On newsstands weekly
Volume 61 Issue 21
Thursday, May 2, 2024
THE USD VISTA VISTA
The Official Student Newspaper of the University of San Diego since 1968
Protests break out across US college campuses
Pro-Palestine demonstrations on campuses lead to over 1000 arrests EMMA PIRHALA ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Protests at college campuses throughout the U. S., concerning Palestinian statehood and the current status of Gaza, increased within recent weeks. An encampment of students in support of Palestine at Columbia University led to the arrests of over 100 demonstrators. As of Tuesday, April 30, students occupy Columbia’s West Lawn and Hamilton Hall, demanding the university to cut its financial ties with Israel and for the U.S. to encourage a ceasefire. In response, Columbia moved its classes to a hybrid model until the end of the semester to encourage safety for students and professors. However, many students and parents are disgruntled and request tuition remission for the canceled in-person classes. USD first-year Mia Gleason shared her perspective on the situation. “Good for them. I’m glad that students are taking initiative on their campuses because I know a lot of college campuses invest in defense industries
Students at Columbia University have occupied the campus while calling for the school to divest from Israel. Photo courtesy of @nywalks/Instagram
Fizz-ling out?
Recent controversy of the anonymous app Fizz LILI KIM ASST. NEWS EDITOR Over the past year, Fizz has sent waves of negativity throughout the USD community. Yet despite ASG efforts, the social media app is seemingly here to stay. The use of social media platforms can inevitably entail the potential consequence of harmful language, bullying and the spread of misinformation. These negative effects of social media have led to discussions of a potential ban of the social platform Fizz on USD’s campus. Specifically, USD’s Associated Student Government (ASG), including newly-elected president Morgan Pheng, discussed the possibility of banning the app in her recent election campaign. Though after multiple meetings and brainstorming sessions, ASG was unable to ban the app and instead collaborated with community leaders such as the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Dean of Students, to send a campus-wide email outlining the negativity of the app and potential consequences
as a source of revenue. So it’s cool to see students standing up against that,” Gleason said. Similarly, USD sophomore Jocelyn Hernandez was disappointed in the response from other universities. “It’s unfortunate that [the universities] are punishing the students for what they believe. Some students may have family in Palestine or some might have family in Israel,” Hernandez explained. Columbia’s President Minouche Shafik participated in negotiations to conclude the protests. However, on April 29, Shafik announced via email to Columbia students that negotiations have failed. “Regretfully, we were not able to come to an agreement.” Shafik continued on Columbia’s unwillingness to cut financial ties with Israel. “While the University will not divest from Israel, the University offered to develop an expedited timeline for review of new proposals from the students by the Advisory Committee for Socially Responsible Investing, the body that considers divestment
See Protests, Page 2
INSIDE NTT union agreement See News, page 3
Cinema in trouble See Opinion, page 4
Coping with finals See Feature, page 6
‘COWBOY CARTER’ Fizz says it grants users anonymity, but according to an email sent by USD, DPS can sometimes identify authors of posts. Emma-Kate Squires/The USD Vista
of
student code violators. Fizz, founded by students at Stanford University in 2021, was designed to be an app for college students to post their thoughts, ask questions and interact with other students. The app is set up similar to Reddit or X (formerly known
as Twitter), where other Fizz users can anonymously “re-fizz” or repost other people’s content, comment or complete polls. Fizz was first introduced to USD in January 2023 as a way to create space for students to talk about campus news, trends or events.
Don’t miss the latest news. Find us online:
@USDVista
One of Fizz’s unique features is that it is completely anonymous, requiring only a USD-affiliated email account to log on. This masking of identity has led some users to post negative or harmful comments about certain groups
@theusdvista
See Fizz, Page 3
theusdvista.com
See A&C, page 10
Tennis wins See Sports, page 12