Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020
Volume 155 No. 41 SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
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SJSU opens COVID-19 test centers By Isalia Gallo STAFF WRITER
San Jose State is requiring coronavirus testing and has added new protocols for university housing residents who traveled for Thanksgiving, according to a Nov. 28 campuswide email from President Mary Papazian. The requirement is in response to Santa Clara County Public Health Department’s new revisions after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Nov. 16 the county’s reentering of purple tier, California’s most restrictive COVID-19 tier. Papazian stated in the email that university housing residents including students, faculty and staff will be required to comply with testing following their arrival back to campus. She said free testing will be held in the housing quad in front of Campus Village Building A and Campus Village Building 2 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 1-2 and will be administered by HealthQuest Esoterics, a testing company partnered with the university. Advertising sophomore Joshua Reyes said he believes the university is doing the right thing. “I think it’s a great idea,� Reyes said over text. “COVID-19 is constantly starting to become a bigger problem each day and ways we can spot it is by getting tested.� Patrick Day, the vice president of student affairs, explained the university’s priority is to keep all residents safe and enforce the new restrictions. Day said the university will always make the safety and health of students in the residential halls a priority. “Since the beginning of the year, University Housing Services has had health and safety protocols in place up to and including quarantine if necessary,� Day said over email. The Santa Clara County Public Health Department updated the county’s restrictions and added new COVID-19 regulations on Nov. 28 in response to Santa Clara County’s rising caseload.
ILLUSTRATION BY NICK YBARRA
! " Maritza Ortiz-Urrutia environmental studies junior
The Santa Clara County website states that stores and other facilities open to the public will be limited to 10% indoor capacity. Grocery stores, drug stores and pharmacies can operate at 25% indoor capacity to ensure access to food and medicine. A statewide curfew is enforced to halt nonessential activity from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. until regulations are lifted on Dec. 21 unless the Santa Clara County Public Health Department
extends the orders. The county’s website states anyone who has traveled more than 150 miles and then reenters the county must quarantine for 14 days. Day said that students will not be asked to quarantine. “Students will not be quarantined after testing but will be asked to sequester, limiting their interactions on campus, until they receive their test results,� Day said. “A member of the team in Health Services will reach out to students who test positive and make arrangements with them based on their specific circumstances.� Environmental studies junior and CVB resident Maritza Ortiz-Urrutia said the university has lacked enforcing COVID-19 policies in the resident halls since the semester began, but she’s relieved to see new testing and quarantine regulations. “In my opinion we should have had mandatory testing from the start to make sure everyone is safe,� Ortiz-Urrutia said over email. “This [COVID-19 testing] is definitely long overdue.�
There are 760 new COVID-19 cases and 239 COVID-19 related hospitalizations recorded as of Nov. 28, according to the Santa Clara County Public Health Department website. The website states the number of new cases and COVID-19-related hospitalizations set new records for the highest single-day counts since the beginning of the pandemic. Ortiz-Urrutia said as the severity of COVID-19 rises again in the county, the university has yet to inform students on what else it will provide for housing residents besides testing. She said the university provided her with supplies only after she requested them. The last time she was in need of essential items, the university never got back to her. “As for mandatory quarantines, they haven’t issued any statements about providing us with food or supplies if we do have to quarantine,� Ortiz-Urrutia said. “This is not reassuring at all.� Follow the Spartan Daily on Twitter @spartandaily
Campus community weighs in on rent control By Stephanie Lam STAFF WRITER
San Jose State community members have mixed opinions about rent control after Proposition 21 failed to pass in the election. The proposition would have expanded local government’s authority to enact price maximums landlords charge tenants for units more than 15 years old. SJSU political science senior Lawrence Deng said he voted in favor of Proposition 21. Deng said he knows renters in the Bay Area who have disputes with their landlords over rent increases and believes the proposition could have helped. “I felt bad for those who really wanted [Proposition 21] to pass,� Deng said over the phone. “When you look at rent control, people are worried about issues with their landlords.� Proposition 21 would have also repealed the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995, according to Ballotpedia. Ballotpedia is a digital encyclopedia of American politics and elections, according to its website. The state law protects a landlord’s right to raise a unit’s rent, prevents cities from establishing rent control and exempts single-family residences from rent control restrictions, according to
ILLUSTRATION BY NICK YBARRA
Costa-Hawkins.com, a website that provides information about the act. Proposition 21 failed to pass with about 60% of Californians voting no, according to the California Secretary of State website. The results of the election will be officially certified by Dec. 11. In Santa Clara County, 57% of eligible voters said no and 43% said yes on the proposition, according to the county’s general election website. Alameda and San Francisco counties were the only state counties whose residents voted in favor of Proposition 21, according to The New York Times’ coverage of the California Election Results. YesonProp21, a Los Angeles organization that
I voted yes [on Proposition 21] . . . [one of the reasons] is because homelessness is a major issue here in Silicon Valley, it’s one of the priciest places to live. Lawrence Deng political science senior
supports the proposition, stated on its website repealing the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995 would allow cities to stabilize rent increases and provide people with affordable long-term housing. Deng wanted Proposition 21 to pass because he thought it could alleviate homelessness in the Bay Area.
“I voted yes [on Proposition 21] . . . [one of the reasons] is because homelessness is a major issue here in Silicon Valley, it’s one of the priciest places to live,� Deng said. Victor Vasquez, a 2017-20 SJSU Chicana and Chicano Studies lecturer, is the director of organizing and policy for SOMOS Mayfair. SOMOS Mayfair is an organization that supports
low-income families living in the Mayfair neighborhood, a primarily working-class and immigrant community in East San Jose. Vasquez said many SOMOS Mayfair members are residents impacted by San Jose’s high rent and face potential eviction. “An increase in rent could mean displacement, could mean a family living and attending their car, couch surfing,� Vasquez said over the phone. “It’s not about rent control, but it’s also about our communities being compassionate towards working people and working families.� He said the organization supported local authority over rent control and its members created workshops in the months before the election to educate the community
on the advantages of Proposition 21. “We want to change the narrative of ‘rent control is a bad thing’ because it’s not,� Vasquez said. “It’s keeping people in their homes, making sure everyone has a roof over their heads.� NoOn21, a Proposition 21 opponent organization, states on its website that the proposition would have discouraged new housing construction and reduced the availability of affordable housing. SJSU political science professor Matthew Record researches housing policies and said Proposition 21 is ineffective because it does not solve the Bay Area’s housing shortage, which is primarily why the city has high homeless rates and housing costs. “[Proposition 21] doesn’t solve the underlying problem that causes rent to be so high in the first place . . . it’s a housing supply issue,� Record said over the phone. He said voters should advocate for propositions that would create more housing in the Bay Area. “People can try to control the price of housing as much as [they] want, but nothing is going to stabilize it other than having a housing supply that matches the demands in the Bay Area,� Record said.
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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TUESDAY, DEC. 1, 2020
GameDay grub is perfect any time By Olivia Gerber
Food Review
STAFF WRITER
Crispy bacon cheese fries and meaty chicken wings are the perfect complements to an ice-cold beer on a great evening in Downtown San Jose. GameDay, a dining option at San Pedro Square Market, offers killer American food reminiscent of home cooking. On Friday night my friend, Aimee Ross-Tupper, and I decided to try GameDay, which is nestled in the corner of the market along West St. John Street. We parked in the garage across from San Pedro Square Market and crossed the closed-off North San Pedro Street to enter the building. The market was quiet, with only a few sporadic restaurants open and very few people ordering. After wandering around the market hall for a short time, Ross-Tupper and I found GameDay and began to look at the menu. The restaurant owner, SJSU alumna Kasandra Solano, immediately greeted us and recommended food we could share. Solano suggested Ross-Tupper and I order wings and one of the loaded french fry options GameDay has on the menu. The fry options include their Bacon Fries and Philly Fries, which are cheese fries topped with a choice of meat, bell peppers, mushrooms and caramelized onions. We followed Solano’s advice and ordered 10 buffalo and honey barbeque flavored chicken wings along with Bacon Fries. The food was slightly pricey, $11 for the bacon cheese fries and $14 for the wings. Solano said that we would need our receipt to buy alcohol anywhere in the San Pedro Square Market because of the current COVID-19 health guidelines. She then gave us our receipt and a remote buzzer for the food. We walked to the outdoor patio which had a fair amount of people sitting at the tables so we decided to order
GameDay Rating:
Cuisine: American Location: San Pedro Square Market Price: $$
although neither flavor was spicy. The wings came with celery, carrot sticks and two cups of the ranch that paired nicely with both wing flavors. My only complaint was that I wish the wings had delivered more of a spicy kick. The bacon cheese fries stole the show, with a thick layer of provolone and Monterey Jack atop perfectly seasoned and cooked fries. The thickly cut fries were held together in clumps with cheese and bacon and were not greasy. On top of the gooey layer of cheese, the bacon added a crunch and enhanced the flavor in the way only bacon can. OLIVIA GERBER | SPARTAN DAILY The portions were large enough for The bacon cheese fries are topped with provolone, monterey jack and crispy bacon. Ross-Tupper and me to share the food two Pliny the Elder beers to-go from After arriving at my apartment, and still have leftovers. Market Beer Co., a bar in the I eagerly opened the boxes of food to Drinking beer and eating wings San Pedro Square Market. We found take pictures before we ate. The cheese with fries made me nostalgic over a table away from the main crowd and and bacon on the fries and the tangy football season, a feeling which really waited for our food outside on the patio sauce on the wings smelled so good, encompassed the name of the restaurant. where there were about 150 people I had to fight the urge to immediately dig This spot would be the perfect place spread out across tables. in before I took photos. to grab food and a beer while watching After about 25 minutes, our buzzer We were not disappointed by the sports and hanging out with friends. went off to indicate our food was quality of the food once we settled down GameDay is worth the price and I look ready and we enthusiastically went to eat. The wings were very meaty, with forward to returning on a game day to inside to pick it up. We were given our way more chicken than bone, and the enjoy the experience that much more. food in a bag that contained two large chicken was moist under the thick layer cardboard boxes. of sauce. Ross-Tupper and I decided to take our The honey barbeque wings were tangy, Follow Olivia on Twitter beers and a warm bag of food home after smokey and sweet, while the buffalo @LivGerber seeing the patio’s large crowd. wings had the acidic taste of hot sauce,
CLASSIFIEDS CROSSWORD PUZZLE
SUDOKU PUZZLE Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.
JOKIN’ AROUND Why can’t you trust atoms?
They make up everything!
SOLUTIONS
ACROSS 1. Dwarf buffalo 5. Consciousness 9. Residence hall 13. Religious offshoot 14. Practical 16. Notion 17. Agreement 18. A machine for baling hay 19. Give temporarily 20. Boxes lightly 22. Mounting of animal skins 24. An exchange involving money 26. Part of the large intestine 27. Gourmet 30. A type of tree resin 33. Caves 35. Rasher 37. Charged particle 38. Sketches 41. Loving murmur 42. Cleansing agents 45. Alopecia 48. Cringe 51. Family of a monarch 52. Papal court 54. Way in
55. Backs of small trucks 59. Indian millet 62. Two-toed sloth 63. Bush 65. Train track 66. Blend 67. A river through Paris 68. At the peak of 69. Lacquered metalware 70. A musical pause 71. Permits DOWN 1. Vipers 2. Half-moon tide 3. Irregular 4. Appeal 5. A type of large sandwich 6. French for “State” 7. Light purple 8. Bent 9. Quandary 10. Smell 11. 500 sheets 12. Numerous 15. Genus of heath 21. A promiscuous woman 23. Lacking intellectual acuity
25. God of love 27. Auspices 28. Evidence 29. Startled cry 31. Quicken 32. Perch 34. Bro or sis 36. Prying 39. Black gunk 40. Plod along 43. Painting 44. Cozy 46. Twosome 47. Instinctive 49. Boorish 50. To this place 53. Eagle’s nest 55. Craving 56. Moving within 57. Be unsuccessful 58. Stars 60. Violent disturbance 61. Austrian peaks 64. Wager
11/24/2020
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SPORTS
TUESDAY, DEC. 1, 2020
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COVID-19 guidelines halt SJSU sports By Lexie Shezifi STAFF WRITER
Santa Clara County issued new guidelines Saturday, including a temporary ban on all contact sports at the high school, collegiate and professional level after a rise in statewide coronavirus cases. San Jose State’s football and men’s basketball were already facing several canceled games after a string of complications regarding COVID-19 contact tracing and testing protocols. Mountain West announced on Twitter Saturday that San Jose State’s football game against Boise State, which was scheduled for the same day, was canceled because of case increases within Boise’s program. The cancellation was announced after the team already traveled to Boise State. “We arrived in Boise on Friday and learned this news Saturday morning,” SJSU Athletics Director Marie Tuite said in a news release. “Our players and coaches were looking forward to this game with great anticipation. It is a big disappointment to everyone that we are not able to play this game.” The men’s basketball team had its season opener against Simpson University canceled last week because of an issue with COVID-19 testing protocols within Simpson’s athletic program. “ The Simpson COVID-19 tests were not delivered to the lab in a timely manner by UPS,” the university’s athletic department website stated Wednesday. “The tests were sent Monday from Simpson to comply with the required
PHOTO COURTESY OF SJSU ATHLETICS
The San Jose State football team’s undefeated season will be affected by the Santa Clara County public health department’s new COVID-19 guidelines.
48 hour turnaround time, but UPS did not deliver them to the lab.” Santa Clara County public health department announced on Saturday that all collegiate sports would be postponed because of rises in COVID-19 cases. According to the Santa Clara County Public Health website, there were over 35,000 total cases and 801 new cases yesterday. “I know this is not what any of us want to hear, nor is this situation one any of us want to be in, but here we are,” Santa Clara County Public Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody said in a Saturday news conference. The new guidelines went into effect Monday at 12:01 a.m. and will last until Dec. 21, though they may be extended again by the county.
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Missing two weeks in a row and not being able to play is definitely a negative for us and Hawaii has that advantage because they’ve been able to play. Brent Brennan head coach
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health department said at the news release Saturday regarding the new mandates. “People can continue to engage in outdoor athletics and recreation, where social distancing can be maintained at all times.” SJSU Athletics met with county officials Sunday to determine the best course of action moving forward. “We have several sports impacted – including football, women’s basketball, men’s basketball and gymnastics,” Tuite said in a statement Sunday. “We are in a fluid situation with our football and basketball teams since their seasons are in progress. We will make decisions on team practices and when and where our contests are being played in conjunction with university administration and the Mountain West.”
Both men’s and women’s basketball games have been canceled this week and SJSU football is looking for a location to play the University of Hawaii Saturday. SJSU football head coach Brent Brennan said in a Monday Zoom conference the team had a practice Sunday and were off Monday, but the team is missing game experience after its last two games were canceled. “Going into those last two games, we were playing good football,” Brennan said. “Missing two weeks in a row and not being able to play is definitely a negative for us and Hawaii has that advantage because they’ve been able to play.” Tuite said the team has been looking at options for locations to hold practices and play
games, but no decisions have been made. The new guidelines state that any person traveling outside a 150-mile radius is required to quarantine for 14 days after returning to Santa Clara County, something that SJSU Athletics is keeping in mind. Tuite clarified the new mandates are not a result of new cases within SJSU’s sports programs, but rather a response to rising cases in Santa Clara County as a whole. “The County was very clear that the surge in Santa Clara County led to additional guidelines for us to follow,” Tuite said. “They did not specifically reference concerns with any particular constituencies.” Follow Lexie on Twitter @lexie4real
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