alive,” Alas said. “Even now I feel like I tend to look back on some of their teachings

The word witchcraft is used to mark a religious tradition as ‘other,’ right, as something that is marked as other that is forbidden. It’s often a way of stigmatizing or stereotyping marginalized peoples. Lee Gilmore humanities lecturer religions in which it’s used to describe. Vodou and Santeria, religions of African diaspora, are often considered syncretic religions of witchcraft, Gilmore said. Santeria began in Cuba from enslaved Africans in the 19th century and Vodou was created in Haiti by enslaved Africans in the 16th and 17th centuries, according to Encyclopedia Britannica articles from Aug. 13 and March 22. Some Santeria practitioners establish communication lines with Roman Catholic saints and deities known as Orishas, according to the March 22 Encyclopedia Britannica article. Gilmore said Vodou is a monotheistic practice that involves spirits, known as loa, who mediate between a creator God and Vodou followers. Vodou is usually known in Hollywood as “voodoo” and its folklore is often misconstrued in horror media including zombies in the TV show “The Walking Dead,” she said. “Sticking pins in voodoo dolls, these are all stereotypes about Vodou that have some loose connection to parts of the folklore and parts of tradition but have nothing to do with the actual practice of Vodou whatever,” Gilmore said. Despite the various forms of witchcraft, most witches’ practices are very personally based, she said. “There are so many [witchcraft forms] and it is so eclectic,” Gilmore said. “So much is really individualistic that I cannot give you a list of how many different varieties [of witchcraft] there are or attach a number to it.”

Practice Dance junior and witch Andres Alas said although he doesn’t practice Santeria himself, he became interested in witchcraft shortly after his grandmother died during his junior year of high school on Jan. 26, 2018.

or some of the things that they have just practiced with themselves or like in their personality.” He said one specific aspect of his grandmother’s personality he channels in his craft is supporting others. Alas said he shares his practice with others by interpreting their energies with Tarot card readings, which are read in a spread and consist of the minor arcana and the major arcana. The minor arcana are cards that deal with corporeal matters including business, love and conflict, while the major arcana relates to overarching life issues and spiritual themes, according to an April 7, 2009 Encyclopedia Britannica article. Alas said much of his practice includes energy work and manifestation. “One of the biggest goals that I feel like I practice in my witchcraft is really tuning into my sense of self and how I can be really aware of others around me and the energies that come with that,” he said. “I think a lot of people don’t necessarily realize, or it’s just not talked about enough, that energy transfers from people.” Alas said the biggest thing he’s learned is that the energy a person puts into the universe is the energy to which they’re returned. LaFrank said while the recent popularization of witchcraft can often portray practices and spells as instant gratification rather than spirituality and manipulating and lifting energy, witchcraft’s reach has grown. “I know witches who are doctors. I know witches who don’t talk about it. It’s really mind blowing when you realize how widespread [witchcraft] is,” LaFrank said. “You never know who can be a witch.” Follow Christina on Twitter @christina_casi

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SPORTS

THURSDAY, OCT. 28, 2021

Snitches get stitches in fantasy sport By Christine Stevens STAFF WRITER

Unless you’re a Harry Potter fan you’ve probably never heard of Quidditch. Luckily, the San Jose State Quidditch club team has been playing the fiction-based sport since 2014. In the Harry Potter books and movies by J.K. Rowling, Quidditch is a popular sport played by witches and wizards riding flying broomsticks. However, in-person Quidditch is a mixed-gender contact sport with a unique mix of elements from rugby, dodgeball and tag, according to the official U.S. Quidditch website. Quidditch is made up of seven athletes who play with “brooms” between their legs at all times and was invented as a coed sport in 2005. It’s played in over 39 countries around the world, according to the U.S. Quidditch official website. SJSU 2020 alumnus Daniel Fruzzetti, who is a three-year Quidditch club member and leader, said the team is continuing league play. “This year we actually decided to rejoin [U.S. Quidditch League (USQ)] and we’re going as a community team which allows us to have alumni come back and play for us,” Fruzzetti said. The USQ decides universal rules for Quidditch. Although the Quidditch club is associated with SJSU, Fruzzetti said it’s technically a community team which means anyone is allowed to join, even those who aren’t students. However, despite not having club member limitations, Quidditch club team president and English senior Tony Lopez said the team hasn’t competed because of low enrollment. Most quidditch teams have 21 players but Lopez said the SJSU club team only has seven. “We usually compete with

EVAN REINHARDT | SPARTAN DAILY

Club team president Tony Lopez throws the ball to member Atlas Eldritch during practice Thursday.

other schools,” he said. “There’s a tournament we usually always do at the beginning of the year with Cal Berkeley. And then from there we move on to regionals or we have scrimmages with other teams in the Bay Area.” Although the SJSU club team has the seven-player minimum that is required to play, the team doesn’t have substitute players during matches that can last around 45 minutes to an hour. Lopez said every member during a match is either a chaser, beater and a snitch, just like the Harry Potter version of Quidditch. A chaser is someone who scores goals, which are worth 10 points, with the quaffle by throwing or kicking the ball into the hoops, according to the U.S. Quidditch website. The quaffle is a volleyball that only the keepers and chasers are allowed to use as the keepers guard

the hoops from opposing chasers. There are also balls called bludgers and they are used by players called beaters to set back those trying to score in their goal. The snitch is a runner dressed in yellow with a velcro tail attached to their shorts. Once one of the players called seekers pull the snitch’s tail or one of the teams reach 70 points, the game is over. Catching a snitch is worth 30 points. Lopez said the team follows the official Quidditch rulebook. “There’s a whole rulebook that they update every year and during gameplay there’s 5 different referees at a time just working, making sure everything’s going well because there’s so much happening,” Lopez said. Following the official rulebook also means adhering to safety regulations such as playing without actual brooms because the USQ deemed them a safety hazard.

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“I don’t know when they decided to start using PVC pipes, but I know they stopped using actual brooms because it was a safety hazard,” Lopez said. A PVC pipe is a white, plastic pipe commonly used for plumbing, according to the Commercial Industry Supply website. Safety guidelines are added or reconsidered because Quidditch is a coed club that can sometimes be aggressive. Lopez said his favorite thing about Quidditch is the people on his team. “Most of the people that are here are people that I’ve known since my first year, so we’ve all gotten to know each other pretty well,” Lopez said. Sociology senior Jenna Trausch is a four-year Quidditch club team member and even traveled to Australia her sophomore year to play Quidditch. “I ended up getting way better at Quidditch while I was [in Australia]

SUDOKU PUZZLE Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

and it was a really good experience,” Trausch said. She said when she graduates she still wants to continue playing on the team because it’s a good way to meet new people who have common interests. “One of the things I love most about Quidditch is that it’s fun,” Trausch said. “We’re running around playing a fictional game from a fictional book and having fun.” Fruzzetti shared the same sentiment and said being part of the Quidditch club was his main source of socialization when he was a SJSU student. “The community was very inclusive and traveling was fun,” Fruzzetti said. “Going to tournaments and meeting other people. You have to be kind of like an open-minded person to play Quidditch.” He also said not everyone in the club has to be a Harry Potter fan. “Some people came in as athletes, some came in as Harry Potter fans and it [all] kind of merges together,” Fruzzetti said. Recreational management senior Elijah Franklin, who was captain of the Quidditch club his sophomore and junior year said he didn’t even know Quidditch was an actual sport until he heard about the club. Despite that, he said he still felt being a club member was a positive experience. “I grew up playing soccer and track and field, so I kind of stuck to a lot of traditional sports, but I think it’s been a good experience overall joining the team, being a captain for a couple years, and just meeting different people,” Franklin said. The Quidditch club team has open practices every Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tower Lawn.

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JOKIN’ AROUND “How heavy is a polar bear?”

“Enough to break the ice.”

SOLUTIONS

ACROSS 1. Catch 5. Lyric poem 10. Fired a weapon 14. Soft drink 15. Forbidden 16. Gray wolf 17. Ousted 19. Twin sister of Ares 20. Armed conflict 21. Ascended 22. Anagram of “Stabs” 23. An informal term for money 25. Solder 27. Donkey 28. Relating to geodesy 31. Plods 34. Gladden 35. A flatbottom boat 36. Seedcases 37. Wash out with a solvent 38. Fronts of ships 39. Tot 40. Vesicles 41. Delicacy 42. Fixes 44. Brassiere 45. Long-tailed parrot 46. Combined 50. Flash

52. A Great Lake 54. Historic period 55. Trees of the genus Quercus 56. Magazine 58. Place 59. Exhorted 60. An amount of medicine 61. Makes a mistake 62. Burly 63. Yeses DOWN 1. Frown with displeasure 2. Exploded stars 3. Watchful 4. Needlefish 5. Morals 6. Analyze syntactically 7. Double-reed woodwind 8. First musical beats 9. A very long period 10. Tastelessness 11. Found on a horse’s hoof 12. Death notice 13. Throw 18. A framework of beams 22. Invited 24. Stubs 26. Learning method 28. Surpluses 29. Hawkeye State

30. Vesicle 31. Box 32. Prospector’s find 33. Handicapper 34. Not here 37. Tropical American wildcat 38. Fiber source 40. Rooster 41. Inclination 43. Ankle bone 44. Murderous 46. Succinct 47. Lure 48. Delete 49. Valleys 50. Only 51. Twosome 53. Desire 56. Tavern 57. Actress Lupino

Oct. 27

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OPINION

THURSDAY, OCT. 28, 2021

Animal organs are the future of transplants Christopher Nguyen STAFF WRITER

Although the idea of using an animal’s organ in a human transplant surgery may seem repulsive, it should be seen as a scientific victory especially because it can give someone the chance to keep living. A recent surgery was done in September that resulted in a brain-dead person successfully being given a genetically modified pig’s kidney, according to an Oct. 19 New York Times article. Before you shake your head and rule out the idea all together, this isn’t the first time animals have been used in medicine. Cows and coincidentally pigs have been used to make insulin for years. In the U.S., manufacturing of beef insulin was discontinued in 1998 and pork insulin in 2006, according to an Oct. 28, 2015 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Q&A on Importing Beef or Pork Insulin for Personal Use webpage. The discontinuation of animal-sourced insulins was a voluntary withdrawal of these products made by the manufacturers and not based on any FDA regulatory action, according to the same webpage. Insulin in the U.S. is currently made from bacteria, with E. coli being the first genetically engineered bacteria to produce it, according to a July 1, 2019 American Diabetes Association article. Insulin is a naturally occurring hormone secreted by the pancreas and is used to help the body utilize or store the blood sugar it receives from food, according to an American Diabetes Association’s Insulin & Other Injectables webpage. While processing animals to make insulin isn’t an organ replacement, it serves as an organ function to help save lives. In the U.S., there are more than 106,631 people waiting for an organ transplant. Almost 100,000 patients need kidneys and nearly 20,000 patients need a liver, according to a Health Resources & Service Administration Organ Donor Statistics webpage.

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About 17 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant and every nine minutes another person will be added onto the transplant waiting list, according to the same webpage. For this reason alone, genetically modified animal organs shouldn’t be disregarded and instead be used to help curb the demands of obtaining an organ.

While processing animals to make insulin isn’t an organ replacement, it serves as an organ function to help save lives. In recent development of artificial organs, a nationwide research project known as The Kidney Project has successfully demonstrated a functional prototype artificial kidney, according to a Sept. 9 UCSF School of Pharmacy article. The Kidney Project’s goal is to create

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a small, surgically implanted and free-standing bioartificial kidney to treat kidney failure, according to its website. While the development of the artificial kidney prototype is hopeful to help supplement the growing demands of obtaining kidneys, there’s no timeline for when it will be released to the public.

MANAGING EDITOR SAMANTHA HERRERA EXECUTIVE PRODUCER MADISON FAGUNDES NEWS EDITOR CHRISTINA CASILLAS

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The time to wait for artificial kidneys to come out may take too long given the lives at stake. While the coronavirus is widely known to damage lungs, it can also damage kidneys. More than 15% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients have acquired acute

STAFF WRITERS AMANI HAMED EVAN REINHARDT CHRISTOPHER NGUYEN SAUMYA MONGA DON LE CHRISTINE STEVENS ESTEVAN LOPEZ SANDRA SANTOS-CRUZ PRODUCTION CHIEF MIKE CORPOS NEWS ADVISER RICHARD CRAIG

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kidney injuries, in which many now require dialysis, according to a May 14, 2020 National Kidney Foundation article. Dialysis is a treatment that removes wastes and extra fluid from a patient’s blood when their kidneys are no longer able to do so effectively, according to a National Kidney Foundation Dialysis webpage. It would be foolish to disregard the use of genetically modified animal organs while the pandemic rages on and people continue to die. The idea of using animal organs may freak people out but it shouldn’t be shunned. It has the potential to save the next patient in need of an organ, which could very well be you or someone you know someday.

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THURSDAY, OCT. 28, 2021