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Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Volume 162 No. 12 WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
SERVING SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
MELISSA ALEJANDRES | SPARTAN DAILY
Students from the Black Student Union met at the Black Leadership and Opportunity Center at the Student Union to talk about what blackness means to each person.
SJSU Students explore blackness By Melissa Alejandres STAFF WRITER
community, as well as feel comfortable in a safe co-president was partially Currie said one of the “We don't discriminate, other groups, to embrace community. in charge of moderating the club's main focuses overall anyone is welcome,” Currie said”. Currie said the club helps foster engagement on campus and brings a safe place for students to express their opinions, especially within the community. McCray said he Seyahmi Currie originally wasn't interested Co-president of the and was only doing Black Student Union photography at the
San José State students and the Black Student Union (BSU) had an educational discussion on the topic of identity, “What does your blackness mean to you?” on Tuesday night in the Student Union. Bryan McCray, a political science major and president of the Black Student Union Club, said BSU encourages their culture and identities, Seyahmi Currie, a students from the Black voice their opinions and political science senior and
I feel like it’s a place where people can just be themselves and express themselves freely without fear of being judged for what they might say.
conversation in a Socratic seminar-style.
is to build the community according to Currie.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH | Page 2
Janelle James visits and speaks Janelle James from "Abbott Elementary" talks about the entertainment industry. By Julia Chie PRODUCTION EDITOR
On Tuesday evening in the Student Union Theater and on a Zoom live-stream, San José State’s Division of Student Affairs invited Janelle James for its Spartan Speaker Series. According to SJSU Student Involvement’s Feb. 14 Instagram post, James stars as Ava in the currently airing ABC series, “Abbott Elementary”. Her latest stand-up special is featured in Netflix’s "The Stand Ups". Previously, James has served as both a writer and actor for Showtime’s "Black Monday", and Apple’s animated series, "Central Park," according to the post. Department manager of the César E. Chávez Community Action Center, Diana Victa moderated the Q&A portion of the event. “The purpose of it is to bring
speakers of different industries. Students can learn about them, and hopefully find inspiration in the type of work that they do,” Victa said. She said she appreciated James’ emphasis on networking. “I think that networking is so important when it comes to career advancement,” Victa said. She also said that she watched “Abbott Elementary”, and loves how James’ character developed over time. Victa said the speaker series will bring actress Stephanie Hsu in April. Child and adolescent development alum and program coordinator at the Black Leadership and Opportunity C e nte r My Sh au n d r i s s Watkins moderated the entire conversation with Janelle James.
JULIA CHIE | SPARTAN DAILY
James sits with MyShaundriss Watkins, the program coordinator at the BLOC, to talk about networking.
“I had to be the person who actually asked the tough questions and deal with the response, whether it's something that we wanted to hear or not and be able to navigate that in real time,” Watkins said. “which is something that you don't prepare for.” She said she asked James questions about her life and
her career as an actress and comedian. “Hearing her perspective firsthand and being able to articulate that for our students who were here was my role,” Watkins said. Watkins said putting this event together was so much fun but stressful at the same time because this is her first time
dealing with real celebrities and their team. “Making sure everything gets approved,” she said. “You also have to be mindful about questions that could go in a different direction, and SPEAKER | Page 3