Issuu

NAMED NATIONAL FOUR-YEAR DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR FOR 2020-21 IN THE COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION’S PINNACLE AWARDS

Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021

Volume 157 No. 43 SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934

WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY

Students showcase business ideas By Bryanna Bartlett EXECUTIVE EDITOR

San Jose State student entrepreneurs showcased their innovations and vied for awards during the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business’ 18th annual business-idea competition on Zoom Monday and Tuesday. The two-day 2021 Silicon Valley Innovation Challenge (SVIC) included an elevator pitch competition, finalist presentations and networking sessions between students and Bay Area professionals from the technology and business industry. SVIC began in 2004 for students from any SJSU department to create innovative solutions toward a local or global problem and compete for funding and mentorship, according to its website. Students submitted their projects on Nov. 4 and finalists were chosen to showcase them in the SVIC, where they were evaluated on practicality, originality, implementation and overall presentation, according to the SVIC website. Four SJSU biotechnology graduate students currently in their 2nd year of the program won the 1st Best Overall Innovation award Tuesday with their project “Environzyme Biosciences.” Paul Mack, Sushmita Sen, Tvisha Josyula and Vishaka Sanjay Shah comprised the first place-winning team, proposing a new recycling infrastructure that would solve Bay Area and nationwide issues with contamination, which commonly include human samples and viral vectors in plastics. “There are a variety of reasons why recycling rates in the [U.S.] are so poor, the primary one being that it’s still cheaper to make/sell new plastics, rather than recycled plastics,” the team stated in an email. “Even though 95% of plastics get collected by recyclers, only ~30% is actually recycled. The statistics for biotech/biopharma plastic waste is even worse.” The biotech-student team members presented calculated estimates on their innovation including what they’d need to start the company, who’d benefit from their start up and who’d be their beneficiaries. “[Upon choosing a project], all of us spent a lot of time reading scientific journals and reviewing various publications related to our lab work, and one of the things that all of us are passionate about is trying to reduce our plastic waste footprint,” the group said in an email. “If you’ve ever been to a biotech/academic lab, we go through tons of single-use plastics every day, even for the simplest experiments (we’re not exaggerating).” During the final presentations Tuesday, Sen said biopharmaceutical plastic waste tends to be contaminated so they’re proposing a process that uses UVC lighting, which is a bacterial and viral disinfectant, and bleach to reach full decontamination and produce reusable plastics.

BEST OVERALL INNOVATION AWARD

“Assero transparent mask” International team members: Aiste Pupiute, Goda Masione, Justinas Masionis, Lauryna Dabasinskaite and Samantha Cepononyte

SJSU team members: Ben English, Kesavan Mylapore Sethuraman and Noemi Conway

“Environzyme Biosciences” SJSU team members: Paul Mack, Sushmita Sen, Tvisha Josyula and Vishaka Sanjay Shah

INFOGRAPHIC BY BRYANNA BARTLETT; SOURCE: SVIC WEBSITE

Sen said in an email. “Ultimately, we want to create and propel a community of excellence in sustainability within the biopharma/biotech industry.” Sarika Pruthi, SJSU associate professor in the School of Global Innovation and Leadership and the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business, hosted the SVIC and said there were 81 submissions this year, which is consistently high compared to 2020.

We’re grateful for the opportunity to take part in a competition amongst intelligent and innovative minds . . . more than anything we’re excited to continue working on this project and see where it might lead. the “Environzyme Biosciences” team four SJSU biotech graduate students

“We hope that this process will help divert single-use plastics away from landfills and incinerators and start a journey that alleviates some of the burdens on the future generations from the climate crisis they are sure to face,”

“K7 ATSM”

“There were 83 submissions in 2020, higher than in previous two years,” Pruthi said in an email. “The numbers are consistently high, and they are comparable, given that the event was [remotely] held in both 2020 and 2021.”

While the number of innovation entries remained high, she said the 2021 SVIC was the college’s first time spreading it over the course of two days. “For the last two years, the SVIC has been held as a lean, half-day event. As the first-ever SVIC in a virtual setting in 2020, we tried to space out our variety of sessions over the course of a day,” Pruthi said. “Post-event feedback from our judges suggested that they desired even more time in a [remote] setting to familiarize themselves with all finalist innovations ahead of the first formal evaluation round.” She said the university’s college of business and the SVIC host, the Silicon Valley Centers for Entrepreneurship, wanted to give more time to the finalists to network with the judges. Alongside the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Best Overall Innovation awards, student entrepreneurs also competed for the People’s Choice Award; Best Healthcare or BioTech Innovation; Best Online Platform; Best Production Innovation; and Best Team from a Partner Institution. The Environzyme Biosciences team also won the People’s Choice Award, which was decided by audience popular vote. The team said it was quite a shock when

the winners were announced. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to take part in a competition amongst intelligent and innovative minds . . . more than anything we’re excited to continue working on this project and see where it might lead,” the team said. The Environzyme Biosciences project members said there are still some major hurdles they need to consider as they’re open to taking the project even further than the competition. “For now, we will take the next semester to hash out some of the details and develop a thorough business plan,” the team said. “Everything happened so fast, we still haven’t quite processed that we won an award, let alone [two] awards!”

Follow Bryanna on Twitter @brybartlett

Editor’s note: The Spartan Daily will resume publication on Jan. 26, 2022. For breaking news, visit sjsunews.com

JOIN US AT THE FINALS RELAXATION STATION. FREE CHAIR MASSAGES. LET OUR MASSAGE THERAPISTS HELP YOU RELAX AND DESTRESS AS YOU TACKLE FINALS.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 11AM-1PM, 7TH STREET PLAZA

sjsunews.com/spartan_daily

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THURSDAY, DEC. 2, 2021

Live comedy returns to San Jose By Evan Reinhardt STAFF WRITER

Live comedy in San Jose has returned after 21 months of remote shows and outdoor sets, giving audiences a chance to laugh from behind masks. The San Jose Improv located at 62 S. 2nd Street was one of the first comedy clubs in the country to close during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. General manager David Williams said that the club management wasn’t interested in hosting remote shows. “While I respect the people that did [host remote shows], it’s just not our brand. We didn’t go near that,” Williams said in a phone interview. “Ask any comedian, they’ll say it’s just not the same. It’s like swimming with seven wetsuits on.” As the number of COVID-19 cases increased, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a stay-at-home order on March 19, 2020 shuttering all non-essential businesses in California, including comedy clubs, according to a March 19, 2021 ABC10 News article. Williams said although hourly staff was furloughed, the Improv’s rent and manager’s wages were subsidized during the club’s closure by parent company Levity Live, an entertainment production company based in Los Angeles. Levity Live produces other entertainment including scripted and unscripted television shows, documentary series and multi-camera live events, according to its website. Several comedy club managers and performers said they had to reimagine their shows’ productions because of the pandemic.

PHOTO COUTESY OF JEFF KRAMER

Comedy fans attend live improv at San Jose ComedySportz located at 288 S. Second Street prior to business closures in California

website. Cochrane said conducting remote shows was challenging when many in-person events were halted. “For the online shows, there was a lot of resistance at first, both from a number of players and some audience members,” Cochrane said in a phone interview. “You’re so used to picking up on every cue in a live setting, and now we’re trying to do this over a flat medium like Zoom

“We have a lot of new faces. Maybe they got into Zoom comedy during the pandemic. We’re getting a new audience that even before the pandemic hasn’t been to a comedy show.” David Williams San Jose Improv general manager

Improviser Robert Cochrane said he had to find ways to continue his comedy career online. Cochrane, Ph.D. student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, teaches applied improvisation to private groups and companies including Google. Applied improvisation takes concepts and techniques of improvisation and connects them to business, relationships and life, according to the Applied Improvisation Network

with multiple windows and technical problems.” Cochrane said while Zoom issues often lend themselves to comedy, live shows are still preferred. “It’s never reached the same fever pitch of going to a live show,” he said. “There’s nothing like being in the room for live improv, it’s electric.” Jeff Kramer, San Jose improviser and Chief Entertainment Officer of San Jose ComedySportz at

288 S. Second Street, said performers quickly adjusted to the evolving platforms for comedy shows. “We had to completely rediscover how we could do improv on Zoom. But we figured out a way to do it, and that’s just due to the skill of the players,” Kramer said. “Even our fans we’ve had for 25 years thought it was an interesting format.” Kramer said while adapting to remote work, performers experienced “Zoom burnout.” Kramer aims to reopen San Jose ComedySportz for live audiences in January 2022, but will broadcast shows simultaneously for audiences who don’t feel comfortable in-person, he said. The reopening date is subject to change as the comedy club team monitors the number of COVID-19 cases, Kramer said. “We’re just waiting. We definitely don’t want to put our audience in danger, or our performers,” he said. “When we open we’re going to make sure everyone is masked and vaccinated before they can come to the show.” While a traditional indoor comedy club may be ideal for most comedians, Bay Area stand-ups BMo, who requested to be referred to by his stage name, and Ruben Escobedo III took their comedy outdoors in September 2020, hosting a series of comedy

events at Excite Ballpark, home of the San Jose Giants. As audiences watched from their parked cars on the field, comedians performed on home plate with help from the stadium sound system and a high definition video board, BMo said in a phone call. “You’re used to talking to somebody straight to their face, now you’re talking to a windshield,” BMo said. “Instead of claps, you’d ask for honks.” The comedians also explored performing over Zoom, he said, using any method that would still allow them to produce a show. “We all made more money than we did doing regular shows,” BMo said. “A lot of people weren’t affected financially because they kept their jobs, they could work from home. [Audiences] were very generous in supporting the shows.” Although remote shows were difficult at first, alternative platforms like Twitch will remain a popular venue for comedy, BMo said. Twitch is an interactive livestreaming service with content including gaming, entertainment, sports and music, according to its website. “A lot more comics got YouTube and Twitch channels because you had to put out content to some degree,” BMo said. “I never would’ve had a Twitch, I probably would

not have known Twitch existed if it weren’t for the pandemic.” BMo and Escobedo returned to hosting their monthly live comedy competition show “Pick Your Poison” indoors in June 2020 at Clandestine Brewing in San Jose, BMo said. The San Jose Improv club also reopened on June 25, 2021, with a sold out show headlined by comedian and actor D.L. Hughley, David Williams said. He said he’s noticed new audience members attending shows since the club reopened. “We have a lot of new faces. Maybe they got into Zoom comedy during the pandemic,” Williams said. “We’re getting a new audience that even before the pandemic hasn’t been to a comedy show.” For Williams, he said being back in the club reintroduces live comedy into people’s lives, but also allows him to return to the joys of his own life. “I missed the daily comradery and seeing people socializing,” he said. “I’m so glad to be around not just the comics, not just the guests, but my staff. They’re my pseudo-family, I’ve really missed my staff and my team.”

Follow Evan on Twitter @ReinhardtEvan

sjsunews.com/spartan_daily

SPORTS

THURSDAY, DEC. 2, 2021

Spartans hope to remain champions

By Estevan Lopez STAFF WRITER

After a successful 2020-2021 season, the San Jose State tennis team is eager to return to the court in January. Spartan Tennis Complex, located at the univerity’s South Campus, will host the Sacramento State Hornets in the season opener on Jan. 29, 2022. The Spartans secured their spot as conference champions in the 2021 Mountain West Women’s Tennis Championship and now hope to bring another trophy to SJSU in the upcoming spring season. This year they brought home the title for the first time since 2017, with an 8-1 record in Mountain West and a 15-1 record overall. The team started its preseason with a few tournaments, including the most recent Nov. 5-7 Hidden Dual tournament co-hosted by SJSU and Santa Clara University at the Spartan Tennis Complex. Sophomore and second year athlete Jovana Babic was a key player in the dual tournament, winning her match 2-0. Babic also holds titles as an Academic All-Mountain West honoree, Mountain West Scholar-Athlete and Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete. A promising mix of new and returning athletes, including first-time player Oleksandra Andrieieva and third year athlete Lara Marco Mas played in the tournament, leaving head coach Chad Skorupka eager for the upcoming season.

We’re going to try to win the conference again, I think we have a great team and we’re ready. Rozalina Youseva tennis player

Skorupka joined the team in 2013 as assistant coach and assumed his current

LAMAR MOODY | THE SPEAR

Tennis juniors Lara Marco Mas (left) and Oleksandra Andrieieva (right) anticipate a serve during a Nov. 6 match in San Jose.

position in 2015. He said the team not only thrives on the court but they are also making it a point to be successful in the classroom as well. “We’ve had a number of [Intercollegiate Tennis Association] All-Americans…but also just within the athletic department there is a lot of success,” Skorupka said in a Zoom call. He said the team has grown since the previous season because he’s also recruited internationally. Skorupka said the biggest challenge in recruiting was traveling to Europe shortly before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. “[I was] discussing with my assistant one day I said ‘Hey, look, I better get out of here before shit shuts down, something’s gonna happen,’ so the first week of March, I booked a trip for recruiting,” Skorupka said. Babic was recruited from Belgrade,

CLASSIFIEDS CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Serbia and came to SJSU in 2020 as a freshman. “I joined last year on [Aug. 20] but because of COVID my freshman year in the fall, I was back home [Serbia],” Babic said. “So technically, I came to SJSU January this year.” Skorupka said he didn’t mind lengthy trips and long hours to find top tennis talent. “We’re a very international sport and I’m going to try to attract the best players that we can find from wherever,” Skorupka said. After being recruited from Sofia, Bulgaria in 2019, third year player Rozalina Youseva said she is happy for the opportunity to live out her dreams as a tennis player in the U.S. and to earn a degree at SJSU. Youseva said she wanted to capitalize on her goals by coming to college not only for a spot on the SJSU tennis team, but also to

further her post-college career goals. “I really wanted to find the best place for me, because I also want to stay in the states after I graduate, so I wanted to find a school not only for my college experience, but also for my future,” Youseva said. ”So I saw San Jose State and the head coach Skorupka convinced me to come and when I came here, I just fell in love with the team and the school.” Youseva said she has high hopes for the upcoming season. “We’re going to try to win the conference again, I think we have a great team and we’re ready,” Youseva said.

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

Follow Estevan on Twitter @9Estevan

JOKIN’ AROUND “What’s a robot’s favorite snack?”

“Computer chips.”

SOLUTIONS

ACROSS 1. Magma 5. Filched 10. Does something 14. Former spouses 15. King with a golden touch 16. Certain 17. Nefarious 19. Smudge 20. Anagram of “Led” 21. Strict 22. Liabilities 23. Demesnes 25. Task 27. Aye 28. Apparition 31. Not drunk 34. Clairvoyants 35. Ribonucleic acid 36. As a result 37. Honor 38. Ardor 39. Pain 40. Assists 41. Welsh dog 42. Great apes 44. Loving murmur 45. Not fulfilled 46. A woman’s sleeveless undergarment 50. Yesteryears

52. Wearing footgear 54. A state of SW India 55. Hurt 56. Middleman 58. Small songbird 59. Show respect towards 60. Offensively malodorous 61. “___ we forget” 62. Unlocks 63. Conservative DOWN 1. Embankment 2. Angles of a branch or leaf 3. Open grassland 4. American Sign Language 5. Hits 6. Prongs 7. Smell 8. Catapults 9. S 10. Declare with confidence 11. Attendant 12. Gait faster than a walk 13. Collections 18. Daisylike bloom 22. Puts on 24. Yeses 26. Not soft 28. Anagram of “Paste” 29. Catch

30. French Sudan 31. Male deer 32. Buckeye State 33. Cattails 34. Sometimes, a garment factory 37. Skilled 38. Whiz 40. Charity 41. Female students 43. Purpose 44. Shouts of approval 46. Part of the large intestine 47. Snow house 48. French for “Sister” 49. Not late 50. Part of a rachet 51. Unit of land 53. Sharpen 56. Which person? 57. Abaft

Dec. 1

PLACE YOUR AD HERE Place your Classified Ads Online at Spartandaily. CampusAve.com

SpartanDailyAdvertising @gmail.com

Our office at DBH 213 is closed because of the pandemic.

sjsunews.com/spartan_daily

OPINION

THURSDAY, DEC. 2, 2021

ILLUSTRATION BY AUDREY TSENG

Notre Dame must be preserved Remodeling plans are tacky, prioritize tourists’ interests rather than historical value

Sarah Dwyer SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Two and a half years after a fire severely damaged Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral, grief has turned into anger and outrage at the recently-drafted restoration plans. After flames wreaked havoc for 15 hours on April 15, 2019, the world came together in tragedy. Within days companies, institutions and individuals had donated or pledged 845 million euros – equivalent to about $950 million – to restore the historic architectural feat, according to a Sept. 18 New York Times article. Following the fire, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Notre Dame would be restored in time for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. The Notre Dame Cathedral began construction in 1163 and opened its doors in 1345; the monument is known for being among the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Yet, there have been increasing suggestions to add contemporary designs to the reconstruction, disrupting nearly a thousand years of history. Last year, Macron suggested a ABOUT The Spartan Daily prides itself on being the San Jose State community’s top news source. New issues are published every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday throughout the academic year and online content 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.

contemporary spire to replace the original but was quickly and rightfully met with opposition. Many united over restoration, but the restoration has turned into redesign. Gothic architecture largely identified the monument. If the officials in charge of this project choose to go through with the redesigns they are defying decades if not centuries of conservatorship in art, history and architecture. Modern day Europe can’t escape its history, largely because much of it still remains.

webpage. However, historian and writer Michael Pastoreau said instead of leaving Notre Dame as it was, the other option is to expel the faithful to make room for tourists, according to an April 15, 2020 La Croix article. La Croix is a French-language Roman Catholic publication based in Paris. He told La Croix, “To do this, we would have to deconsecrate Notre Dame and transform it into a museum.” As if France doesn’t have enough museums.

The cement blocks and cookie-cutter repeats we call modern architecture cannot compete with Notre Dame, or any of Europe’s architectural past.

France, which is still predominantly Catholic, should not have their symbol of faith turned into a bigger tourist destination. About 80% of French citizens identify themselves as Roman Catholic, according to a July 1, 2001 Brookings Institution article. The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington D.C., according to its About Us EDITORIAL STAFF EXECUTIVE EDITOR BRYANNA BARTLETT MANAGING EDITOR SAMANTHA HERRERA EXECUTIVE PRODUCER MADISON FAGUNDES NEWS EDITOR CHRISTINA CASILLAS NEWS EDITOR MADILYNNE MEDINA A&E EDITOR JOVANNA OLIVARES OPINION EDITOR ROYVI HERNANDEZ SPORTS EDITOR ISALIA GALLO SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR SARA WILER

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS YANN LAPNET JAIME CABRERA TRAVIS WYNN COPY EDITORS SAVANNAH NATIVIDAD KAH MUN CHIA ALAN BAEZ REBECCA LEE HAILEY FARGO SPORTS COPY EDITOR JESUS TELLITUD GRAPHICS EDITORS NICK YBARRA HANZ PACHECO LINDSAY VILLAMOR AUDREY TSENG DAISHA SHERMAN AARON CHEUNG BIANCA RADER SENIOR STAFF WRITERS JAMIE BENNETT SARAH DWYER

Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris said the interior changes would “bring the cathedral into the 21st century.” But in the case of architecture, new is not always better. The cement blocks and cookie-cutter repeats we call modern architecture cannot compete with Notre Dame, or any of Europe’s architectural past. However, it’s not just the outside renovations, including the new roof and spire, that are at the 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

ADVERTISING STAFF ADVERTISING DIRECTOR MIA WICKS CREATIVE DIRECTOR KALEB FARNETTI ADVERTISING REPS ABAS ALTUWARISH ASHLEY BARCELON BRANDON VU DONOVAN FRANCIS ENSIYAH SYED ISABELLA VICTORIA HAGGERTY JOHAN ROMANI-CACERES JOSHUA TORRES JUAN TAPIA ZAVALA KENNETH TRIEU LINH LAM LINH THIEU MOISES CARATACHEA SAM LEE SEAN MARTIN

center of the public’s dismay. According to a Nov. 19 article in The Western Journal, the interior would include a “discovery trail” of 14 chapels emphasizing Asia and Africa. Biblical quotes would be projected on the walls in different languages. Classical sculptures, confessional boxes and altars would be replaced with modern art featuring light and sound effects to provide an “emotional space.” Ironically, the original architecture was already designed to evoke emotion and nurture spirituality. Maurice Culot, a well-known French architect, told The Western Journal on Nov. 19, “It’s as if Disney were entering Notre Dame . . . It’s a kind of theme park and very childish and trivial given the grandeur of the place.” Notre Dame needs to remain true to itself and its history. The cathedral was constructed to provide a common home for people of faith and anyone else who found themselves under the stained glass. While its roots are undeniably French and Catholic, the doors to Notre Dame as a cathedral are open to all and can continue to be without turning into a reimagined, overtly all-inclusive museum for the modern day tourist. Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahDweezy SEVERIANO MENDEZ YULIAN FRANKIV SARA WILER

EMAIL: spartandailyadvertising @gmail.com

ADVERTISING ADVISER TIM HENDRICK

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.

BUSINESS MANAGER CINDY LUU

ADVERTISING – TELEPHONE: 408-924-3240

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.

sjsunews.com/spartan_daily

THURSDAY, DEC. 2, 2021