Flint Center demolition
Teardown of historic event center moves forward to make way for future projects, despite setbacks
By Frank Mayers
LA VOZ STAFF
De Anza College’s historic Flint Center for the Performing Arts is being demolished to make way for a new event center. Funded by the Measure G mega project, the demolition comes in the wake of the Flint Center’s closure five years ago.
Excavators and work crews began tearing the building apart on Oct. 8, knocking a hole in the front of the building and beginning to demolish internal concrete structures as well as tearing open the wall facing the Flint parking structure; exposing gutted bathrooms, hand railings and seating sections within the nowdefunct theater.
This comes after months of preparation for the exterior demolition over the summer, including the removal of roofing tiles, siding, as well as considerable interior work to remove hazardous materials. This demolition is just the first step in ex-
tensive construction and infrastructure work required to fully replace the soon-to-be former Flint Center.
Initially planned to run from July 2 to Sept. 30, the demolition is now scheduled to continue into January 2025 per the Measure G construction updates page. This delay is likely because of a reshuffling of the Measure G taskforce, as reported on by La Voz in June, and the lengthy procedures required for removal of hazardous materials.
On June 10, 2019, the FHDA Board of Trustees voted to permanently close the Flint Center, ending its 48-year tenure as De Anza’s primary event center.
The decision to close and fully replace the Flint Center came as a result of assessments finding the building not to meet multiple structural and seismic and safety codes. These deficiencies, as well as the likely presence of asbestos, a highly toxic insulation material, were highlighted in a 2023 environmental
impact report filed with the state of California under the California Environmental Quality Act.
As reported by La Voz in May, the initial budget of $75 million for the project was lowered to only $55 million, after $20 million was reallocated to Foothill College’s dental hygiene clinic.
On Sept. 25 the Measure G taskforce unanimously approved a request for an initial $30 million out of the existing $55 million for construction of the new performing arts center and $9 million for a utilities building to support the new event center.
The board also referenced a plan to demolish the existing arts quad to build a new student services building at that location.
However, according to the FHDA Bonds website, the Arts Quad demolition plan has been on hold since October 2023 and is still pending a final decision from the taskforce on whether to proceed with the plan or in a different direction.
Students
By Ingrid Lu and Ann Penalosa
LA VOZ STAFF
Students, community members and faculty, including incoming senators in the De Anza Student Government, attended a community forum on tasers in the Media and Learning Center on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
The forum, hosted by the FoothillDe Anza District Police and moderated by Foothill College’s Dean of Equity, Ajami M. Byrd and De Anza’s Dean of Equity and Engagement, Michelle Hernandez, centered around whether district police should be able to add Tasers to their arsenal, as well as the risks that the weapons pose to students, faculty, staff and administrators.
District Police Chief Daniel Acosta, Sgt. Shane Luedekke and
Community Relations Officer Joy Garza represented the police department, joined by Steve Tuttle, a distinguished Taser fellow and former vice president of strategic communications at Axon Enterprises — the manufacturer that district police consider purchasing Tasers from.
“I understand that there’s a deep concern over the piece of equipment because it poses an issue if it’s abused. I come from another police department where we carried those and for 15 years out of the 27 years that I worked there in total, I carried a Taser,” Luedekke said. “In the vast majority of cases, it was good that we had (a Taser) because, off the top of my head, I can tell you about two circumstances where if I didn’t have that Taser, it may have very well ended in an officer involved shooting.”
In addition to their service weapons, district police currently carry pepper spray, handcuffs and expandable batons.
By Mitchell Park
Donald Trump was elected president on Nov. 6, also receiving the popular vote. On Oct. 29 and Oct. 30, La Voz News conducted an informal poll in the main quad, open to all students and faculty on campus. The goal was to find out if the De Anza community planned to vote in the 2024 election and who their preferred candidate was, regardless of whether they planned to vote or not. Here are the results: Out of 226 responses, 126 planned to vote in the election. The survey found that social science majors were projected to have the highest turnout,
with 77.8% of respondents planning to vote or already voted. Meanwhile, health science majors had the weakest predicted turnout at 38.9%.
At 55.8%, De Anza would have a better voter turnout than both California or the United States had in 2020 (45% and 47.8% of their total adult populations, respectively).
Despite the encouraging projections, some students still face obstacles to voting.
“I’m not really into politics,” Lana Tran, 18, a nursing major, said. Tran said people should participate in elections, but feels she doesn’t know enough about it.
LA VOZ STAFF
Construction workers spray water to suppress dust from spreading during demolition of the west-facing side of the Flint Center on Oct. 24.
PHOTO BY FRANK MAYERS
Chief Daniel Acosta speaks to Foothill-De Anza Police Sergeant Shane Lueddeke at the Taser community forum on Sept. 17 in the Media and Learning Center.
PHOTO BY ANN PENALOSA
Voting continued from page 1.
Chris Sun, 30, a nursing major, said it’s important for citizens to participate in politics as a way to resolve their differences, but admits that his busy school schedule left him little time to make voting plans or choose a candidate.
“It’s very difficult to vote for those two, for me personally,” Sun said. He worries that any elected candidate might push the country further toward political extremism, veering too far left or right.
“I think every vote matters,” Abad Khan, 18, a business major, said. “You should be standing firm on what issues you’re about.”
As an immigrant from Pakistan, Khan has seen firsthand the challenges of economic instability and hopes the results of the election will
protect the United States from further economic inequality.
Abortion rights and the crisis in Palestine were most often cited as students’ primary issues this election cycle.
A major flaw of the poll was that it neglected to ask voter eligibility status. Among the respondents who did not intend to vote, some were below the legal voting age of 18, while many others cited a lack of U.S. citizenship as the reason they would not be voting.
Though this non-voter group was more likely to be impartial on who should be president, they believe this election holds real implications for their future. Isaak Yzakeev, 21, an international student and business major, said the most crucial matter is to stop the war in Palestine. After that, Yzakeev cares that Permanent Resident Cards, also known as “green
Tasers continued from page 1.
“The electricity from a nine volt battery can electrocute you and kill you — it can stop your heart, creating an arrhythmic heart rate, and you can have a heart attack,” community organizer and Silicon Valley De-Bug columnist Raymond Goins, said. “(Manufacturers) put it on every battery; ‘Warning: can lead to death.’”
Throughout the meeting, Acosta stressed the fact that district police have never had to fire their service weapon since it was established.
“Not one shot’s been fired — not one, and kudos to the officers who have done that. I want to keep that going, having one additional option before having to go to the firearm,” Acosta said.
A community member in attendance distributed copies of Axon’s eight-page safety warning document provided to police departments when obtaining Taser weapons.
Attendees, most of whom were students, voiced concerns about the ethics and safety of permitting police to carry Tasers on campus, as well as raising concerns about the district’s priorities.
“How much do you estimate, of the money that could be used to support our students, that you want to use on weapons?” Mahder Aklilu, 20, a geology major and the Umoja Liaison for DASG, asked during the forum.
Acosta responded that district police wanted to pull from grants as much as it could before digging into the general fund to fund its Tasers, clarifying that the department has the option to do so; he then said he thought it was a worthwhile investment to avoid a wrongful death lawsuit.
“At this point, it’s almost a liability not to have Tasers.”
— Daniel Acosta
cards,” become available to noncitizen students. He plans to vote in the next election if the next president delivers on this item.
From South Korea, Yong Song, 24, a mechanical engineering major, is certain he would vote if he could. Song is most concerned about immigration and economic issues.
“There’s so many underrepresented people in California that deserve to be represented.”
— Yong Song
“Everybody should have their input on what goes around in the country,” Song said. “There’s so many under-
Faculty Association Vice President James
is a political science professor, addresses both the police
and
“I don’t know what the actual costs are at this point; we haven’t even gotten an estimate yet. We’ve already started looking for grants, and there are a lot of grants out there,” Acosta said. “But if you look at it, there are several lawsuits out there where individuals have lost family members because often officers shot them — they’re suing because the department did not have Tasers. At this point, it’s almost a liability not to have Tasers.”
Aklilu then asked about the fact that, as a community college, De Anza has a higher disabled population than at four-year or private universities. Over 1,500 students enroll in Disability Support Services annually, according to its department website, totaling to around 1 in 10 students using headcount figures from the school’s Spring 2024 Enrollment Comparison Report.
“Do you have an understanding of the fact that a Taser will be a lethal weapon to the majority of our disabled students?” Aklilu said.
“You may not know that (the person is high risk) at the moment, you may not know that at the time (that they’re tased,” Acosta said. “You may not even know that they’re under the influence or have some
sort of disability. But it (procedure to apprehend a disabled or at-risk individual) is, as Joy mentioned, in the duty menu.”
“Do you understand that it will cause people to die if they are tased when they have severe disabilities or even any level of disability, and are you okay with that risk?”
— Mahder Aklilu
“I want a direct answer,” Aklilu asked. “Do you understand that it will cause people to die if they are tased when they have severe disabilities or even any level of disability, and are you okay with that risk?”
Acosta replied that Tasers have a risk of lethality regardless of disability status.
“(Death) is still a risk if you’re perfectly healthy,” Acosta said. “People
represented people in California that deserve to be represented.”
Kavi Kumaresan, 20, a film and television major and president of De Anza’s Marxist club, is from India and also encourages eligible students to vote, but warns that democratic voting has its limitations.
So, how did we vote? The results show that De Anza students overwhelmingly voted for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, with 71.2% supporting them, compared to 28.8% for Trump and Vance. De Anza leaned more in favor of the Democratic Party nominee than the rest of California in 2020, 63.5% Democratic and 34.3% Republican.
Overall, 63.3% of Hispanic or Latino respondents favored Harris, compared to 18.4% for Trump, and 76.2% favored Harris out of those who identified as female. White
have fallen and hurt their heads (after being tased because their muscles lock up). No, I’m not good with any death.”
Axon brands its Tasers as “lesslethal” weapons.
“The Taser is not designed to kill,” Acosta said. “Whether you want to believe in the ulterior motives of what a less-lethal weapon does, the alternative is to try to use the least means of danger to that person.”
Katia Bravo, 19, a data science major and the DASG Chair of Student Rights and Equity, said that the statistics failed to address what she says is key to the issue of police brutality and wrongful killings.
“I understand the purpose of a Taser, but one thing that I noticed about all the statistics that was brought up was that at the core of it all, it’s really the people who are killing people, and not necessarily the weapons,” Bravo said. “With the reality of society being discriminatory towards different races and people of different abilities, how would adding another tool or weapon to the (district police) arsenal be helpful in addressing that?”
Acosta said that he would have to see a history of racism or a racist incident in an officer to be able to take action and that those officers have rights as well.
“I’ve actually asked a lot of psychologists, ‘How would you know if someone’s racist? How would you know if they have a tendency for use of force,’ and pretty much all their answers are similar — that there’s a history; and if there’s no history there, what can you really do?” Acosta said.
“Since the (ability to sync with a) body camera seems to be the main selling point for Axon, is there any data extracted from that?” Bravo asked. “When the Taser is pulled out, what percentage (of the time) are they pulled out on Black, brown and disabled people compared to others?”
Tuttle then said he didn’t know as the data isn’t there, and that he would have to research published body camera studies, but that Axon or anyone interested in conducting a study would have to get that data from local police agencies, which “is awfully
respondents were most likely to favor Donald Trump, 29.6%, however, 23 of the 27 students and faculty who identified as white also identified as male. From specifically white male respondents, 34.8% favored Donald Trump. Trump was also more popular among those who declined to provide any ethnicity, with 36% favoring Trump compared to 32% for Harris.
The highest favored third-party candidate, with 5.4% of the vote, was Jill Stein, who was most popular among students identifying as Middle Eastern or North African. Stein, the 2024 Green Party nominee, has been vocal about ending the conflict in Palestine. Claudia De la Cruz, the candidate from the Party for Socialism and Liberation, was also written in. Kanye West received one vote.
tough with privacy concerns.”
Political science professor James Nguyen, an officer in the Faculty Association, Foothill and De Anza’s faculty union, said that Tasers could exacerbate students’ and faculty’s fears towards district police and undercut the department’s community relations.
“Unilaterally, the folks in (the Faculty Association) did not want officers here to have Tasers.”
— James Nguyen
“When I think of safety, I see it in a couple different ways — safety in terms of reducing the amount of crime on campus (for) the overall safety of the campus community, but also the safety and perceived safety of students, faculty, staff and administrators,” Nguyen said. “I’ve heard students, faculty and staff say that they’re afraid of police officers; I think Tasers on campus would create an escalated environment rather than a de-escalated one.”
Nguyen said that he asked the union’s executive council for their thoughts on the matter in June, and that the prospect of arming district police with Tasers did not receive any support.
“Unilaterally, the folks in (the Faculty Association) did not want officers here to have Tasers,” Nguyen said. “There was a sense that, as faculty, we want to prioritize things that lead to real, solid ways we can see safety — like being able to lock our doors in the case of an active shooter. That’s not happening yet.”
District police will hold the next forum on Nov. 14 at Foothill College in the Appreciation Hall from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Nguyen, who
PHOTO BY ANN PENALOSA
INFOGRAPHIC BY BROOKLYN COYLE
INFOGRAPHIC BY BROOKLYN COYLE
Tuttle.
Men’s soccer rises to No. 1 in Coast Conference
Mountain Lions defeat Evergreen Valley for first time since 2019, improving team’s record
By Anna Bhogra
In a tense game between men’s soccer rivals, De Anza College was able to secure a 3-2 home game victory on Oct. 18 after a history of losses against Evergreen Valley College.
The Mountain Lions avenged their previous 3-0 defeat against the Evergreen Valley Hawks earlier in the season and came back with a hard fought game that went down to the final whistle.
Evergreen Valley’s striker Ricardo Tovar scored the first goal in minute 17, assisted by forward Jesus Valtierra, putting the Hawks in a 1-0 lead.
De Anza responded swiftly — just 10 minutes later, forward Andre Gonzales evened the score, volleying the ball off a well-placed header from forward Emiliano Castro, setting the tone for a comeback.
The Mountain Lions, motivated by their first goal, picked up the pace, staying composed and playing a better second half. Team captain
Whitaker Tollmann, 19, a business major, who was a key defensive player in the match, reflected on the team’s comeback after a shaky start.
“Our team came together after a sloppy first half and showed sparks of our true potential,” Tollmann said.
De Anza’s forward Peewee Orocio, 17, a business management major, found the back of the net halfway through the second half with an assist by previous goal scorer Gonzales.
Just 13 minutes later, the Mountain Lions were awarded a penalty, which midfielder Alessandro Velasquez flawlessly placed into the top left corner, extending De Anza’s lead to 3-1.
After the fourth goal, with only little time remaining, the Mountain Lions were given four yellow cards (three during added time), raising concern for forward player Flavio Barney, 19, business management major.
“I think we need to control our emotions more as a team and individually,” Barney said. “It can lead to unnecessary yellow or red cards which will affect us in the long run.”
As the game went into extra time, Roberto Martinez scored a penalty kick for the Hawks, concluding the game with a 3-2 victory for De Anza; the first time in 1,809 days that the Mountain Lions have won against the Hawks
“I’m sure we’re going to face Evergreen (Valley) again in the playoffs,” Barney said. “We’re going to work even harder and be more prepared, but ultimately I’m proud of my team and how we played today.”
Following the game, De Anza
rose to the number one spot in the Coast-South conference, improving their record to 9-3-2 overall and 5-1-1 in conference play. With six regular season matches remaining, the Mountain Lions look to stay poised and maintain their spot.
Instructor inspires students with lessons rooted in his childhood
Meteorology professor pushes international students to pursue their academic dreams
By Yumeno Matsuo
STAFF
Thirty years ago, a boy in Mumbai, India waited for a cloud which let people know rain was approaching the area. Fast forward to fall of 2024, that boy has now become a man, teaching meteorology classes at De Anza College.
Neel Desai, an instructor in meteorology, said he has been interested in clouds and nature since he was a child. Desai said the climate in Mumbai is extremely hot and humid; it only receives rain from June through September.
“Everyone in India, not just me, would wait for the rains, (and) I used to keep waiting for the first sign of the clouds.” Desai said.
Although it thundershowers when it rains in India, Desai said he enjoyed that.
“By enjoying that, I knew I liked nature.
I like science, even in school,” Desai said. “I had that passion and I wanted to learn more about clouds and nature.”
Although Desai became interested in clouds when he was a child, his journey in higher education started in a mechanical and aerospace engineering program at the University of Mumbai. After finishing his undergraduate degree, he came to the United States to study at the University of Michigan to complete a master’s degree in aerospace engineering.
While one student types on the keyboard, another student takes notes and the other student moves the mouse and makes sure that the code is saved regularly because power outages often happened during the middle of the day at that time.
“We used to have problems because of the (lack of) rain, because most of our electricity comes from hydropower plants,” Desai said. “And the last rain is in September, so the lake starts to dry out by the time you reach February (and) March.”
When Desai studied at graduate school in the U.S., he had to do almost everything, such as writing code or making a graph, with his computer.
“Grad school was tough, but whatever I learned through it, it helped me,” Desai said. “I had two years of grad school (and) one year of research. I was able to do a Ph.D., because all that was useful.”
“Don’t worry, everyone is the same. Everyone will make friends with you, and you learn a lot more if you integrate into the local culture.”
— Neel Desai
Desai said when he studied aerospace engineering, he liked the concept, but he did not like applying the concepts to airplanes. By chance, Desai got a project related to wind energy and atmospheric turbulence, and then he realized he liked nature. From that moment, he decided that was what he wanted to pursue.
Desai said he wanted to learn more about atmospheric sciences.
“Since I have a mechanical engineering background, we made clouds in the lab,” Desai said. “We studied them, and we published them. People were like ‘This is something new.’”
Even though Desai has a doctorate in atmospheric sciences and meteorology, he said studying in college was tough because it is much different than studying in high school.
“But if you get over it, if you are able to learn, then the college degree helps you out,” Desai said. “You’ll get a broader perspective.”
Desai supports students at De Anza College, as well as at San Jose State University, where he also teaches classes.
Cleo Greenberg, 19, psychology major, said she is enjoying Desai’s Weather and Climate Processes class even though science is not her favorite field.
that Desai expressed interest in the teaching position at De Anza College.
Mullens said she felt confident after a couple of conversations with Desai, so she brought him in to meet the dean, and then Desai became an instructor at De Anza College.
Desai said the transition from undergraduate school in India to graduate school in the U.S. was challenging because the educational systems are different.
For example, Desai said he had to share one computer with two other students at his undergraduate school in Mumbai. The students had to share five computers with 15 other students in his coding class.
Desai said, “When I got the Ph.D. admission, that’s when I asked my adviser, ‘Do we still not know something about our atmosphere, about our weather that I can help solve?’”
Then, his adviser said there were many questions in the field that need answers such as how rain forms. Desai used what he studied in aerospace engineering when he and his adviser did research.
When measuring a cloud, it can be quite difficult to get out of the plane.
“He’s a very good professor for someone that wants to know a surface level amount, or if you want to go deeper into it,” Greenberg said.“If someone wants to go deep into it, he will, but he tries to explain it very simply, and I really enjoy that. … For people that are interested, he does put in the effort.”
One of Desai’s coworkers said he was one of the best candidates to become an instructor at De Anza College.
Alicia Mullens, a meteorology instructor at De Anza College, said when she was looking for a part-time adjunct professor to cover for her while she was on professional development leave, she first called out to her coworkers at SJSU, and it was then
Mullens is Desai’s coworker, but at the same time, she is also a student of his because she’s taking a class that Desai teaches at SJSU on carbon cycle meteorology.
“I kind of know how he’s teaching my De Anza students,” Mullens said. “And he’s doing a great job.”
Desai said De Anza students are focused on their career goals such as transferring to four-year universities, and he enjoys helping with the first steps for their career goals.
Desai said,“(For example,) they want to go to Berkeley, so they come to class, they really want to learn.”
Desai said that by teaching students how to look at data or how to answer questions, “If they get
good now, they can do good at upper universities as well.”
As a former international student, Desai said he understands how hard studying abroad is because the transitions are tough. Many things, including the culture, the way people do things and the language is quite different from where the student came from.
“Take that leap,” Desai said. “Don’t worry, everyone is the same. Everyone will make friends with you, and you learn a lot more if you integrate into the local culture.”
Desai said he is focusing on teaching meteorology at De Anza College, but he is also capable of teaching mathematics, physics and math engineering because of his teaching experiences while he was in graduate school.
“I’m hoping I can help out in other departments as well,” Desai said. “So that I can contribute to the whole division that way.”
Midfielder Alessandro Velasquez (10) charges at the ball to beat defender Alfredo Cardenas (5) at the soccer field in De Anza College on Oct. 18.
PHOTO BY ANN PENALOSA
Neel Desai, a meteorology instructor, holds his motto in Physical Sciences and Technology Village Center on Oct. 7.
PHOTO BY YUMENO MATSUO
Neel Desai, a meteorology instructor, teaches his Weather and Climate Processes class at E32 on Oct. 9.
PHOTO BY YUMENO MATSUO
SPLITTING THE SKY
US Air Force and Navy visit San Francisco for Fleet Week celebration
By Frank Mayers
LA VOZ STAFF
Thousands of aviation and Navy fans descended on San Francisco on Friday, Oct. 11 while fighter jets roared overhead during the annual Fleet Week celebration.
The event features warship tours, free concerts and three days of airshows, and is held in Fisherman’s Wharf. Started in 1981 by then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein, Fleet Week is intended to honor U.S. armed forces, according to the official Fleet Week website.
This year’s air show featured a number of returning performers from previous years, including a rescue diver demo by the U.S. Coast guard, a choreographed demonstration routine by a United Airlines Boeing 777-300 airliner, and an aerobatics and hovering demonstration by a U.S. Marine Corps F-35b Joint Strike Fighter.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels headlined the airshow, returning to the skies of San Francisco to perform precision formation flying and stunning aerobatic maneuvers over the bay.
A new addition to the Fleet Week lineup this year was the U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor demo team, performing an intense aerobatic routine, showing off the maneuvering capabilities of the stealth fighter.
Four Blue Angels F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft fly past Alcatraz Island in diamond formation on Friday Oct. 11 at the San Fracisco Fleet Week airshow.
A Blue Angel makes a tight turn over San Francisco, generating clouds on its wings, the water vapor refracts the sunlight causing rainbow colors in the aircraft’s wake.
The USMC F-35b gets close to the sound barrier as it makes a high speed flyby, a vapor cone forming around the aircraft due to its speed
A U.S. Air Force U2 makes a surprise visit to the Fleet Week airshow. The U2 is a high altitude reconnaissance aircraft first introduced during the Cold War.
The Blue Angels’ Lockheed C-130 nicknamed ‘Fat Albert’ passes in front of the Golden Gate Bridge making spiraling vapor trails from the tips of its propeller blades while spectators line the hills behind.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels F/A-18 Super Hornets fly behind the Pier 39 flag in echelon formation during a low flyover.
A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor is joined by a WWII-era P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft for a formation flight known as a heritage flight, showcasing advancement in aviation technology.
United Airlines Boeing 777300 airliner flies over the Golden Gate Bridge.
Diwali: Bollywood beats, festive feasts
Campus community celebrates South Asian festival a week ahead of the official festival.
By Atharva Salkar
LA VOZ STAFF
Spectators watched as the South Asian student performers delivered routines to choreographed songs such as “Bole Chudiyan” and “Dilliwali Girlfriend.” Garlands, lanterns, rangolis and information centers dotted the main quad on Oct. 23, in preparation for the Diwali Festival hosted by De Anza staff and students.
Diwali is a festival that originated in India but is now celebrated by millions worldwide, often between or during the months of October and November. It symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, and is observed across Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist faiths.
Rachel Fletcher-Ferreira, 20, a biology major, said she enjoyed watching her friends perform.
“I have some friends actually who are in there,” Fletcher-Ferreira said. “It’s really fun to watch my friends be a part of it.”
The event had four major attractions: the food counter, which served gulab jamuns and other Indian sweets; a henna artist; a diya (clay lantern) and rangoli (powder-based art) decoration stall and the key attraction: the dance square in front of the fountain, with seating provided for all guests.
Aroush Fatima, 17, a computer science major and the head student organizer and orator for the event, said, “Diwali is all about fun, food, ladoos, rasgullas and all the sweet food you can imagine.”
“Indian culture is all about dance; there are so many states in India and all of them have their own
performance style,” Fatima said. “These dance styles with different clothes all look so good — we (the Indian Student Association) thought we should recreate it over here so far away from India and share this cultural moment everyone should know.”
Student volunteers stationed at the information desks educated the De Anza community about customs and traditions associated with Diwali.
Students from various diverse cultural backgrounds volunteered for this event.
Wing Nadin Win, 16, computer science major appreciated the friendly atmosphere.
“This is very fun for me and I just wanted to try out new things,” Win said.
Students exiting from the library and cafeteria stood and watched the program celebrations.
Aum Radadia, 18, an electrical engineering major said, “As a person from Indian heritage, I feel pride in seeing that our culture is being represented in community colleges … This event really brought me back to India because I was actually born in India.” Lakshmi Auroprem, one of the lead event organizers for the Diwali Festival spoke about the development of this event.
“The first year we did it was in 2019 and it was a smaller event only for the staff, and students at the Office of Equity,” Auroprem said.
The positive responses coming from students and staff encouraged everyone to continue to host the Diwali event at De Anza.
Unfortunately, the pandemic forced the event to a halt, and its subsequent resumption was in 2022.
“On a personal level, I feel like I wanted to share the joy of Diwali because Diwali in my memory is something that brings happiness and smiles on everyone’s faces … even in the most stressful situation. If it’s festival time, we all put that (stresses) aside and celebrate together,” Auroprem said. On the subject of outreach, Auroprem said they’re always trying to improve their efforts, this year the
festival hosted a resource table for students.
“I think that added a lot of value to our event where people are not only having fun and enjoying the community, they’re also getting to know about the resources on campus,” Auroprem said.
The Indian Student Association performed various functions to make the event successful. They
pitched fundraising ideas, involved and coordinated students for group performances and facilitated students and faculty for the event.
“The Indian Student Association was a great asset to the event coordination this year,” Auroprem said. “I heard one of the students tell me that this felt like home, and that is our ultimate goal.”
PUSO celebrates Filipinx American History Month
Over 80 students enjoy bingo, karaoke, ice cream to foster community at Halo Halo Mixer
By Brooklyn Coyle
Pilipino Unity Student Organization’s Halo Halo Mixer was the third of four events honoring Filipinx American History Month in October. The event was held on Oct. 22 in conference rooms A and B at the Hinson Campus Center.
The event featured bingo, karaoke and halo halo: Tagalog for “mix mix,” a popular dessert in the Philippines. Halo Halo consists of shaved ice, evaporated milk (PUSO also offered oat milk as an alternative) and assorted toppings such as red beans and nata de coco (coconut jelly). Halo Halo is typically topped with ice cream, and leche flan is occasionally added.
Daniel Flores, 18, an economics major and one of PUSO’s officers, brought all of the ingredients and worked the ice maker for a portion of the event.
“My favorite part was all of the new people that came to support us,” Flores said. “Also making the ice was really fun.”
One of PUSO’s advisors, Sherwin Mendoza, an English professor, said the student officers took the lead in putting the event together, and that the Office of Equity helped ensure the event would be supported by De Anza Student Government funds.
“Me and Adriana Garcia from the Office of Equity were kind of supporting. So they (the officers) would have ideas, and then we would see if we had resources to implement the ideas,” Sherwin Mendoza said.
Frances Mendoza, 21, a studio art major and administrative assistant for the Impact AAPI learning community program, said that another worker in Impact AAPI gave them instructions on how to set up the karaoke.
“It was all very much a community group effort that was able to bring this to life,” Frances Mendoza said.
The turnout for the event was much higher than anticipated. Sherwin Mendoza said that there were only around 10 RSVP’s, but he later found out people were inviting their friends.
Tony Santa Ana, an Asian American and Asian studies professor, also invited his Filipinx American History and Culture class.
“I was anticipating max 40 (people),” Sherwin Mendoza said. “We had at least twice as many.”
Throughout the event, all attendees were invited to come to the front of the room and sing karaoke.
Frances Mendoza said that they were looking forward to singing at the event because they don’t get many opportunities to do karaoke outside of their apartment.
“I felt like this was a very safe space,” Frances Mendoza said. “Especially because some of the singers who went before me, the way I would describe their voices is very similar to how a lot of my uncles or my Tito sing, which made me feel very safe because we’re all here to have fun.”
Sherwin Mendoza said that some attendees showed new sides to themselves when they were given the opportunity to sing.
“I was talking to professor Santa Ana and he mentioned that one of his students, who he thought was really shy, actually came out and sang,” Sherwin Mendoza said. “It was almost like he couldn’t recognize him.”
Frances Mendoza said that community is a big moral value held by Filipino Americans.
“To be able to organize everybody together — not just faculty, students, even prospective club members — in a space like this, to have fun and feel comfy and safe, I think that’s my favorite part,”
Frances Mendoza said.
The last event hosted by PUSO
for Filipinx American History Month took place on Oct. 29. Tony Santa Ana invited four Filipino American writers to his Filipinx American History and Culture class to share their stories.
Although Filipinx American History Month is now over, PUSO plans to host more large-scale events like the Halo Halo Mixer in the future.
“I feel like we have a pretty good core of officers and people who are supporting and helping out,” Sherwin Mendoza said. “So I’m sure that there are going to be things in Winter and Spring.”
Mathematics instructor Doli Bambhania dances with fellow staff and students in the main quad on Oct. 23 during the Diwali festival.
PHOTO BY ALLAN GALEANA
LA VOZ STAFF
Daniel Flores, 18, an economics major and PUSO officer, hands shaved ice to an attendee for their halo halo in Conference Rooms A and B on Oct. 22.
PHOTO BY BROOKLYN COYLE
Frances Mendoza, 21, a studio art major and administrative assistant for the Impact AAPI learning community program, sings karaoke in conference rooms A and B on Oct. 22.
PHOTO BY BROOKLYN COYLE
Stevens Creek Boulevard inefficient, dangerous
Adding pedestrian median islands, dedicated bus lanes will ensure safety, reduce traffic time
By Harry Neil GUEST WRITER
Stevens Creek Boulevard is undergoing a two-year project that builds on prior transportation planning initiatives to establish a unified vision for the future of the corridor according to cupertino.org.
The Stevens Creek Boulevard Corridor Steering Committee that oversees this project, is composed of representatives from the cities of Cupertino, Santa Clara and San Jose in addition to employees from Santa Clara County and the Valley Transportation Authority. The committee has spent the last two years evaluating the future of Stevens Creek roadways.
De Anza College sits at the end of what is arguably the most important corridor in Santa Clara County on Stevens Creek Boulevard. It connects students to local hot spots such as:
- Downtown San Jose
- Santana Row
- Westfield Valley Fair
- Main Street Cupertino
The Stevens Creek Boulevard Corridor Vision Study project offers some great improvements: protected bicycle lanes, wider sidewalks and new greenery; all of which are sorely needed for a corridor that has witnessed over 180 car crashes every year according to the committee staff. However, even with the aforementioned wins, their plan falls dangerously short in some key areas because it lacks safer crossings and transit improvements.
Today, Stevens Creek Boulevard is unsafe, uncomfortable and inconvenient to get around by foot, bike or transit. It has six lanes, all designed for high-speed driving. There are narrow sidewalks, long
crossings and only small sections of protected bike lanes. The roadway layout and new developments don’t just encourage driving — they force it.
If you walk, bike, use a mobility device or take transit, you are relegated to a second-class citizen status on Stevens Creek Boulevard.
The corridor’s unsafe design has caused more than 180 crashes every year. The current status quo is unacceptable.
The solutions we need are dedicated bus lanes and pedestrian median islands.
The bus ride from De Anza College to Alum Rock Transit Center in East San Jose can take up to 75 minutes during peak traffic. It’s slow, uncomfortable and makes you feel like a second-class citizen.
Over 10,000 people take the bus along Stevens Creek every day, and they deserve better. Adding dedicated bus lanes can realistically cut down the bus trip to just over 30 minutes, which can be as fast or faster than driving in peak traffic.
Crossing Stevens Creek Boulevard is dangerous, especially for the elderly, people with disabilities and children. Median islands give pedestrians a safe haven halfway across the road where they are visible to drivers and provide a buffer for them to safely cross the street.
Pedestrian median islands are used all over the world, including on many local roads here in Santa Clara County. Implementing them on Stevens Creek is a no-brainer.
To support today’s businesses and education while laying a safe and sustainable foundation for tomorrow’s housing development, the corridor needs to be more than what it is today and more than what the existing plans call for. Stevens Creek needs better
transit as soon as possible.
Our local governments are set to decide on the future of the Stevens Creek Corridor at the final meeting of the Steering Committee on Dec. 18. If you believe that we need better public transit and a safer corridor, notify the committee by signing this petition.
Tell your friends and family to sign it too. We can and will win the improvements we need for a more sustainable, prosperous and equitable Stevens Creek roadway.
Harry Neil, 22, a history major, is a transit advocate and member of the VTA Citizens Advisory Committee. This article is written in Neil’s personal capacity.
New year, same ‘crispy’ bathrooms
Administration provides queer students with bucket, promises shower curtains
By Acey Nickel LA VOZ STAFF
The gender-neutral bathroom in the L quad has been locked following the fire last school year, drawing outrage from transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming students across De Anza.
“As a nonbinary person, I deserve to be able to p-ss like everyone else,” Yuri Nader, 20, an animation major, said. “The L quad’s bathroom was the closest gender-neutral bathroom to the animation lab, and now it’s closed entirely? Now I either need to rush over to Panda Express, or just p-ss in the alley by the ATI building and hope no one sees me.”
“It was bad enough that it got set on fire,” Vivian Tran, 18, a computer science major, said. “But now we can’t even gawk at the melted light fixtures while we pee. At least it was slightly better to look at than the Nazi graffiti in some of the other bathrooms.”
Some students, however, say they are unbothered by the issue.
“I really don’t see what the problem is,” Hunter Christiansen, 19, a business administration major, said. “Can’t they just pee their pants in class like I do? The janitors will just clean it up. That’s their job, right?”
“I think it’s good they have to suffer a bit,” Jack Wadd, 22, an accounting major, said. “The
transgenders- I mean, transgender people have had it too good for too long. When will there be a day of remembrance for straight white men?”
When asked for comment, Holden Ittin, a representative of the school’s Urinary Services department, said. “We’re working on it, jeez. Back in my day, if you snuck off to p-ss during class, you’d be paddled in front of the entire college. Kids these days don’t realize how good they’ve got it.”
De Anza reportedly plans to replace the gender-neutral bathroom with a bucket and some shower curtains in the interim.
“With this, we administrators do our humble part in providing our transgender students with options,” De Anza representative Cissy Jenner said. “We at De Anza College stand proud with our students, staff and faculty who are part of the Great BLT community.”
As of this writing, the bucket has been installed; however, the curtains have been delayed until December 2025 due to budget constraints.
View the Stevens Creek Boulevard Corridor Vision.
Sign the petition to voice your opinion on improving public transit.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ACEY NICKEL
The gender-neutral bucket, installed after numerous complaints from students, sits outside the closed genderneutral bathroom. The Urinary Services department has yet to install the shower curtains.
Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority bus 2334 makes its way into the De Anza College bus stop, before coming back on to Stevens Creek Boulevard on its way to Alum Rock Transit Center in east San Jose.
PHOTO BY ANN PENALOSA
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About us
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Admin’s attack on free speech at Foothill threatens De Anza
Speech restrictions at sister college set bleak example
By La Voz Editorial Board
Free speech in the Foothill-De Anza Community College District is under attack. De Anza College students have an obligation to use the free speech they are still afforded to protect it across the district, before the restrictions imposed on students on Foothill College campus slowly normalize and make their way to this campus.
After months of chalk art in the wake of Israel’s siege on Gaza, as well as a walkout for Palestine on May 1 and an art installation recognizing the children of Palestine in the library quad prior to that, Foothill’s administration chose to restrict all “expressive activities” to Cesar Chavez Plaza and all chalk art to the bricked area across its campus.
This included the District Office, which is located on Foothill campus.
Any activities the college’s administration deems “expressive” that happen outside the plaza — as well as any perceived violation of its time, place and manner policy — are subject to unspecified disciplinary action, according to its newsletter.
On top of that, Foothill’s administration has lumped students wishing to reserve the space in with nonprofit solicitors and vendors by having them fill out a form to “reserve” access to the free speech area before using it. While the form vets vendors, it’s unclear whether administration could deny students their rights to free speech by not letting them use the plaza.
Considering the plaza’s location (far from the library quad, the heart of campus), size (or rather, lack thereof) and the fact that it’s located in a fire lane, Foothill administration’s decision to designate Cesar Chavez Plaza as the “Free Speech Zone” made it difficult and inconvenient for students to exercise their right to free speech.
Additionally, this posed problems for students who wanted to observe governing bodies or hold them accountable — at what point does a group attending an Academic Senate, MIP-C, ASFC or even Board of Trustees meeting become an “expressive” activity and therefore subject to discipline? How many people attending these meetings does it take for their administration to consider it as an “assembly?”
A later version of the policy also outlined that administration would not permit any “expressive
A “gripper mountain” attempts to squash three students with its toes as Roary the Mountain Lion stops it, pushing its heel up with his paw.
activities” before 8 a.m. and after 5 p.m. — Board of Trustees meetings routinely go past 5 p.m. with open sessions often starting after 6 p.m. This policy endangers students who attend and are deemed “expressive” there.
While Foothill’s administration recently repealed parts of its time, place and manner policy — in particular, its students are no longer subject to punishment for holding “expressive activities” on “grassy areas, walkways and other open spaces that are visible and ac-
cessible to the college community” — it is unacceptable that it was the case in the first place, that most of the policy remains (including the time constraints) and that the college is able to reinstate those policies at a moment’s notice, per its president’s discretion. De Anza currently does not have time, place and manner restrictions specific to its campus, meaning students here don’t risk discipline for their speech on the campus level, but that can change at the president’s discretion.
That shouldn’t change. If anything, in the face of this, De Anza’s administration and student government has an obligation to reaffirm students’ rights to free speech, as well as their right to expression, and its students have every incentive to use their rights and stand up for freedom of speech in their district.
Otherwise, they run the risk of normalizing repression, making it easier for administrations to repress student voices from De Anza and beyond.
ILLUSTRATION BY BROOKLYN COYLE
ART & ENTERTAINMENT
Concert films: The new fan experience
Olivia Rodrigo’s latest love letter to fans comes in the form of a concert film
By Sarah Atito
LA VOZ STAFF
The best seat in the house to see one of the highest selling artists in the world is only going for $6.99, and the deal is not too good to be true.
Olivia Rodrigo’s concert film, “Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour,” released in collaboration with streaming service titan Netflix on Oct. 29, gave over 200 million people a ticket to one of her sold-out shows. The film came as a surprise to many fans, as it was announced only a few weeks earlier on Oct. 2.
The GUTS World Tour welcomed 1.4 million people over 97 concert dates and five touring legs, becoming Rodrigo’s largest tour and first time performing in arenas. Filming took place during her performances at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, on Aug. 20 and 21.
Zach Morgenroth, Rodrigo’s comanager, shared the overwhelmingly positive reception in tour ticket sales in an interview with Billboard magazine.
“There was so much demand from fans this time around … that arenas now felt like an underplay — we probably could have done stadiums everywhere,” Morgenroth said.
The film exists in the perfect balance of offering the concert experience to all the fans who could not make it to the in-person shows, virtually expanding the venue for fans to dance and sing along in the
comfort of their home, and also offering something new for the fans who attended.
As someone who spent hundreds of dollars to attend the GUTS tour in the flesh, and watched countless concert videos on social media, I find the film still offers something fresh and new.
The film opens with unseen footage of Rodrigo’s pre-show routine, huddling with her dancers backstage to chant “Let’s make LA and Netflix our (expletive) best!”
Rodrigo expressed in an interview she does this at every show to help her with her nerves, showing a rare human vulnerability lens of the extremely successful popstar.
Attending her show in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 31, my experience as a fan was unforgettable. Even with my seat in the nosebleeds, screaming along with thousands of strangers to songs that feel like pages of our diaries lyricized, under the glow of blue and purple lights, the room felt electric.
Somehow, the film captures the true essence of the concert and I caught myself singing along even as I watched at 3 a.m..
Rodrigo has affrmed that her second studio album, GUTS, was written with the tour in mind, with high beats and lyrics meant for screaming out loud. The songs have the power to breach the barrier of the screen.
“I wanted to make an album that you could kind of jump to and scream to and songs that could fill up
an arena like that,” Rodrigo said to Vanity Fair.
Rodrigo brought out Chappell Roan as a surprise guest on stage on Tuesday night, Aug. 20, for a once in a lifetime rendition of “HOT TO GO!”. Many fans who did not get to see it live mourned the loss as they saw videos trickle in on social media, but the new film immortalized the performance.
“Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour” offers something unexpected: the perfect fan experience. Fans may laugh or cry with a gift no one expected; Ticket prices for the tour were about $50 at the lowest, simply being out of budget for many who had to long accept they may never get the chance to experience it.
Rodrigo told Vanity Fair it was heartbreaking to hear that she was
not able to welcome all her fans who were not able to see the show for one reason or another, and wanted to create a more accessible experience so everyone could experience GUTS ‘live’.
“I’d go out and get coffee before a show and people would be like, ‘Oh I really wanted to come tonight, but I wasn’t able to get tickets.’ That always made me really sad,” Rodrigo said.
‘CHROMAKOPIA’
is another Tyler, The Creator deep cut
The album has its lows — confusing transitions, clashing sounds — but includes some of his strongest work
By Allan Galeana LA VOZ STAFF
After three long years, Tyler, The Creator’s eighth studio album, “CHROMAKOPIA” released on Oct. 28. The 53-minute album contains 14 songs.
The album features performances from Daniel Caesar, Teezo Touchdown, GloRilla, Sexyy Red, Lil Wayne, LaToiya Williams, ScHoolboy Q, Santigold, Lola Young and Doechii.
“St. Chroma” starts off strong, the beat behind the lyrics is loud and grabs the attention of the listener. It is a good introduction to the album, with it containing aspects that each subsequent song will incorporate throughout the album.
“CHROMAKOPIA” as a whole doesn’t have a clear focus, making it sound like two different albums mashed together. An example of this would be the transition from “Judge Judy” to “Sticky.”
“Sticky” is modern-sounding: it has features from currently popular artists Sexxy Red, GloRilla and Lil Wayne. It talks about how wealthy Tyler is and how each artist handles confrontation which was already discussed in this album previously. “Judge Judy,” however, is a mellow sounding song with lyrics hinting at the death of a woman that Tyler dated.
The album is all over the place, lyrically and emotionally, with certain beats leaving a bewildering feeling. The intro to “Balloon” sounds like stepping into a circus; the backing track is childish.
“Balloon” has an erratic beat and is one of the weaker songs of the album. It comes between two of the most emotionally heavy songs. With Tyler’s work, a stronger beat elevates the lyrics, but with “Balloon” the backing track feels misplaced with the lyrics
ILLUSTRATION
and it takes away from the story being told. It is the worst sounding in the album and feels like it will fall out of public discourse quickly.
“Like Him,” the song before “Balloon,” is the crowning jewel of the album. Here, Tyler sings about his absent father and how he felt like he was the ghost of a man never present in his life. The feature with Lola Young and the piano used is a moving piece of music that stands on its own.
The album could be placed dead center in Tyler’s discography. The lows in the album hurt the overall flow, but the highs stand out as his strongest work. “CHROMAKOPIA” is another milestone in his career, and the change in the development of his sound is still apparent for Tyler’s growth as an artist.
“CHROMAKOPIA” has a couple of songs that sound like they were made with current trends in mind, like the use of currently popular artists. This feeling is carried throughout the album with “Rah Tah Tah,” “NOID,” “I Killed You” and “Balloon.” The experimental instrumentation was unusual, hurting their replayability. The lyrics and topics are strong but the beats behind the lyrics are alienating.
Rating: 3.8/5
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH ATITO WITH PHOTO FROM NETFLIX
Collage of photographs taken at Olivia Rodrigo's Salt Lake City concert, and screencapture from Netflix trailer.
BY BROOKLYN COYLE
Illustration of Tyler, The Creator wearing a mask as seen in the music video "St. Chroma" from his new album "CHROMAKOPIA."