Spartan Daily Vol. 160 No. 13

War in Ukraine: one year later

By Matthew Gonzalez STAFF WRITER

Friday marks the one year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, firing missiles at various locations surrounding the capital city of Kyiv which sparked criticism from world leaders, according to a Feb. 24, 2022 CNN article.

Although Kyiv is over 6,000 miles away from the San Jose State campus, Russia’s actions impacted Ukrainian students and faculty.

Ulia Gosart, SJSU School of Information assistant professor, said she saw Russia’s invasion of her home country as a call to action.

“I have colleagues and libraries in Ukraine and when the war started, I knew that I had to be responding to that situation by contributing something to help my people,” Gosart said.

Early into Russia’s invasion, many world leaders condemned President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and were eager to voice they wanted to hold him accountable, according to a Feb. 24, 2022 Axios article.

“Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring,” said President Joe Biden in a statement following the invasion. “And the U.S. and its allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way, the world will hold Russia accountable.”

While Ukraine saw support from many countries, two political juggernauts chose not to castigate Russia.

Bird flu causes egg prices to break the bank

By Brandon Nicolas STAFF WRITER

The ongoing bird flu outbreak in the U.S. has killed nearly 60 million birds since January 2022, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

President meets with A.S. board of directors

By Enrique Gutierrez-Sevilla STAFF WRITER

San Jose State President Cynthia TenienteMatson introduced and discussed her vision and goals to the Associated Student Board of Directors during a meeting in the Student Union, on Wednesday.

Teniente-Matson, former president of Texas A&M University, San Antonio, was inaugurated as President of SJSU in January 2023, replacing Interim President Steve Perez.

Teniente-Matson said she plans to partner with student leaders and share governance to engage with student involvement around campus.

“Shared governance is a critical foundation for any university,” Teniente-Matson said. “I think this is a place where students should be part of our overall governance and how we think about the university. And that you bring problems forward or challenges because if someone in this room is having a challenge, it’s likely that someone else is as well.”

She said using their collective voices is

critical to move the institution forward.

Teniente-Matson emphasized the importance of how tradition creates community by referring to her time with Texas A&M.

“I’m not familiar with all of the traditions in existence in San Jose State because I came in the middle of the year. But when I was in Texas, the traditions are what lived on and the students lifted those and moved them forward,” Teniente-Matson said. “Being connected with students is really important to me and everything that I do.”

She said the A.S. board has her support to help enable traditions on campus.

Teniente-Matson said one area where SJSU has room for improvement is campus safety. “I think one of the areas where we need to work together on is campus safety,” Teniente-Matson said. “I’ve heard this from some of the students and I talked to the mayor about this because the mayor has a real focus on San Jose being a very safe community.”

The bird flu, also known as avian influenza, is a viral respiratory disease mainly of poultry and other birds, including migratory waterbirds, and can be transmitted to humans. The first known cases of avian influenza in humans were reported in 1997, according to Britannica.

Avian influenza viruses are classified as highly pathogenic or low pathogenic.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) outbreak was first identified in wild birds in the U.S. in January 2022, the same month the virus was reported globally, according to a Feb. 15, 2023 CDC article.

The virus continues to be mostly an animal health issue and is highly contagious among birds and especially deadly in domestic poultry, according to the same CDC article.

Avian influenza viruses are more likely to be spread by migratory birds and waterfowl. The virus spreads from bird to bird through feces and mucus, but the current public health threat to humans from A(H5N1) virus is low, according to a Jan. 28, 2015 CDC article.

Since 2003, avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) has led to high mortality in poultry and wild birds in Asia,

Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to the same CDC article.

While most bird viruses are low pathogenic avian influenza and cause few signs of disease, highly pathogenic avian influenza can cause severe disease and high mortality rates in infected birds and poultry, according to a March 9, 2022 CDC article.

“Since 1997, more than 880 human cases, nearly all from previously circulating H5N1 virus clades, have been reported from 21 countries with high mortality, but very few cases have been identified worldwide since 2016,” according to a Jan. 23, 2023 CDC article.

“For the general population in the Bay Area, I would say [bird flu is] probably not as much of a concern,” said Scott Shaffer, San Jose State ecology and evolution professor.

Shaffer’s research focuses on seabirds from nearby islands where he collects bird bacteria, tracks their flight paths and takes blood samples.

Shaffer said since there are no large-scale farms with domestic birds in the Bay Area, the risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza is low and probably won’t be a major issue.

He said it is mostly common sense procedures that help people protect themselves from highly pathogenic avian influenza.

“If you go visit a potential place that has livestock or domestic poultry, wash your hands and change your clothes

ENRIQUE GUTIERREZ-SEVILLA | SPARTAN DAILY

SUIREN2022, CC BY-SA 4.0 VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Associated students board of directors members pose for a picture with SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson after Wednesday’s meeting in the Student Union.

UKRAINE

Continued from page 1

Political science associate professor Karthika Sasikumar said India and China’s hesitance to call out Putin for his destructive actions is a result of fragility within the three countries’ mutually-beneficial relationships.

“India and China have opted to lean towards Russia,” Sasikumar wrote in an email. “Both of these countries have financial and geopolitical reasons to refrain from condemning Russia.” Blue and yellow rings illuminated the front of San Jose City Hall as a symbolic motion to cut ties with San Jose’s Russian sister city, Yekaterinburg, according to a Feb. 28, 2022 ABC7 article.

Vigils in support of Ukraine

also took place, calling for peace and catalyzing dialogue about the injustice, according to a March 8, 2022 ABC7 article.

Gosart said the outpouring of support she’s seen within the SJSU community has been a bright spot in a dark time.

“It’s been incredibly wonderful to see that people care and want to support,” she said. “It was also wonderful to see other people join in our initiative, and then actually donating to our fundraiser and really caring about supporting a true cause.”

Volodymyr Zhukov, aerospace junior and former Ukraine resident, said he could remember exactly how he felt the moment he got the news.

“I was scared, it was unknown what would happen next,” Zhukov said in a Zoom interview. “I was really down about it and I even felt guilty for not being there.”

He said he spoke to fellow

Ukrainian students and said they all shared the same guilt-ridden conscience.

Zhukov, who has multiple family members in Ukraine, said on the second day of the war, a shot down warplane came crashing down one kilometer away from his house.

“I saw pictures of streets where I used to ride my bicycle [and] walk with my dog and there was debris of plane and burnt house,” Zhukov said.

He said he wants people to stay informed about what is going on in Ukraine, so they don’t forget about the situation.

“When [the war] just started it was everywhere,” Zhukov said. “And when it’s ongoing and going, people get tired of it especially if it’s not influencing them directly.”

Sasikumar said she feels bad for the media covering the war, as they are responsible for parsing through a massive

MEETING

influx of information.

“I think that the media has a hard job, because unlike in the past, there is a deluge of information as the conflict is playing out,” Sasikumar wrote in an email. “But not all of the information is accurate, and it is very important to be cautious about the political slant to some of the images and news reports that are circulating.”

Political science senior lecturer Sabrina Pinnell said an issue she has with the media’s coverage is their lack of knowledge on Ukrainian and Russian geography.

“This will affect strategic points in Europe such as the Black Sea Region, and bring conflict up to the borders of NATO countries that have large amounts of Ukrainian refugees,” Pinnell wrote in an email.

While the war in Ukraine has deescalated, the effort to aid those

Continued from page 1

She said she is working together with San Jose’s mayor Matt Mahan and the San Jose Police Department to coordinate strategies to keep the campus safe.

“We need to coordinate so that we’ve got all of our arrows pointing in the same direction towards campus safety,” Teniente-Matson said.

Teniente-Matson also talked about academics during the meeting. When asked about how she plans to enable marginalized groups who are struggling and underperforming without lowering education standards, she said she wants to keep common practices in place.

BIRD FLU

Continued from page 1

afterwards,” Shaffer said. “Maybe don’t touch your pets when you come back.”

He said SJSU’s efforts to limit the exposure of the coronavirus has helped students keep routine sanitary practices.

“I would imagine a lot of those things that were drilled into us from COVID would apply and keep the general population safe,” Shaffer said.

For the animal husbandry industry, biosecurity is a growing concern as farmers have to implement a series of management practices to prevent the introduction of the virus into a flock.

Providing clean clothing and disinfection facilities for employees, avoiding the visitations of other poultry farms and keeping poultry flock from coming in contact with wild or migratory birds are some of the measures being implemented to prevent the spread of

that arrives each day. She recommends customers come earlier to buy eggs before they sell out.

Lillie said she struggles to keep up with the complaints of customers who decided to take matters into their own hands.

“I see customers open the egg cartons and switch the cracked eggs out so they get all the good eggs,” she said.

Art history junior Celeste Orlosky said her local Trader Joe’s only sells prebroken egg products, like egg whites or hard-boiled eggs.

Orlosky works at a small cafe in Santa Cruz where the top selling sandwich has a frittata – an egg-based Italian dish similar to an omelet – on it.

“We usually buy eggs in bulk but our distributor has just been out,” Orlosky said. “We’ve been getting them from the grocery store next door, which is okay –they’re just a lot more expensive.”

She said her team at the cafe had a discussion about whether or not to raise the price of the cafe-favorite sandwich in

“He had a hookup for eggs. I don’t think it’s to the degree of a black market, but it’s almost low-key – people are dealing eggs.

the virus, according to an article by the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

But it only takes one infected bird to infiltrate a farm and contaminate the food, water or breeding grounds, according to a Q&A by the National Chicken Council.

In 2022, more than 43 million egglaying hens died from highly pathogenic avian influenza or were killed to prevent its spread, according to a Jan. 11, 2022 USDA’s Economic Research Service report.

“Because of the avian influenza, our egg supply is really limited,” said business and administration sophomore Mikayla Lillie.

Lillie works full time at Trader Joe’s.

She said during Christmas time last year, the store would run out of eggs by 10 a.m.

“People don’t understand the chain of supply for eggs I think,” Lillie said. “They are confused about how we don’t have any more eggs and ask, ‘Isn’t the bird flu over?’ ”

She said she reassures customers who complain about the egg shortage that workers do not control the inventory

response to the rise in egg prices.

Orlosky said she had a customer who offered her co-worker an alternative source of eggs.

“He had a hookup for eggs,” Orlosky said. “I don’t think it’s to the degree of a black market, but it’s almost low-key –people are dealing eggs.”

Eggs are also being smuggled across the Mexico-United States border to meet the egg demands of businesses and communities.

Bringing poultry, including chickens, other animals and their byproducts into the U.S. is prohibited and can be penalized for up to $10,000, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection webpage.

Smuggling chickens and eggs into the U.S. increases the risk of spreading highly pathogenic avian influenza dramatically, while undermining the biosecurity measures of animal farming companies across the nation.

“I’m not a proponent of lowering standards because it doesn’t send the right signal to anybody,” TenienteMatson said. “We embrace what is known as high impact practices, and student success initiatives in the most affirmative way.”

She discussed the California State University Graduation Initiative 2025, which is CSU’s effort to ensure all students have an equal opportunity to earn a degree, according to the CSU webpage.

“A very elaborate system is being built to look at this evidence in San Jose State as part of a six-campus collaboration,” Teniente-Matson said. “To build the system directly for faculty – not for students or administrators – to be able to evaluate their course over time, and see how those grades are playing out by race, ethnicity and gender.”

A.S. President Nina Chuang said she is excited to work alongside TenienteMatson this year.

“There’s a sense of professionalism and also this new face is refreshing, so I’m looking forward to this collaboration,” Chuang said.

She said she hopes that A.S. and the president can maintain their voice and shared governance when it comes to representation.

Chuang meets with Vice President of Student Affairs Patrick Day and Teniente-Matson every other week.

“After [Interim President Steve Perez] left, I only talked with VP Day. I think this is a really great start to this new partnership and collaboration,” Chuang said. “I’m hoping that the president really involves students in our advocacy

who have been detrimentally affected by the violence still continues.

Zhukov said if SJSU students were to send $20, the strength behind U.S. currency stretches a long way in Ukraine.

Pinnell said sending aid to Ukrainian refugees when this war finally concludes will be paramount.

“It’s going to become more difficult for refugees as this war continues, and note that when the war ends, there will need to be a major reconstruction effort to get Ukraine back on its feet,” Pinnell wrote in an email. “This is not a matter of immediate aid, but long-term.”

because in the past they haven’t been including students in the conversation.”

Magnus Herrlin, director of internal affairs for A.S., said he was impressed with Teniente-Matson.

“It was really excellent. I was glad to see that the new president is willing to work with students and we’re able to directly work with the school administration as student leaders,” Herrlin said.

He said Teniente-Matson’s effort is evident by how she engages on social media with students. “I’m really excited to work with the administration and see how they take this more handson approach and listen to students,” Herrlin said.

He said he is looking forward to working with the school administration on improving public safety.

“I’m glad our new president and administration brought these issues to the table and are willing to hear students out to empower their success,” Herrlin said.

Herrlin said anything A.S. would like to do with the president relies on communication.

“I think we’re off to a great start with the president taking her initiative and showing up to our A.S. board meeting. It’s been pretty receptive as far as I can tell,” Herrlin said.

Dominic Treseler, political science junior, Director of Legislative Affairs for A.S. said he had a good first impression of President Teniente-Matson during today’s board meeting.

“She seems super student focused and ready to engage with students on campus which is very exciting,” Treseler said.

He said A.S. has a good relationship with the administration right now, which hasn’t always been the case with past presidents.

“President Teniente-Matson seems really interested in transparency, which is something we’ve been talking about for a long time, the transparency between the university administration and the students,” Treseler said. “She seems really interested in the failings of the university and communicating that information and she wants to change that.”

Corrections

Correction #1: On Feb. 22, the Spartan Daily published a story, “Disaster response team talks safety,” in which we misidentified Facilities Development and Operations.

Correction #2: On Feb. 22, the Spartan Daily published a story “Marine biologist discusses research work,” in which we misidentified Philip Heller’s job position. He is an associate professor of computer science.

Correction #3: On Feb. 22, the Spartan Daily published an infographic titled “SWANA students need more representation,” in which we misidentified Students for Justice in Palestine.

Correction #4: On Feb. 22, the Spartan Daily published a story “SJSU needs to be more aware of marginalized ethnic groups,” in which we mischaracterized Saugher Nojan’s connection to SWANA Coalition.

The Spartan Daily regrets these errors.

CYNTHIA GOLDSMITH; JACQUELINE KATZ; SHERIF R. ZAKI, PUBLIC DOMAIN, VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Follow Enrique Gutierrez-Sevilla on Twitter @mtvenrique

Follow Matthew Gonzalez on Twitter @MattG2001

Celeste Orlosky art history junior

Colorized transmission electron micrograph of Avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses (gold) grown in MDCK cells (green).

SJSU gets ready for home tournament

By Alessio Cavalca MANAGING EDITOR

zAfter finishing 2-2 at the Saint Mary’s Invitational in Moraga, California, last weekend, the San Jose State softball team will prepare for a five-game tournament at home.

The Silicon Valley Classic tournament will take place from Friday to Sunday at the Spartan Softball Stadium.

The Spartans will face Saint Mary’s, Northern Colorado, Sacramento State and University of California, Santa Barbara.

SJSU has not gotten off to a great start to the season, amassing a 2-7 overall record.

Head coach Tammy Lohmann said this upcoming tournament will test the team’s character.

“On Saturday, obviously, we didn’t do such a great job, but, you know, we refocused on Sunday,” Lohmann said. “I think that’s the character of a team is how you can bounce back from losing two games on Saturday and coming back and taking one on the road on Sunday.”

She said it will be a priority for the Spartans to defend home turf.

“I think anytime you play at home, you want to be able to take care of business on the field and be able to defend your home field,” Lohmann said.

SJSU will prepare for a clash against Saint Mary’s College for the second time in six days. The Spartans defeated the Gaels on Sunday 5-0.

“We have like a little rivalry going on with them, you know, and we really compete when it comes to them,” senior pitcher Jenessa Ullegue said. “So I’m excited to see how it goes. It can go either way.”

Lohmann said the Spartans are looking forward to other teams such as Sacramento State and Saint Mary’s.

“I think anytime you got Northern California teams playing against each other, everybody’s kind of trying to take one from each other,” said Lohmann. “But we just got to take care of our business. We don’t need to worry about who we’re playing, but we got to take care of what we need to do as a team.”

Junior outfielder Ashley Rico, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI double during Sunday’s game against Saint Mary’s, said she expects a comeback by the Gaels.

“We’re taking them to come out a little harder just because we beat them on their whole field five to zero,” Rico said. “So we’re going to expect for them to come up and be ready to try and do the same for us and our field.”

Last season, Rico went .290 with 19 RBI and 4 home runs, showcasing a .983 fielding percentage with just one error on the year.

She said the SVC is a good opportunity to prepare for the upcoming season.

“I would say that the conference has better competition, just because there’s more talent, but we are approaching it,”

Rico said. “I never take anyone lightly.”

She said the team is improving week by week, taking something positive from each game.

“We’re taking the positive mindset to see how we can get better and how we can approach the Conference and dominate,” Rico said.

Ullegue, who had 9 strikeouts and the second 7.0 inning pitched of her career, said she is confident about the upcoming game against Saint Mary’s College.

During the 2022 season, Ullegue recorded 117 strikeouts in 140.2 innings pitched, and she was included in the second

team All-Mountain West. She said she is focused on how to help the team to win games.

“I just try to work on mechanics throughout the week, instead of just throwing,” Ullegue said. “And then just getting my mental ray focusing on things that could have

worked on the weekend before.”

She said the whole team worked hard to approach the upcoming games.

“We just focused on, you know, things we could work on the weekend before and we really dialed in during practice,” Ullegue said. “There are a lot of days where you

focus on defense and then offense, and vice versa, and then as pitchers we’re just working on hitting our spots and keeping our composure.”

The Spartans are scheduled to play against Saint Mary’s College at 3:30 p.m. on Friday at the Spartan Softball Stadium.

NATHAN CANILAO | SPARTAN DAILY

Freshman infielder Ahmiya Noriega prepares to field balls at practice on Tuesday morning at Spartan Softball Field.

Evans trio closes out jazz series

By Mat Bejarano STAFF WRITER

A crowd of San Jose community members filed into the Hammer Theatre Center Wednesday night to be transferred into a jazz swinging world.

The Orrin Evans Trio had audience members tapping their feet and swaying in their seats as they graced the stage for an hour.

The trio consists of lead pianist Orrin Evans, drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith and bassist Eric Revis.

The trio closed out the Hammer Theatre’s Black Cab Jazz series, a collaborative series between the theatre, San Jose Jazz and San Jose State showcasing jazz artists to SJSU students and community.

The Black Cab Jazz series began in November and showcased other musicians including Grammy-nominated

saxophonist Melissa Aldana.

The Black Cab gets its name from being a black box theater and the “cab” part is short for cabaret, according to a Nov. 29, 2022 article by SJSU News Center.

Evans, who has been nominated for Best Large Jazz Ensemble twice, has an extensive jazz discography starting in 1995 which includes 28 albums.

Revis is a Grammy award winner and Smith was previously the drummer for Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” band.

“[Revis] is a great composer,” Evans said to the audience. “He writes some hard-ass shit that I can’t play though.”

The trio performed songs including “Wildwood Flower,” “All The Things you Are” and “M.B.B.S.”

“I come from a theater background, my father was a playwright,” Evans said to the audience. “Anytime I do things

in a black box or anything like that kind of theater is always special.”

Evans grew up in Philadelphia and came from a music background as his mother was an Opera singer, according to a Sept. 21, 2018 New York Times article.

“Growing up in Philly, there were so many [jazz musicians]: Shirley Scott, Trudy Pitts and Mickey Roker,” Evans said. “So many famous jazz musicians are from Philly and they were still there when I was growing up.”

Evans said the environment at the Hammer Theatre was great.

“After years of not playing for live audiences it’s great to feel that energy and feed off of people,” Evans said. “I really enjoyed the Black Box Theater and the intimacy and the energy of the people. It was a really great experience.”

Evans said he hopes students in his workshops can

incorporate his music into their studies.

Chris Burrill, executive director of the Hammer Theatre, said it was important to get the Orrin Evans Trio to perform on Wednesday night.

“This has special meaning because these performers as a part of this series go on campus and do a workshop with students,” said Burrill.

“So that’s an opportunity that adds value to San Jose State music students as well as a great performance opportunity.”

Burrill said he wants students to open their minds to other forms of music such as jazz.

“It gives them a vocabulary,” Burrill said. “This just helps them form with something that shows them the big picture.”

Max Ryan, San Jose native and jazz enthusiast, said he was looking for jazz concerts in the area and this one happened to pop up.

“As someone who last year

kind of made it a point to go to live performances, this was my favorite performance I’ve been to in a while,” Ryan said. “It was largely because of Orrin.”

He said he was impressed with Evans’ piano performance.

“It really sounded like he would make the piano pulse at times,” Ryan said. “It would feel thunderous, but also so delicate.”

Ryan said the ending of the show when Evans had the entire crowd singing together was his favorite part.

“A really warm feeling and solid participation from everybody too,” Ryan said.

Nirvana Soul’s third location is coming to SJSU

By Jillian Darnell OPINION EDITOR

Downtown San Jose’s beloved Nirvana Soul is planning to open a new cafe at San Jose State’s Martin Luther King Jr. Library this summer.

The black-owned coffee shop was founded by Jeronica Macey and Be’Anka Ashaolu in 2019.

Since then, they’ve expanded their franchise with a shop in Cupertino in 2022.

Ashaolu said they have been fortunate to have a close relationship with San Jose State through events, students and faculty both on campus and in their shops.

“After being approached by representatives from SJSU and the MLK Library about taking over the vacant space sometime around last September, we walked through, felt really good about it and decided to move forward with the partnership,” Ashaolu said.

The coffee shop has tried to help out its community by promoting local vendors during its Nirvana Soul After Dark events, where every week it hosts all kinds of performances from comedy to live music.

The cafe also held several fundraisers with SJSU student organizations and allowed students to promote their work at its store, such as the Reed Magazine which publishes creative writing pieces.

Nirvana Soul has promoted local independent artists with artwork decorating its stores, playing loud music that bounces off the walls and holding open mic nights every week.

“The culture and community that comes with Nirvana Soul

is the culture and community of San Jose, “ Ashalou said.

“We’re so fortunate to be a reflection and representation of the diversity and creativity in this city. We plan to continue uplifting artists, dreamers, and doers of all ages and backgrounds, just as we do in our other locations.”

Marketing junior Mayra

Aguilar said she believes Nirvana Soul will help improve students’ studying environment in the library.

“I think it will definitely promote productivity within the library because they don’t have to go out of their way for some coffee or an energizer,” Aguilar said. “It’ll definitely motivate more students to go to the library and find a new study

place. I hope it will improve the studying experience simply for its convenience and many places don’t have all the resources such as the library.”

When the new store opens in the MLK Library, Nirvana Soul will have three locations.

Macey and Ashaolu said they hope to bring SJSU students the same commitment they have with their independent stores to the on-campus cafe.

“With every location we open, we’re on the same mission: to bring people together through the power of coffee and tea,” Ashaolu said. “Being on SJSU’s campus is particularly special to us because we all have a great opportunity to reach more students and library visitors together with quality coffee and

joyful experiences in a super convenient way.”

Music performance junior John Carter, who has been working at Nirvana Soul for almost a year, said he’s excited to see a Nirvana Soul cafe open in the MLK Library.

“I hope that even though it’s a different store that is led by San Jose State, the vibes will still be there even though it’s a smaller cafe,” Carter said. “I hope the aesthetic and drinks are the same, they can really form a great community at the school. With the cafe, students can relax and enjoy their studying more.”

He said the cafe on campus may motivate students to look at the other Nirvana Soul locations.

Carter said students may want

to venture out to where the first location opened in Downtown San Jose once they try the new location’s drinks.

“The atmosphere may be different, it’s essentially the workers that make the environment at each store,’ Carter said. “So it really depends on who works there and what energy they bring.”

BRANDON NICOLAS | SPARTAN DAILY

JILLIAN DARNELL | SPARTAN DAILY

The first Nirvana Soul location serves coffee, tea and pastries and is located at 315 S First St., just half a mile south of San Jose State.

American Jazz pianist and Philadelphia native Orrin Evans closes the Hammer Theatre’s Black Cab Jazz series Wednesday night. The Evans trio played for an hour.

P!nk’s comeback is nostalgic

By Myenn Rahnoma SENIOR STAFF WRITER

P!nk released her newest album, “Trustfall” on Friday, and I have all sorts of mixed feelings about it.

I’ve been a die-hard P!nk fan ever since I watched her mesmerizing 2010 Grammy performance of “Glitter in the Air” back in middle school.

Unfortunately, I became disconnected from her music the past couple of years, as her last two albums “Beautiful Trauma” (2017) and “Hurts 2B Human” (2019) weren’t exactly my cup of tea.

Each one of her albums usually has a specific mood and aesthetic, but the last two were jumbled into one mellowed phase.

Whether it was her rhythm and blues, R&B, debut era with “Can’t Take Me Home” (2000), early 2000s rebellious pop phase with “M!ssundaztood” (2001) or her alternative rock reign with “Try This” (2003), she remained versatile with her sound.

One thing that always stayed consistent with her signature sound is her feisty attitude.

Although life and motherhood have allowed her to mellow out a bit, I do consider this album to be a part of her redemption era that makes up for her last two albums.

This album is definitely on the safer side, but it’s still giving her space to continue to wear her heart on her sleeve and be vulnerable, while also playing it very safe.

She said she feels this is her best album because she was able to “spend three years curating and perfecting it,” as opposed to other albums being a race to “get back on the road,” according to an interview by “This Morning,” a CBS talk show.

She said the message of “Trustfall” is, “That life can be tricky or hard, but by the end of it, you just want to turn everything up to 11 and just dance.”

The first track “When I Get There” immediately jumps to a stripped and intimate ballad, clearly about losing her father in August 2021.

She described the track as “the suitcase I haven’t started unpacking,”

according to an interview by Apple Music.

Although the song is supposed to be simple and touching, I do wish the instrumentals had a little more depth and emotion to compliment her lyrics.

The simple tune, slightly dramatic effects and emotional beat with vulnerable but powerfully-intimate lyrics and vocals are similar to her song “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken” (2017) and “Beam Me Up” (2012). The second “Trustfall” started playing, I let out an audible “ooooh.”

It’s one of those songs.

“Trustfall” has a techno-pop sound, and both the beat and lyrics are incredibly catchy.

P!nk defined the title track as “falling backwards and not knowing where the ground is,” according to the same “This Morning” interview.

This song has a pop-queen sound with some techno and electronic undertones.

It almost reminds me of a more pop-ified version of “Bezos I” by Bo Burnham, as well as P!nk’s songs “Secrets” and “Waterfall” (2017).

Something about this song has Australian singer and songwriter Sia written all over it, and I’m not complaining. I can already imagine DJs remixing the song with more intense, rave-friendly beat drops.

The lyrics have the same energy as “iCarly’s” theme song “Leave it All To Me” that I’m absolutely here for.

It reminds me a lot of her iconic album “The Truth About Love” (2012), which is making me feel nostalgic.

The sixth track “Never Gonna Not Dance Again” is a fun song with a funky beat. This track has some soul and pizazz, as it’s a playful 80s disco sound with a modern pop twist.

The pipeline from P!nk’s rebellious party anthem “God is a DJ” (2003) to the funky “Oh lord don’t try me, really not tonight” line is astounding.

This song definitely has a hint of Michael Jackson’s song “Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough” (1979).

The ninth track “Hate Me,” IS THE ONE! I’ve noticed a pattern of being drawn to all of the nostalgic P!nk songs.

This one is no exception. She’s back, and she’s angry. This is the signature emotion and spice I missed.

Paying a true homage to her “Try This” (2003) alt-rock era, she was made for the electric guitar and drums Avril Lavigne-esque sound.

I definitely ran to add this song to my playlist and know I’ll be having it on repeat.

I don’t know why but the beat in the beginning reminded me of Aaliyah’s hit “Try Again,” something about it had the subtle early 2000s flavor.

Through the rest of the song, we are reintroduced to the woman who sang “The King is Dead but the Queen is Alive” and “How Come You’re Not Here.”

“Lost Cause” is another ballad addressing the lows of life, and the way you can hear her emotions in this song is insanely chilling.

It reminds me of her song “Family Portrait” (2001), in terms of how raw and broken it is.

The song is just angry, but not in the traditional heated sense. It’s the slow burning, lethal and long-term kind.

It’s the cold rage, where you’re mentally clocked out and you silently smirk and chuckle because you have nothing to lose anymore.

“Our Song” is the first song that does her voice justice. It’s another ballad, but the instrumentals actually compliment her voice this time.

The two were curated in a pair and it doesn’t feel like a beat from a generic, GarageBand starter pack.

The pianos are just as emotional as her voice, and if anything they’re working together as a duet in harmony.

Her collaborations with Chris Stapleton on “Just Say I’m Sorry” and First Aid Kit on “Kids in Love” were my favorites.

If the First Aid Kit feature was a core memory, it would smell like the early 2000s sweet pea lotion by Bath and Body Works.

It feels like sunshine hugging you

during recess. The song is definitely very comforting and nurturing.

On the other hand, Stapleton’s voice simply sounds like a smoky, hickory roasted strip of bacon with fresh maple syrup drizzled on top.

All in all, I wish the album was a little riskier in terms of sound, but the highlights nailed them. I wasn’t expecting much, but she stood out this time around.

This is her best album of the past three years, not including her folk album with City and Colour. I am happy she’s able to produce more music that authentically expresses how she feels.

I feel like my middle school self again, and I just fell in love with her all over again.

The old P!nk is making her comeback, and I couldn’t be any more thrilled.

Follow the Spartan Daily on Twitter @Spartandaily

Please stop giving your money to J.K. Rowling

By Carolyn Brown PRODUCTION EDITOR

Confession: I never liked “Harry Potter.”

I just never got into it. I read the first four books in elementary school, but I got so overwhelmingly bored reading “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” that I stopped before the second chapter.

I lost all interest in trying to get into “Harry Potter” as I learned more about J.K. Rowling’s views.

On June 10, 2020, J.K. Rowling wrote a blog post trying to dispel the idea that she was transphobic.

In doing so, she just reinforced the fact she was.

The essay reads near the end, “When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman – and, as I’ve said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones –then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside.”

If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is a hugely popular transphobic dog whistle.

No one is going to change their gender identity based on their desire to see women pee or shower.

Also, assholes aren’t waiting for that magical legal loophole in order to harass women.

CNN reached out to 20 law enforcement agencies in states with anti-discrimination laws that cover gender identity. All reported no bathroom assaults after the laws took place, according to a March 7, 2017 article.

But, 70% of trans and gender-

nonconforming Americans reported being denied access to, harassed or physically assaulted in public restrooms, according to the same article.

Comments like these only serve to endanger trans women, when we should be protecting them.

Transgender people are almost four times more likely to be victimized, according to a March 23, 2021 article by the UCLA Williams Institute.

The Williams Institute is the leading research center on gender and sexuality law and public policy according to its website.

This idea is also used in order to bar trans women from being included in women’s space. Which is crazy because trans women are women.

Rowling can’t seem to move on from the myth that trans women are violent predators.

Her 2020 detective novel “Troubled Blood,” penned under the name Robert Galbraith, is described as “a book whose moral seems to be: never trust a man in a dress,” in a Sept. 13, 2020 review by The Telegraph.

She also said “we are watching a new kind of conversion therapy for young gay people,” in a July 5, 2020 Twitter post seemingly referring to gender-affirming hormone replacement therapy.

As a young gay person, all I can say is: no it fucking isn’t.

Transgender people have to jump through so many goddamn hoops before they often can get access to hormonal replacement therapy.

In the U.K., it can take literal

years to even get one’s first appointment to discuss hormone replacement therapy, according to genderconstructionkit.org, a website described as “the UK guide to changing things linked to gender.”

As of Jan. 21, the wait time for an appointment in Newcastle, England is almost 8 and a half years.

So of-fucking-course transgender people are being rushed into hormone replacement therapy.

Some may argue that, since Rowling was not directly involved in the game, you can separate the art from the artist.

This is only partially correct. According to the Hogwarts Legacy website, Rowling “was not involved in the creation of the game.”

But even without her direct involvement, Rowling will still make money off of this game.

How? Royalties.

Royalty payments are negotiated once and then paid by licensees to the owner of the license.

Often these payments are structured as a percentage of gross or net revenues, according to the finance automation company Tipalti.

Simply put, every copy of Hogwarts Legacy (and piece of “Harry Potter” merch) sold, is money in Rowling’s pocket.

She takes continued support of “Harry Potter” as a sign of people agreeing with her.

When asked on Twitter how Rowling sleeps at night knowing she has lost so many fans, she

responded “I read my most recent royalty cheques and find the pain goes away pretty quickly,” in a Oct. 13, 2022 Tweet. Despite calls for the game to be boycotted, it is the best selling game this week on Steam, as of writing. Knowing this about Rowling, how can anyone who calls themselves a trans ally play this game?

If one can’t stand the inconvenience of not spending

$60 to play a video game, which directly benefits a transphobe, they aren’t actually an ally: they’re a poser.

I’m not telling everyone to stop loving their beloved childhood book series, but I am telling everyone they should stop spending money on it.

ILLUSTRATION BY MYENN RAHNOMA

GRAPHIC BY CAROLYN BROWN

Are video game adaptations worth it?

By Jeremy Martin SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Throughout the years, several attempts have been made to take popular video game franchises and turn them into blockbuster films.

Films like the 2019

“Pokémon Detective Pikachu” movie and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” being released later this year, are just a couple examples of such adaptations.

In most instances, studios take liberties with continuity and original storylines of these video games, making either a really exciting film adaptation or a disappointing one.

Honestly, some of those movies work well and others not so much.

Movies that contain Easter eggs and callbacks to original story elements are some of my favorite examples of these adaptations

An Easter egg is defined as a surprise appearance or featured item in a piece of media, according to Dictionary.com.

On the other hand, movies that try to change and deviate from the original media are amongst my least favorite.

Here are two movies that I strongly believe will transition well from consoles to the big screen, with the exception of some details that I think really need some work.

away in a fatal car crash.

The two set out to find clues amongst the streets of Ryme City, a town where Pokémon battling is now illegal.

Along the way, the two make a shocking discovery that can threaten the peaceful coexistence of both Pokémon and humans throughout the city, according to IMDb.

Upon seeing the movie myself, I really liked how they implemented the Pokémon and human coexistence in Ryme City.

All of the Pokémon looked as accurate as

a custom “Pokémon Detective Pikachu” rendition of the original games, it still shows that the overall adaptation from video game to major motion picture was much more of a passion project than a quick-cash grab.

As for the upcoming “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” set to release on April 7, things are looking kind of bleak to me. From what we’ve seen, there is a mixture of good

Pratt doing the voice for Mario.

To me, they took the super out of Super Mario Bros. and stomped all over the franchise’s original source material.

The cast is filled with big Hollywood actors that really don’t do any justice to the characters.

Mario is played by Chris Pratt, Luigi by Charlie Day, Princess Peach by Anya Taylor-Joy, Toad by Keegan-Michael Key and Donkey Kong by Seth Rogen, according to IMDb.

provide

possible when translated to live action, maintaining their cute but deadly nature.

While the movie made several hefty changes to the game’s story, the

and bad things to expect from this movie so far.

Movie,

changes

Almost the entire cast

There is also a website provided in the trailer that takes anyone who visits it to a site for the brothers’ plumbing business as well, complete with reviews and mock information about their services.

If you’d like to visit the website, just go to smbplumbing.com.

Upon seeing the movie, anyone would immediately be able to tell that those who worked on the movie knew what they were doing with the Pokémon material.

With several signs of resemblance to the “Detective Pikachu” video game, released on March 23, 2018 and the Pokémon series as a whole, this movie definitely proved to be a passionate project.

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The movie was adapted from a spin-off video game in the Pokémon franchise of the same name that followed a similar story with a series of plot changes, according to IGN.

“Pokémon Detective Pikachu” is a movie about a 21-year-old young adult Tim Goodman, who sets out to find out what happened to his father, along with his father’s Pokémon companion, Pikachu, after he passed

for a film- adaptation scenario.

Some of the biggest changes included the fact that Tim had a larger role in the game, particularly when solving problems, as he was the character that you would play as. Along with the fact that the secondar y character in the movie, Luc y Stevens, was split between two different characters in the video game, according to a May 12, 2019 article by IGN. of elements of the

However, most of the general elements of the original story were kept intact, with added Easter eggs to the main series franchise as well.

In the movie, Mewtwo is being experimented on in a laboratory, just like in the original animated film “Pokemon: The First Movie,” according to a May 10, 2018 YouTube video by WatchMojo.

I also absolutely love the nod to the original video games at the end of the movie, right before the end credits roll.

While this nod features

With video game movie adaptations, there is a time and place for animation and live action. With “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” their best bet was to go with the 3D animation style, which they did.

That’s one thing they

have going for them especially after the failure of the first Mario Bros.” movie. Oh wait, didn’t was back in a live action Mario Bros. was for the screen,

“Super

Oh wait, you didn’t know that there was already a movie? Yup, back in 1993, a live action rendition of the Super Mario Bros. was developed for the big screen, according to IMDb.

However, this video game adaptation tried to take itself way too seriously and transformed the duo into more of a scifi adventure style comedy, instead of putting the Mario Bros. within a more playful, fun and comedicanimated style film.

While the look and style of the new film is great, my biggest gripe with the upcoming animated film is the cast.

I absolutely hate the idea and sound of Chris

sound nothing like their video game counterparts to me.

The only voice that I think sounds good at all is the casting of Jack Black as Bowser because his

rendition of Bowser’s voice sounds at least somewhat accurate to what I think the character would sound like, after being given a more developed definitive voice.

But really, why the hell is Seth Rogen’s name anywhere near this property, let alone Chris Pratt as Mario?

However, according to IMDb, Charles Martinet is also on the top cast list for the film.

Martinet is a voice actor, best known for his portrayal of Mario and Luigi, as well as several other characters in the Mario Bros. video games.

If they already have him, why wouldn’t they use him for either of the lead roles?

As far as I can tell, his role in the movie is not specified on the IMDb

Little details like this make a huge difference to hardcore fans of their respective franchises and can be seen as the distinction between an amazing adaptation and a highly disappointing one. That said, I think this one still needs some work.

Again, while I think the movie looks good in style and is marketed well, I’m still not convinced with the nature of the movie’s cast and overall attitude of the characters.

That s movie lo and is m c nature over character

I’d rather have the actual English voice actors for the games come back for the movie and make their own voices, based on the actual games. That would be way

rendition of the characters’

better than having Chris Pratt star in another popular film, just to grab another paycheck and ultimately disrespect the source material that actually made the film popular in the first place.

Now to be fair, these decisions may have been made for contractual reasons or some kind of stipulation on the film.

After all, the film is being produced by

Aside from the cast and voice actors involved, the best things from the film are the animated style and visuals and the newest

In the newest trailer, the theme song for “The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!” is heard as a mock advertisement for Mario

customers. Thereisalso ILLUSTRATIONBYMYENNRAHNOMA

website. trailer. and Luigi’s plumbing company.

“The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!” was a TV show produced by DIC Entertainment in 1989 and aired on NBC, according to The Ringer, a sports, pop culture and tech news site.

A real life phone number and web address are also provided within the trailer.

If you call 929-556-2746 on your phone, you will be treated to a voicemail from Luigi detailing the nature of the brothers’ plumbing business and what they

If there’s one thing every hardcore Nintendo fan knows, it’s that you don’t screw with Mario Bros.

They’ve done just that with the characters in this

Hopefully the fanbase will get better news about this movie, as a Nintendo Direct has been announced for March 9, and will solely focus on information about the new movie, according to Polygon, a media news site.

As someone who considers himself a hardcore fan of the franchise, although there are some good elements to the film, this movie has done nothing but set me up for disappointment going forward.

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At this point, it proves to me that this movie is more for today’s generation of kids than for the real Nintendo fans who played the classic Mario Bros. video games throughout the years.

It’s stuff like this that really shows neglect for the original source material at hand. It’s easy to notice the difference between a video game to film adaptation that has potential and one that’s just a quick-cash grab.

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That would be way better than having Chris Pratt star in another popular film, just to grab another paycheck and ultimately disrespect the source material that actually made the film popular in the first place.