Spartan Daily Vol. 162 No. 22

Free farmer’s market

By

Fresh produce, bottled spices, blue tents with reusable grocery bags and a large crowd of students, volunteers and faculty members gathered on Seventh Street Plaza during a free mini farmer’s market on Wednesday afternoon.

The market, hosted by SJSU Student Involvement, was a way to help individuals connect with campus and community resources to fight food instability, according to its Instagram.

SJSU Student Involvement is grounded in their commitment to the values of inclusivity, integrity and success, and promotes community, leadership and learning through their programs according to the SJSU website.

Food insecurity is the inability to access adequate food consistently due to limited financial resources, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Forest green spinach, bunches of leafy lettuce, orange bundles of carrots, cartons of Brussels sprouts, and fuchsia-

colored radishes were piled high onto tables draped in black cloth under Spartan-blue tents along the street.

Loaves of packaged bread also lined the edges of the blanketed tables, next to sticks of local honey placed in a wooden crate for attendees to take.

Jess Prudent, campus programming coordinator for Student Involvement, wore a colorful pink, purple, green and red bandana on her head as she assisted students with gathering their groceries of choice.

Prudent said the market is a part of Commuter Appreciation Week, which is being recognized since commuters have numerous housing stability issues, food instability and financial instability.

This week marks the 4th Annual Commuter Appreciation Week taking place from March 11 to March 14, according to the SJSU Instagram. Its purpose is to celebrate commuter students and bring awareness to their needs, according to the same site.

“Students shouldn’t have to worry about having enough to eat,” Prudent said. “They

should just have to worry about passing their midterms or finals, taking care of themselves and taking care of their community.”

Among the U.S. population, food insecurity has been linked to a multitude of health risks, including cardiovascular disease, obesity and depression, according to the National

the importance of these events and the importance of being able to access affordable produce.

“Then, they can focus on passing and bringing all that knowledge back to communities, which is the dream,” Prudent said.

Lined in front of the Central Classroom Building and next to the grocery-filled tables were specialists and volunteers

Ultimately, we want to provide and outsource our services to help students eat and shop healthier.

Sandra Loredo

Higher Education liaison and business policy implementation specialist for Santa Clara County

Library of Medicine.

Approximately 14%59% of students on college campuses report food insecurity at some point in their college career, with an average food insecurity rate of 42%, according to the same site.

Prudent said if Student Involvement could have a market like this every week, it would.

She said what the school needs is for students to continue advocating for

promoting programs for proper health and wellness among college students.

Among the tents was the Santa Clara County Social Service Agency, where the CalFresh Food Program was being promoted.

The County of Santa Clara Social Services Agency’s purpose is to provide resources in a culturally responsive

manner, and to protect, educate and empower individuals in the community, according to the County of Santa Clara website

CalFresh Food is a nutrition program for California residents with low income that increases their food budget, according to the same site.

Sandra Loredo, a Higher Education liaison and business policy implementation specialist for Santa Clara County, said many students do not always know if they are eligible for such services.

“We are trying to reach out to these students to let them know that this help is available to them,” Loredo said. “Ultimately, we want to provide and outsource our services to help students eat and shop healthier.”

Loredo said with CalFresh Food, there are incentive programs that can help stretch a student’s budget.

She also said she appreciates collaborating with SJSU because events like the market will greatly benefit those on campus.

“I can only hope that events like these continue, for the well-being of the

students here,” she said. After gathering the leafy greens and grocery items of their choice, students placed their paper bags into the reusable tote bags they were given when they checked into the event.

Kinesiology junior Isabela Britton, who placed her bag on the floor to give her arm a break, said she has some recipes she would love to try with the new groceries she picked up.

“I’m thinking of making a soup with the rainbow Swiss chard and kale,” Britton said. “I also love making ramen, because I can use the green onions on top.”

Britton said students a lot of the time cannot afford proper groceries, so it is essential to have markets like these on college campuses.

She said it is important to have fresh produce and to educate students on nutrition.

“It is amazing that the school is giving everyone a chance to support themselves,” Britton said.

Animation

“I guess, but I’m glad that we have the pantry here on campus. I think that’s a great resource that helps more students on campus take advantage of it, because I know how hard it is to working part time and also be a student. I definitely find it super helpful.”

“I have not personally experienced a whole lot of food insecurity myself . . .”

“The school should improve the Student Union because the Student Union really sucks in terms of the food it can provide. It just serves terrible fast food . . . It would really help if the Student Union was a lot more diverse and had healthier options.”

Business Accounting Freshman

“I definitely don’t have it as bad as a lot of people do . . . I think the school does a good job of helping people I know. They talk a lot about CalFresh which seems like a great program that I’m going to take advantage of in the future because I started having to pay for my own school because my parents are unable to support me.”

“My parents do still support me financially for the most part while I’m here. But there are times when it’s a little hard sometimes to make the money especially if I don’t feel like cooking in my room and I just want to get food but I don’t have enough money to get food out.”

Correction

On Tuesday, Mar. 12, the Spartan Daily published a story, “Students learn reproductive justice,” in which Tanya Bakhru and Susana Gallardo were misidentified in a photo caption.

The Spartan Daily regrets this error.

Sofia Fonzi Illustration Junior

James Vaughan

Music Education Senior

Kiki Kurtz

Faith Castro Biochemistry Sophomore

ETHAN LI | SPARTAN DAILY

SJSU students go cray for anime

By Ethan Li STAFF WRITER

Friday nights are quiet on the third floor of San José State’s Boccardo Business Center with one exception: the Anime Club meets from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in room 320 where anime aficionados meet to discuss, play games, and connect.

Aaron Koc, electrical engineering sophomore and Anime Club treasurer, said during club meetings members discuss anime and coordinators of the club rely on trivia, creativity, and teamwork to foster a connection with each other.

“Often games are teambased, like Jeopardy or (the game of) guessing certain anime openings or (testing) knowledge about them,” said Noah Fourby, materials engineering senior and Anime Club vice-president.

“Then we’ve had other fun ones sort of based on the idea of trying to come up with some prompt . . .”

Graphic design senior Ronald Caos said he enjoys the club because club members are knowledgeable about anime which has made it easier for him to form close friendships with them.

The Anime Club meeting last Friday involved a watch party followed by a team competition. Together club members attempted to copy iconic anime poses and memes while the rest of their

team guessed which ones they were.

The Anime Club has also hosted other games on Friday including Anime Improv, Family Feud, Pictionary, Plot Creation, and the Waifu Hunger Games according to its Discord.

Fourby said there are not enough clubs at San José State for clubs that purely focus on being social for these niche communities.

He said he enjoyed being able to bring people together and create a community. He also said people outside of SJSU are able to show up and meet individuals with similar interests.

Koc said club members decide what anime they are going to watch together with a poll at the beginning of the semester. He said they recommend animes to each other and watch them together.

Club officers regularly show trailers to different anime at meetings to give its club members an idea of which story they will embark on next. He said this helps new members get introduced to what the rest of the club community is interested in.

Fourby said the club was founded in 2019 amidst having no community for people interested in anime. He said the club initially faced difficulty garnering membership and interest when he first joined during COVID-19 pandemic.

He said meetings were held online for health reasons with attendance of four or five members at each meeting.

Koc said he helped revive the club after the COVID lockdown when its former president, treasurer, and other senior club officers graduated. He mentioned that in the fall of 2022 they decided to switch the modality to in-person meetings after several online meetings.

Koc said the was surprised

when over 20 people showed up to the first in-person meeting.

He said since then the club has been more alive and consistent. He also said its club officers make efforts to put out new content and activities for their members.

Koc said “Anime inherently has an audience” which is why the club was successful in having people on board.

Fourby said a misconception many people have about anime is that

it is a genre with a specific audience.

“There is something for everyone to watch even if you’re not particularly an anime fan in general . . . there’s such a diverse range of plot lines and genres that (the plots in anime) take place in,” Fourby said.

Fourby said a good place for many to get started is by watching superhero anime first, like the shows ‘Dr. Stone’ or ‘My Hero Academia’. He said these superhero animes help bridge the gap

between Western television and anime by being based on a familiar subject with a unique plot and twist.

“I think people view anime as (a) nerdy thing to be interested in, but I don’t think it is,” Koc said. “There are so many genres that I feel like – if you like television, you probably also like anime.”

Bob Marley’s spirit is captured in film

By Kaya Henkes-Power STAFF WRITER

While couples were celebrating Valentine’s Day, I was celebrating the release of the movie “Bob Marley: One Love.”

Advertised as a film that captures the story of famous reggae artist Bob Marley, I expected to see the essence of his life captured.

The movie was produced by Bob Marley’s kids, Ziggy Marley and Cedella Marley along with his widow Rita Marley, and to say I was eager would be an understatement.

Having already known a lot about Bob Marley and his life, I was expecting the movie to be a recreation of his upbringing in Trench Town, Jamaica, his rise to fame and the events leading to his death.

However, the focus of the film is the events leading up to the 1978 “One Love Peace Concert”, where Marley held up the hands of political rivals, Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley and Jamaica Labour Party leader Edward Seaga.

During this time in Jamaica, there was political conflict between the Jamaica Labour Party and the People's National Party.

The fight for control resulted in violence among opposing parties, according to a 1980 article by The Washington Post.

Political tensions were high in the country, and in 1976 while rehearsing for a concert there was an attempt to murder Bob Marley and his bandmates.

Depicted in the film was a reenactment of this incident, and despite already knowing what was going to happen, I was on the edge of my seat during that scene.

The casting of this film was scarily accurate, down to the mannerisms and the way the actors and actresses looked.

British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir did a beautiful job of portraying the late Bob Marley, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he continued to portray Bob Marley in future films.

Similarly, actress Lashana Lynch portrayed the strong-willed Rita

Correction

On Tuesday, March 12, the Spartan Daily published a story titled, “Gamers unite at San José State,” in which Douglas McCleur was misrepresented.

For clarification, McCleur is the president of SJSU’s Versus Gaming Club. The Spartan Daily regrets this error.

Marley and the intricacies of both being Bob Marley’s wife and backup singer.

The synergy between Ben-Adir and Lynch truly convinced me that I was watching their lives unfold.

A large majority of the film was recorded on location in Jamaica, which brings not only accuracy but the energy and spirit of Bob Marley’s hometown.

Often directors manufacture sets to be as accurate to their film’s location, had the director taken that route I feel like it wouldn’t have been as impactful.

What I struggled with throughout the film was that some of the scenes were flashbacks to Bob Marley’s childhood.

The stylistic choice to do this just isn’t my cup of tea, especially with how it was executed in this film.

Without context, audience members who aren’t familiar with Bob Marley’s life wouldn’t understand the importance of mentioning these memories.

I feel like if these childhood moments were pertinent to the storyline, they should have been used as a way to introduce the film.

Throughout the film interlaced with the main storyline and memories, there was an artistic choice to have a young Bob Marley running through a burning cornfield.

In the film a young boy runs through a cornfield while it slowly burns behind him, as the film progresses you see the same scene with the addition of a man on a horse chasing after the young boy.

As they reach the center of the cornfield, young Bob Marley and this man riding the horse meet. The man looks down at him and then turns away from him.

I interpreted this as the symbolism of the abandonment that Bob Marley felt when his father severed contact with him and his mother, Cedella Booker.

Bob Marley's father, Norval Marley, was a 50-year-old English colonialist who impregnated Cedella Booker, Marley’s 17-yearold mother, according to a webpage from the University of Vermont. His parents would later get married but as Marley got older his father would completely abandon them, according to the same website.

The imagery of the cornfield then goes to a young Bob Marley in the cornfield alone. As he sits alone, another man approaches him, puts him on the back of the horse

and rides away.

I could only assume that this was the way that the director and producer showed the importance of the Rastafari religion and the messiah, Emperor Haile Selassie.

Emperor Haile Selassie was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974 and is recognized as the Messiah of the Rastafari religion, according to a webpage from the Swiss National Museum.

Having my own background knowledge, like knowing who Emperor Selassie was and what he looked like allowed me to understand why the director chose to include it in the movie.

But without that context or knowledge, I can imagine someone going to the theater and being extremely confused when watching these scenes.

Don’t get me wrong, the recreation of Bob Marley’s musical performances were spot on but I could tell the actors were lip-

singing.

Certain musical elements the director used took away from the authenticity of some scenes. To have remastered music overlaid with the time of the 1970s isn’t a choice that should have been made. I would have loved to have heard raw or older versions of the songs.

All in all, the film did a beautiful job of portraying the events leading up to the 1978 One Love Peace Concert and capturing the spirit of Bob Marley.

It saddens me that Bob Marley’s upbringing and his rise to fame weren’t shown more in the movie.

Though the film could have depicted more about Bob Marley’s life, I am left hopeful that the legacy of Bob Marley will continue to be represented in film.

MOVIE REVIEW

ETHAN LI | SPARTAN DAILY

The members of Anime Club participate in a guessing game on Friday night at the Boccardo Business Center.

By Jonathan Canas STAFF WRITER

San José State men's baseball, 6-11 overall and 2-4 in the MW championships, capped off the first win of a three-game series in a 10-2 dominant performance against Air Force, 6-9 overall and 2-1 conference play.

It was a rematch of the 2023 Mountain West championships as senior starter Ethan Ross took the mound and matched a career high nine strikeouts. He allowed zero runs through seven innings.

“Just really proud of him,” SJSU head coach Brad Sanfilippo said. “To see him bounce back shows unbelievable maturity, toughness and is a really good example to our guys.”

Ross was 0-3 in his starts before this and the bats finally came alive to back him up early on.

“I wanted to get them back in the dugout quickly so they can keep doing their thing,” Ross said. “It was amazing, all the hits and rallies they were able to get together.”

The Spartans had a total of 11 hits, but put pressure on the Air Force defense as they tacked on six

runs through five innings.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, with two bases loaded, Spartan senior shortstop Theo Hardy hit a line drive over the third baseman's head to bring in two runs.

Brad Sanfilippo Head coach

Hardy went two for five with a pair of RBIs on the offensive side to match fellow teammate and senior Dalton Bowling’s team-leading 14 RBIs on the year.

He said he was more excited to see the batters show up and finally back up their starting pitcher following the game.

“We haven’t been the best backing

DANIEL POTTER | SPARTAN DAILY

him up this year on Friday nights,” Hardy said. “For us to go out there and put up 10 (runs) is big for him and to finally give him a win.”

Four other Spartans joined him in hitting doubles on the night. By the time the sixth inning came around SJSU chased off Air Force’s starting senior pitcher Seungmin Shim.

Air Force went through six different pitchers by the time the game finished, the other four coming between the sixth and ninth innings.

Sanfilippo said having leadoff runners was a big reason for the win and developing that consistency on offense. Every time the leadoff man got on base, the hitting was contagious.

Even when the Falcons went to their pitching change with freshman Davis Rhyne SJSU kept their foot on the pedal. The Spartans scored three more runs in the sixth.

Bowling knocked in a run and crossed home plate himself later in the inning thanks to a wild pitch from Rhyne. The Falcons were forced to change pitchers within the same inning. Spartan junior Nathan Cadena added a sac-fly RBI before Air Force escaped the highestscoring inning of the night.

Both of these ball clubs know each other very well. Bragging rights were at stake in this game as this was the first series matchup between the last two Mountain West champions.

“You know we play them six times this year and we’ve seen them in championship games the last two years,” Sanfilippo said. “They got a lot of the same guys and so do we, so there’s obviously some history there.”

Since Friday’s game, SJSU has dropped four straight, including losing the season series 2-1 against Air Force, losing Mar. 9 by a score of

Follow

SPARTANS 10

Left-handed pitcher Ethan Ross pitches on the mound on Friday night against Air Force.

Just really proud of him. To see him bounce back shows unbelievable maturity, toughness and is a really good example to our guys.

SJ drops winning streak to Falcons

The Spartans walk off the field at home on Friday night.

Spartans end season in optimism

By Navin Krishan SPORTS EDITOR

After a season full of dodging punches and running uphill, the San José State men’s basketball team clinched sole possession of the last seed in the Mountain West Conference.

The Spartans ended their season this year in defeat at the hands of Colorado State (23-9), dropping in the opening round of the Mountain West tournament 72-62.

“A hard-fought game,” SJSU head coach Tim Miles said. “There’s been injury, illness, you name it. I’m so gratified to watch them go out and be in this game. I think that they proved to a lot of people that we’re elevating San Jose State basketball where it should be.”

Miles said finding

a “winning way” is ultimately the goal of the rest of this season, and that learning to stay together and use their maturity to translate their failure into success for the future is their goal.

“You’re not a loser until you act like a loser,” Miles said. “You act like a loser by giving up. By not bringing your best effort, by bringing an attitude that’s worse than your best.”

One of the brighter spots that gave the Spartan nation something to feel uplifted about was the evolution of SJSU captain and junior guard Alvaro Cardenas.

Cardenas has transformed from being strictly a ball handler to the team’s best 3-point shooter at 38.1%.

However, the greatest improvement of his game isn’t a skill or an art. He said the main thing he’s learned from all the ups and downs of being a Spartan is leadership.

Cardenas’ backcourt teammate Myron Amey,

Jr. acknowledged that the Spartan’s effort level, not their record, should define if his team looks back for positivity.

panel of journalists as an all-conference honorable mention.

Miles acknowledges Amey’s personal struggles and the guard’s fighting nature as something that not only pushed the team harder but also gives the

win.” Cardenas said Miles helped develop his tenacious work ethic, basketball skill level and nose for competition to the collegiate level.

Miles said the attribute of his team he is most

I think for anyone that’s been in our program for two to three years, it’s way different . . . These guys know, they’ve been through the battles. They know what they’re up against. They know what it takes to be successful. They’ve seen success.

“I tell people all the time when we talk about our team that our record doesn’t define us because we’ll give you - whatever team you put out there, we’ll go to the end with them,” Amey said. “We’re going to fight until the end. That’s why I love these guys, and it was fun to go and compete, go to practice every day.”

Amey was selected by a panel of Mountain West head coaches and by a

team a shimmer of hope in the years to come.

“His journey is special,” Miles said. “He’s been through a lot personally. His mental health, everything that goes with that. To see him at a point where his confidence was so low, and he kind of defined himself only as a basketball player and it wasn't going well because he wasn't healthy.”

Cardenas said the true test of a leader is not only holding everyone accountable, but shouldering the burden of adversity and helping other players find themselves within the game.

“I think I’ve definitely learned to be a better leader,” Cardenas said. “When you’re not winning it shows a lot about your character. I try to give my all, even when we’re losing. I try to help the team as much as I can. I just keep believing we can

proud of is their ability to show up every day and do their best, come hell or high water.

Miles has been a head coach since 1995 and has handled the reigns in major programs such as Colorado State and Nebraska, according to the Sports Reference website.

Under him, Colorado State went 20-12 and saw an NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) tournament berth in the 2011-2012 season, according to the same source.

Miles acknowledged that no matter the stature of his reputation, his players have an innate belief in him and have the confidence that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to.

“I think for anyone that’s been in our program for two to three years, it’s way different,” Miles said. “These (more

experienced) guys know, they’ve been through the battles. They know what they’re up against. They know what it takes to be successful. They’ve seen success.”

Junior forward Tibet Görener, standing at 6-foot-9, recently broke the record for the most 3-pointers made in SJSU history with 161 3-pointers.

“We have a lot of great guards that find me when I’m open,” Görener said. “Last few years we had Omari (Moore). He got me a lot of open looks. This year, we have Al (Cardenas) and MJ (Amey). I knock a lot of shots down when they find me open.”

Görener said the next step for his team is to use their shortcomings this season to better their games. Miles said no matter where his players end up in life - a teacher leading their students, a professional athlete or a businessman trying to close deals, he has confidence in his players. He said in the years to come, they’ve been taught today how to always show up and be ‘everyday guys.’

MAYA BENMOKHTAR| SPARTAN DAILY Spartans junior guard and captain Alvaro Carenas shoots a free throw and holds his follow through in a 77-65 loss at home against the UNLV Runnin Rebels on Jan. 27.

SJSU men’s basketball finishes last in Mountain West

SJSU s Tibet Görener sets up a play against the pressure defense of UNLV at home.

Tim Miles SJSU head coach