Spartan Daily Vol. 162 No. 39

Doctor shares Gaza experiences

By

More than 100 San José State students congregated in the Science building on Tuesday to hear Dr. Mohammad Subeh speak about his experience working on the field in Gaza for five weeks.

The event was hosted in collaboration with SJSU Students for Justice in Palestine, Students for a Democratic Society SJSU, SJSU Afghan Student Association and the SJSU Human Rights Institute.

Subeh said he worked in Gaza as a medical doctor, helping treat people affected by the conflict.

“Although I am not the best public speaker, the moment I came back from Gaza I realized that I had a need to communicate my story to the wider world,” Subeh said.

He said people in Gaza had a hard time accessing health care and went to Israel to seek medical help.

“There are systematic restrictions upon the people of Gaza that impede their lives and make their lives harder on purpose,” Subeh said.

He said in one circumstance he encountered, parents in Gaza had a difficult time getting proper health care for their child who needed a life-saving surgery because they were under 55 years old.

Subeh said one of the restrictions in Gaza was that people under 55 years old were prohibited from crossing the border.

He said the child’s aunt, who was of qualified age to cross the border,

accompanied the child instead.

Subeh said after watching the conflict in Gaza unfold in the media that he felt he needed to help out.

“My wife and family were supportive – in fact my wife was the one that first sent me a text informing me about the program that would send me to Gaza,” he said.

Global studies senior Ariana

Shah said she hosted the event.

Shah said she was initially nervous about hosting because she wanted students to come and for Subeh to feel comfortable.

She said her nervousness melted away as the event went on as it was a clear success as the auditorium was completely full of people.

Shah said campus administration has tried to pushback against these events.

“We did face some interesting messages from campus administration,” she said. “In general, we face a lot of pushback from administration because I also wrote the boycott resolution for student government.”

Shah said thinking about what is happening in Palestine emboldens her to keep hosting these events.

She said although she was threatened and told to silence her opinions, she thinks the university ultimately backed down from shutting down student protest events and further intimidation.

“I am not really scared of what administration might try to say to me,” she said. “I know that students want to hear this and they want

events like this to happen.”

She said although the situation in Palestine is horrifying, it gives her hope when she sees the resilience of Palestinians to keep smiling, and remaining generous and hospitable.

San José resident Nancy Tsou said this was her third time listening to Subeh speak.

“I wish more people can know about what he (Subeh) saw,” Tsou said. “He’s an extraordinary person and very humble, very determined, fearless, courageous and devoted.”

She said Subeh’s testimony as to what happened in Palestine is revealing.

Tsou said although Subeh does

not tell people what to do in his speech, it is clear that he urges people to get involved and protest.

“(He is) asking us to do something about it,” she said. “To have a ceasefire, and to have no killing anymore. Especially (to) withdraw our tax dollars from sending arms to Israel.”

Tsou said all around the world students are asking for relatively simple things. She said they wanted to boycott, divest away from funds and practices that support the conflict in Israel.

She said the nature of the conflict in Gaza is horrible and inhumane.

Tsou said the inhumane nature

of the conflict is why so many American students care, even though it is happening so far away.

“Young people are the future, they are the ones that stand up for principle,” she said. “The older generations are more embedded in the power structure and more resistant to change . . . You guys are the hope, we are looking to you.”

Wellness Center workshops health

The San José State Student Wellness Center hosted a Managing and Honoring Powerful Emotions mental health workshop by David Emmert, a licensed clinical psychologist and a counselor at SJSU. The Wellness Center

provides students with access to care for their mental and physical well-being by promoting counseling and wellness services, according to its website.

“I’ve been providing many different workshops throughout the years and I partially focus on students managing anxiety,” Emmert said.

Emmert said it can be life-changing for students to have both a safe space to learn more about mental health.

A survey conducted by Best Colleges revealed that 36% of college students in the last 12 months have been diagnosed with anxiety, according to its website.

Emmert said it is so important to provide education and skills to come together to learn more about mental health.

“I’m inspired by our students and grateful to have chances to both share and learn from them,” he said.

Emmert said a workshop is a powerful way to reach out to students especially for those who have never gone to counseling before.

He said one of the most common difficulties is taking that first step of asking for help.

“I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with so many students who have said it's one of the best steps they have taken,” Emmert said.

promote awareness.

“I came here because I wanted to learn more about how to manage powerful emotions,” Zamora said. “And I got what I expected and even more information.”

“A lot of people in our generation grew up with families who discouraged getting help with our mental health.”

said students all have emotions and it’s helpful to have someone to talk to about them.

Police responded to the collision around 1:38 p.m. where the adult male was transported to the hospital with lifethreatening injuries, according to an email from SJPD Media Relations.

As of publication, the victim remains in critical condition.

He said activities such as journaling, speaking to a supportive friend or being able to talk to a counselor can go a long way.

Psychology junior Felicia Zamora said discussions like these

Zamora said mental health is just as important as physical health and that it is very underrated.

She said openly discussing mental health and the benefits of healthy coping mechanisms is a great way to promote mental health awareness.

“It has to do with our history,” Zamora said.

She said people can practice doing mindfulness when they are struggling mentally.

Zamora said one easy method to practice is taking two minutes to breathe in and out.

“As students, we can spread the word, talk with our peers and be emotionally supportive,” Zamora said.

Brenda Feldman, an English graduate student,

She said her favorite part of the workshop was the meditation because it was relaxing to just close her eyes and be aware of her surroundings.

“Going to a psychologist doesn't mean there’s anything wrong with you,” Feldman said. “I feel like I have more knowledge about my emotions now.”

ETHAN LI | SPARTAN DAILY

Dr. Mohammad Subeh shows the audience a photo of the field hospital he worked at while in Gaza.

Ethan Li STAFF WRITER

By Melissa Alejandres STAFF WRITER

SPOT NEWS: Man hospitalized after collision

KAYA HENKES-POWER | SPARTAN DAILY

SOURCE: BEST COLLEGES | GRAPHIC BY MELANY GUTIERREZ

The San José Police Department closed off 10th Street and Elizabeth Street, next to North Garage, following a collision between two vehicles and an adult male riding a scooter on Tuesday afternoon.

The closure of 10th Street and Elizabeth Street did not affect the access to North Garage.

Cool cars are captured on campus

3

#1: A BMW is displayed with dinosaurs sitting near its engine and a tire in the front on Thursday afternoon.

#2: Cars line up along 7th Street Plaza as students walk by and take a look.

#3: A car with Sagiri Yamada Asaemon from the anime “Hell’s Paradise” on it is parked on 7th Street Plaza.

#4: Computer science junior Jisheng Jiang (left) and computer science senior Yingchen Bai check out one of the cars at the event.

#5: Japanese architecture is displayed inside one car’s trunk.

#6: An SJSU Spartan Automotive Enthusiasts Club member sits in his car and talks to a friend. 5 4 6 1 2

PHOTOS BY AALIYAH ROMAN

Choosing health, rejecting smoking

Navin Krishnan SPORTS EDITOR

I hate tobacco. I hate smokers. I hate vapers. No if, ands or butts.

In my generation, it was tough growing up as a kid, but imagine being allergic to a plant in tobacco.

I grew up with a sensitivity to nicotine.

The deadly addictive substance in tobacco products, nicotine, is a stimulant drug that speeds up the messages between the brain and body, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation webpage.

There is no safe level of nicotine use, according to that same source.

I always had a nightmare as a kid of being in an airplane and flying over burning fields of tobacco and marijuana and having the pilot inhale the fumes, get high and crash the plane.

My sensitivity to nicotine coupled with asthma turned traveling with relatives who smoke on California’s famous 17-mile drive into 17 miles of hell.

My parents always told me to hate the sin, not the sinner. Even then, I was always adamant about my counter stance against Big Tobacco’s grip on kids my age.

I used to feel that staring down smokers or covering my nose and mouth would make them feel my pain.

Call me a straight edge vigilante, but smoking can cause a plethora of health problems.

Smokers are more likely to develop many scary symptoms

over their lifespan, including Type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, vision problems, nerve damage, and circulation problems that can lead to limb amputation, according to the BeWell Medical Journal.

Smoking is just wrong, especially around others, including children. Growing up, I always wondered why people used the term ‘butts’ to describe cigarettes.

I figure people who love ‘butts’ are people who have their heads so far up their asses that even the world’s largest giraffe can’t pull them out of their addiction.

Now that I realize how senseless it is to be manipulated by Big Tobacco.

But to California’s defense, lawmakers have tried to peel apart Big Tobacco’s strategy.

Californians voted, ‘No’ to Big Tobacco’s favorite tactic of using flavored tobacco with flavors like banana ice, strawberry and mint that mask the tobacco, according to the Undo Tobacco website.

When I have an episode or reaction from exposure to nicotine, people stare as my airways collapse and I stare back at them.

They usually grimace and look down at their cigarettes as if they were asking, “Damn, did I do that?”

I always stare back – my eyes gleaming with the message, “Yeah, asshole, that’s you.”

Even though many of my friends who smoke or vape are usually sympathetic to my condition, I’m not the only one suffering.

Smoking isn’t just bad for your lungs. It can cause dizziness, headache, nausea in short-term usage. However, long-term usage can result in stroke, blindness, aneurysms, heart disease, diabetes,

and reduced immune system function, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.

Personally, I know the potential a nicotine addiction can have on someone that is stupid enough to start.

My dad’s close business partner, Ron, would smoke cigarettes day after day. He developed emphysema at the tender age of 50. By the time I graduated high school, Ron had to be put on an oxygen circulator because his lungs just couldn’t function.

Ron and his family were invited to my high school graduation party but his wife relayed the message that he died of a major stroke.

Tobacco not only took lives but it also took my happiness. It took my sanity. It took away my innocence and I have never touched a cigarette.

Passive smoking or being around and inhaling smoke

without actually smoking, can cause many of the symptoms that smokers themselves face, including premature death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

If you are willing enough to try a cigarette and throw away a bulk of your paycheck to the bargain basement of Big Tobacco then do the world a favor and use your brain.

If you are dumb enough to smoke, then you’re dumb enough to know it’s invasive and harmful to other people around you.

One of Ron’s excuses was that smoking only affected him and nobody else. Nope. Tobacco isn’t affecting or targeting just one person.

Since the mid-20th century, the tobacco industry has scoped out African Americans by marketing tobacco as a form of menthol cigarettes and sponsored them in

community and music events, free sampling, magazine advertising and promotions in retail, according to the Tobacco-Free Kids website.

Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death among Black communities, according to the same source.

If we as the next generation want to really show our kids a better world, the memo is simple.

If we can accept all people and accept our Earth,then we might as well start by valuing our God-given ability to breathe and co-exist with plants rather than market plants and burn them.

If we can undo hate, let’s undo Big Tobacco’s influence and protect the environment.

Let’s stick to the facts. butts are gross.

SJSU Athletics hosts Sparta Fest

By Ethan Li STAFF WRITER

The CEFCU Stadium hosted Sparta Fest on Saturday when the San José State football team played their first spring game.

“Sparta Fest is a celebration of San José State and with all the different sports being played on this nice sunny day,” said San José resident Elisabeth Mardis. “It’s a good time to come out and root for the home team.”

Sparta Fest includes the first spring football game at 1 p.m., a baseball match against University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) at 2:05 p.m. and a softball match against UNLV at 3 p.m., according to the Sparta Fest website.

The first spring football game took place at CEFCU Stadium where the San José State Spartans demonstrated their skills to the crowd.

“The spring game involves the football players putting on kind of a demonstration of what their practices are like, and then they scrimmage,” said San José resident Mel Murguia.

Kyler Halvorsen, senior kicker for the SJSU football team, said the San José State football team had just been retrofitted, and he had a good day on the field scrimmaging during Sparta Fest.

Halvorsen said Sparta Fest creates opportunities for athletes to play in front of their family and friends.

“It’s more of like a community event just to get people excited for the year,” Halvorsen said.

“(I’m) excited for a new head coach and a new team and just (the opportunity to) bring positivity to our program.”

Brian Gonzalez, a San José resident, said Sparta Fest presents an opportunity for SJSU to fundraise by selling tickets and beverages.

Sparta Fest sells ticket bundles for up to $125 that includes food, beverage and a baseball ticket, according to the Sparta Fest website.

Murguia said after the spring football game at

CEFCU Stadium his son will participate in Kids Camp and learn how to play football from SJSU

Football Kids Camp provides kids the opportunity to learn basic

Sparta Fest is a celebration of San José State and with all the different sports being played on this nice, sunny day.

Elisabeth Mardis San José Resident

registration form.

“So we get an opportunity to have our kids come hang out with the players and learn from them,” Murguia said. “It’s a big celebration and we love the community and the vibe.”

He said following the football game most fans left to go watch the SJSU versus UNLV games.

Jeff Alton, a Ventura County resident, said he drove up to the event to watch his daughter play her final softball match. Alton said she had been playing for four years and her final few games were taking place. He said his whole family came out to support her.

“If you guys can make it out to Sparta Fest or any spring games I would definitely encourage (it),” Halvorsen said. “It’s a good time.”

Corrections

On Tuesday, April 30 the Spartan Daily published its special issue titled, “90th Anniversary” in which Dolores Spurgeon, Clyde Lawrence, Erica Lizarrago and Wiggsy Sivertsen’s names were spelled incorrectly on pages 3, 4 and 5.

On page 3, Tommie Smith and Harry Edwards were misidentified in a photo caption The Spartan Daily regrets these errors.

football players.

SJSU

football skills from Spartan Football players, coaches and staff, according to a San José State Athletics

SJSU Athletics and Spartans football hosting the SJSU Football Kids Camp at CEFCU Stadium on Satuday.

ETHAN LI| SPARTAN DAILY