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Thursday, October 31, 2024
Volume 163 No. 30 WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
SERVING SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
News
A&E
Opinion
Kids trunk-or-treat the night away
Fall Festival sets the mood for SJSU students
Halloween is not the same anymore
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Fire erupts in Student Union on Tuesday By Kaya Henkes-Power EXECUTIVE EDITOR
A fire started in San José State University’s Student Union building around 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Frank Belcastro, a captain for the University Police Departmen (UPD), said it occurred while someone was cooking oil and it caught on fire. In reaction to the fire, the individual threw water on the fire causing it to rise which resulted in the
sprinklers turning on, according to Belcastro. To safely extinguish a grease fire, one must use either a fire extinguisher, cover the pan with a lid, or sprinkle the fire with baking soda, according to a May 9, 2021 to a WCBS News 2 article. Because oil is less dense than water, the water will go under the oil to the surface of the pan creating steam and expanding it, according to the same article. Michelle Smith-
McDonald, the senior director of media relations, referred inquiries to Charlie Faas, the vice president of administration and finance. “When the sprinkler system is deployed in the kitchen, there is a lot of clean-up that has to be done,” Faas wrote in an email statement. “The restaurants cannot open until the kitchen can be safely returned to service.” Following the fire, six restaurants were closed but are scheduled to open today,
according to the Dine on Campus website. The Spartan Daily reached out to the Spartan Eats marketing manager, Amanda Paletta and she declined to comment on the matter. UPD and the San José Fire Department responded to the incident roughly around the time the fire began. “Anytime there is a fire alarm, per our university safety policies, the entire building must evacuate until the source is identified,
contained and we are given the all clear by San José Fire and University Police,” Fass said. An email sent out from UPD through AlertSJSU confirmed that the building was evacuated and closed due to cleanup at 2:19 p.m. A number of student workers were reached out to at the Student Union and said they knew about the fire but no further information. Belcastro confirmed there were no injuries reported following this incident and
there is no continued threat. Faas wrote that the kitchen staff is trained on safety protocols upon hiring and periodic safety training but there is additional scheduled training. “We are in the process of scheduling additional safety training for all staff to ensure safety protocols are followed accordingly,” Faas wrote. Follow Kaya on Instagram @kayuh.h
PHOTO FROM FLICKR
Racist graffiti found throughout campus By Jackson Lindstrom STAFF WRITER
San José State’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion sent out an email stating that graffiti had recently been found on campus containing hateful remarks on Friday. The graffiti contained racial slurs that were described as anti-Black, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic and politically motivated, according to the email. Frank Belcastro, a captain for the University Police Department (UPD), said investigations are still ongoing. “There was an incident in housing where a male student and a Black male non-student wrote on whiteboards. They wrote the n-word,” Belcastro said. “We know who the student is ... the other incident (was) in MacQuarrie Hall in a gender-neutral stall bathroom ... it said ‘10/31, warning mass bomb kill Muslims, Jews, (liberals), Trump 2024,’
and a swastika.” Belcastro said it’s unknown who wrote in the bathroom stall but the job of UPD is to arrest the person if they are able to find out who wrote it The identity of two people of interest in the graffiti incidents has already been found, according to the same email. UPD also informed the FBI in case of possible involvement from any hate groups, according to Belcastro. “We want to know: ‘Is there a group behind it?’ ‘Is there an individual that (the FBI) knows?’ ‘Is there an indication of anything else going on in the area?’ ” Belcastro said. SJSU stated in the same email that the actions were staunchly against both the California State University Discrimination Policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Eniola Odumosu, a fourth-year public relations student, said the incident was shocking but not
surprising. “When I read the email, it was just heartbreaking as a person of color ... I'm a migrant too, so it's not my first time seeing things like that,” Odumosu said. “While it hurts, I’m kind of numb to it.” Reported hate crimes
“One of the stalls (wrote) basically the same thing but it eliminated ‘Trump 2024’ and did not talk about (liberals), ” Belcastro said. Melissa Martinez, a second-year communications student, said it would not be surprising if something
When I read the email, it was just heartbreaking as a person of color ... I’m a migrant too, so its not my first time seeing things like that. While it hurts, I’m kind of numb to it. Eniola Odumosu Fourth-year public relations student
have seen a significant surge, jumping from 33 cases in 2019 to 89 in 2020, according to San José Police Department (SJPD) crime statistics. Another incident occurred on Wednesday, again at MacQuarrie Hall, in another bathroom.
similar happened again. “I think it’s a little more unexpected because we’re in San José, it’s a very diverse college, Martinez said. “You wouldn’t think people are crazy enough to actually spray paint and do these things around campus.”
SJPD reported record high numbers in 2021 with 116 hate crimes being reported, according to the latest crime data from SJPD. Belcastro said it would be very difficult to find who left the graffiti in the bathroom stalls in MacQuarrie Hall. “There’s no cameras in the hall, no timeframe of when exactly it happened,” Belcastro said. “No one’s come forward, we haven’t found any witnesses, so right now we don’t really have any leads to go on.” Belcastro said the SJSU community should report any incidents similar to the recent instance of the graffiti to UPD. “We need the help of both our students and staff,” Belcastro said. “If you see something out of the ordinary, give us a call.” Belcastro said these incidents appear to be isolated and aren’t connected, but UPD needs the help of students and staff to prevent similar
incidents. “I feel like the timing is weird because the election’s coming up,” Odumosu said. “Why would you choose to do that now?” Odumosu also said that the person who did it probably just did it to create a reaction or to hurt people. Martinez thought similarly, also saying it was likely an ignorant or uneducated person. “(It was) just to make someone’s day bad,” Martinez said. “It’s just the kind of life we live in, sadly.” SJSU stated in its email that it is doing what it can in working with UPD to ensure whoever is responsible faces consequences. “We all sign things (when) we join the school, like that you have to be respectful of others,” Martinez said. “Hate speech and things like that (are) not okay.” Follow Jackson on Instagram @jacksontlindstrom