Spartan Daily Vol. 160 No. 41

Students oppose fund for jail

By Irene Adeline Milanez CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Students Against Mass Incarceration (SAMI) rallied in front of San Jose City Hall on Thursday morning to urge city council members to redistribute the $747 million new jail budget towards mental health services.

SAMI is a studentrun activist organization opposing the criminal legal system and advocating for individuals with mental health disorders, people in poverty and people of color who are disproportionately impacted by the legal system.

The county decided against proceeding with the new jail, according to the County of Santa Clara Fiscal Year 2023-2024

Recommended Budget.

Sociology senior Kat Adamson, a lead organizer of SAMI, said people with mental health issues often don’t receive fair treatment in jail as

they are often harassed by guards, correctional officers or other inmates and are overall deprived of proper support.

“I got the help I needed going to a mental health facility. I want that for everyone. I want everyone to get the chances and the privileges that I have received, and I recognize that my life would be vastly different,” Adamson said.

She said though Santa Clara County will not build the jail from 202324, SAMI is focused on utilizing the funds in 2025 to complete the original project.

“So we want to make sure that something’s done with that money and it just doesn’t disappear into the zeitgeist,” Adamson said.

She said the Board of Supervisors is not interested in renovating the current jail because it’s cheaper in the short run to build a new jail.

The Board of Supervisors address the concerns of their represented communities from the five districts of Santa Clara County,

according to their site.

“Frankly, people don’t need to be in jail for mental health problems,” Adamson said. “People are often arrested for causing

a disturbance or being in crisis and doing something that could be considered a crime, but they’re in crisis.” Justice studies senior

Alina Sandoval, SAMI team member and rally speaker, said the group is demanding the budget be used for mental health services, such as mental

health institutions and substance abuse treatment facilities.

“There are so many

Startup pitch competitors win checks

By Enrique Gutierrez-Sevilla STAFF WRITER

San Jose State University hosted the Sunstone California State University Startup Launch Competition in the Student Union on Friday.

Mohamed Abousalem, SJSU’s inaugural Vice President for Research and Innovation, said the CSU Startup Launch competition took the university’s Office of Innovation a year to prepare.

“The idea is what can we do to help our students to become stronger and more ready for their entrepreneurial journey in Silicon Valley or anywhere else,” Abousalem said. “They get training

and mentorship along the way and opportunities to connect with partners, supporters, employees or investors.”

He said this CSU Startup Launch competition was the first system-wide pitch competition.

The competition involved 18 of the 23 CSU campuses, with two pre-qualified teams of student entrepreneurs from each institution pitching their startups in 8-minute presentations followed by a 5-minute Q&A session to compete for prize money sponsored by Sunstone, according to the SJSU website.

Sunstone Management is a private capital firm that invests in early-stage technology entrepreneurs who seek to build companies, according to its site.

The event featured five competition tracks: two product tracks, two service tracks and one social entrepreneurship track.

Each of the five tracks had first, second and third place winners each winning $25,000, $10,000 and $5,000 respectively.

SJSU’s two winning startup companies were FutPlay, which won second place, and Creditcliq, which won third place.

Xavier Verdú, business and data analytics student, is the co-founder of FutPlay and delivered his pitch to the panel of judges.

He said FutPlay is an app and a reservation system based in Costa Rica, that helps amateur soccer players create teams with friends, challenge others in

their local area and rent soccer venues.

“I help the field owners by giving them a free reservation system so they can manage their bookings and get new ones,” he said. “The passion I’ve seen of the people when they download it and go play and participate in tournaments is very special to see them play for fun with their friends.”

Verdú said he was disappointed in placing second because he put a lot of effort into his presentation.

“I feel I reached such a good level of pitching and everything, but no, I’m just gonna keep it going,” he said. “I needed the money so badly because I’m

ALINA TA | SPARTAN DAILY

Dora Gurrola, a Students Against Mass Incarceration team member and rally speaker, presents SAMI’s demand for fund reallocation from Santa Clara County’s Board of Supervisors in front of City Hall on Thursday.

ENRIQUE GUTIERREZ-SEVILLA| SPARTAN DAILY

Left: Entrepreneurship senior Angel Idusuyi presents her pitch to judges in the Student Union on Friday. Above: Buisness and data analytics student Xavier Verdu given check by Sunstone Management at the CSU Startup Launch Competition.

SAMI members voice disagreement with new jail plans and demand for the reallocation of funds for mental health institutions

RALLY

Continued from page 1

injustices in America,”

Sandoval said. “SAMI was an organization that really spoke to me personally in my own family life and in my circle of friends, including myself. I have mental health issues.”

She said approximately half of people in United States’ jails and over 1/3 of the population of U.S. prisons have been

Continued

diagnosed with a mental health illness, according to the Community Policing Dispatch.

“Mental health care facilities will make a world of difference instead of just simply throwing people behind bars,” Sandoval said.

Political science junior

Dora Gurrola, SAMI team member and rally speaker, said law enforcement isn’t always equipped to handle an individual suffering from a crisis regarding mental health and substance abuse.

actually working on it because it’s not an experiment, [FutPlay] works and has traction.”

Regardless of the outcome, Verdú said he is proud of what he’s done with FutPlay because it’s his first startup.

Entrepreneurship senior Angel Idusuyi is the co-founder of Credit Cliq. She said Credit Cliq is a medium that provides a 360-degree overview and userfriendly tools to monitor, understand and build credit. The platform is specifically designed for Africans who have never had a financial product.

“With the rise and adoption of biometric identification numbers on the continent of Africa, a lot of consumers pose a threat to fraud,” Idusuyi said.

Idusuyi said she is grateful to win third place because it takes a lot of dedication to build a startup company.

“This is just conviction that we’re onto something,” she said. “Third place in the competition, but that doesn’t stop us from being first in the markets.”

Idusuyi said Credit Cliq uses financial literacy to explain credit history to users.

“We went one step further to build a credit portfolio so users can see their financial accounts, and credit accounts across various financial institutions all in one place,” she said.

Idusuyi said financial independence is

She said there are alternatives for the incarcerated, such as nonprofit organizations like The Health Trust and crisis lifelines. The Health Trust is a nonprofit organization that operates in Santa Clara County to help individuals who are suffering from mental health disorders and substance abuse problems, according to Gurrola.

She said SAMI demands The Health Trust be assigned a 10-digit phone line in place of 911 to prevent law enforcement from trying to handle crises

happening across the globe and believes Africa is the last frontier for finance.

“We want to take the credit pressure rate from 3% to 6%, which is about $8 billion of opportunity over the next 10 years,” she said.

During her presentation, Idusuyi said there are currently 760 people on the waiting list because the app recently launched.

“Credit Cliq helps the next generation of Africans achieve financial independence, that’s 1.3 billion Africans plus Credit Cliq equals equitable prosperity,” Idusuyi said.

Idusuyi and Verdú said a mentor for their startup pitches was Michael Ashley.

Ashley is the launch director of the SpartUp Incubator and worked alongside the entrepreneurs.

The SpartUp Incubator Program provides support for SJSU’s entrepreneurs through building their startups from conception, through prototype, to planning and fundraising, according to its website.

“To see them culminate in this huge competition and actually come away with second and third-place prizes is such an amazing feeling,” Ashley said. “I can’t be more proud of them and of the university and what’s happening here.”

Ashley said Idusuyi and Verdú have the ambition to solve problems around the world.

they have received little to no training on.

The group also demands an increase in funding toward the nonprofit to ensure a well equipped mobile response team to properly handle mental health and substance abuse situations.

History sophomore and SAMI team member Aidan Rauh said people need resources in order to avoid becoming criminals.

“They need housing, they need shelter, they need food, they need safety,” Rauh said.

“That’s the reason that people commit crimes, that they have a need that isn’t being addressed by the community.” He said building a prison won’t address these needs and are instead places where violence can thrive.

“By being persistent and visible, visible with our needs, we are influencing the local government to do what it needs to,” Rauh said.

Follow Irene on Twitter @MilanezIrene

Crime Blotter

Correction

On May 2, the Spartan Daily published a story “AAPI alumni gather for SJSU reunion” in which we misrepresented the relationship between Roy Hirabayashi and PJ Hirabayashi.

The Spartan Daily regrets this error.

Garden celebrates 10 years

By Dominique Huber STAFF WRITER

Students enjoyed music, food, face painting and more at the San Jose State Community Garden in honor of its 10th anniversary on Thursday.

Over the past 10 years, students have built the garden up from a vacant lot to a beautiful hub of gathering and sustainability for the campus community.

The Campus Community Garden is run through the Cesar E. Chavez Community Action Center (CCCAC) and is led by students.

Diana Victa, department manager of the CCCAC, said she is proud of the tremendous growth she has seen in the garden during the last seven years in her position.

“We broke ground 10 years ago after the

garden was advocated for by the Student Hunger Committee,” Victa said.

“We’ve grown so much as a garden and we wanted to share the celebration.”

The garden was packed with students, and there was a line out the gate as people waited their turn to partake in the festivities.

“I’m just mind-blown by

the turnout and the support and the excitement,” Victa said. “I think it really speaks to students’ interest around environmental justice and getting involved.”

Garden coordinator

Matthew Spadoni said he was glad so many people came out to show their support.

“This is insane,” Spadoni said. “This is way more people than we’ve ever had for any garden event so it’s amazing. I wish we could fit everyone in all at once.”

At the event, attendees explored the garden and enjoyed the various booths with tacos, churros, screen-printed posters and free merchandise.

Student volunteer and CCCAC member Nancy Maldonado said this kind of turnout wasn’t expected.

“Originally when we started planning this event,

our huge concern was that there wasn’t gonna be that many students showing up,” Maldonado said.

She said she believes the student body is more interested in the garden than organizers may have thought. The garden’s purpose is to help students access healthy food, learn about organic gardening practices and earn volunteer hours while engaging in the community, according to its webpage.

Sociology senior and volunteer Lilyenne Huynh said the Campus Community Garden is a necessary resource for students.

“The lack of accessibility to fresh produce for students and having this as a resource is just something I’m really proud to be working with,” Huynh said.

She said volunteering at the Campus Community Garden goes deeper than simply producing fruits and vegetables.

“Finding a space on campus, especially in the middle of a busy city, and hands-on getting to connect with the earth and see where food comes from is something that makes me feel very relaxed and at peace,” Huynh said. “It does not feel like work.”

Follow the Spartan Daily on Twitter @SpartanDaily

ENRIQUE GUTIERREZ-SEVILLA | SPARTAN DAILY

Students had the option to get their faces painted in the middle of the San Jose State Community Garden located on E. San Salvador Street.

Screen-printing was one of the many festivities at the campus garden on Thursday.

ENRIQUE GUTIERREZ-SEVILLA | SPARTAN DAILY

SJ celebrates Cinco de Mayo

1: Ivan Lopez, an employee of Marlmar Hernandez, a street vendor on San Salvador and First streets, makes tacos for customers.

2: Alexis, a singer and instrumentalist for the band La Original SF, sings for a crowd of dancing guests.

3: Street vendor Marlmar Hernandez cooks hot dogs and vegetables.

4: A white truck holding two Mexican flags drives on Fourth Street next to San Jose State University.

5: Another vocalist and instrumentalist from La Original SF perform on stage while dancing to the band’s music.

PHOTOS BY ALINA TA | SPARTAN DAILY

GRAPHIC BY ALEXIA FREDERICKSON

Spartans split four-game series

By Mat Bejarano STAFF WRITER

After getting swept by Air Force last week, the SJSU baseball team split a four-game series against San Diego State in Berkeley on Sunday.

The Spartans (22-22, 15-11 MWC) defeated the Aztecs (20-24, 14-9 MWC) 7-2. The victory was led by a powerful pitching performance, holding the Aztecs to 7 hits and 10 strikeouts.

The series was initially set for five games this past weekend, but was cut to four after the second game of Friday’s double header got rained out.

The Spartans, who usually play at Excite Ballpark in San Jose, played Sunday’s contest at Stu Gordon Stadium in Berkeley due to a scheduling conflict with the San Jose Giants.

Senior right-handed pitcher Darren Jansen earned his third win of the season for the Spartans, giving up no runs on 2 hits with 5 strikeouts in four innings of relief pitching.

“We knew we had a full bullpen going into today,” Jansen said. “So when I got my name called, just going out there and attacking and my defense picked me up behind me and it was a good day to get the win.”

Jansen has a 5.52 ERA in 20 appearances

with 33 strikeouts this season.

“When we can make plays and score some runs, put us up against anyone,” Jansen said.

Jansen ended the game retiring six of the last eight batters he faced.

Junior third baseman Dalton Bowling hit his team-leading ninth home run in the sixth inning to break the 2-2 tie, giving the Spartans a 4-2 lead.

“The pitching staff kept us in the game there, so I came up to the plate with a runner on first and two outs and just got a good pitch to hit and put a good swing on and went over the fence,” Bowling said.

Bowling leads the team with 42 RBIs this season and is batting one for three with a walk.

Bowling said the pitching staff was excellent.

“They kept us in the ball game the whole way and just let our offense do what we do and just to score runs and the pitching staff just kept us in the ball game,” Bowling said.

Junior shortstop Theo Hardy batted 2-for5 with a home run of his own in the seventh inning and extended the Spartan’s lead to 6-2.

Hardy said the pitching staff did a great job all day.

“Darren went out there and just did a phenomenal job by just throwing strikes [and] getting ahead of guys putting them away

and it was really fun to watch,” Hardy said. Hardy is batting .333 on the season and is second in the team with 4 triples.

He said it was a fun moment to play in his hometown of Berkley in front of his friends and family.

“I grew up coming to these games and it was really fun to get to play on this field and have a good game,” Hardy said.

SJSU head coach Brad Sanfilippo said the team played well all around against SDSU in an SJSU Athletics Twitter video.

“Darren Jansen was lights out today, he was awesome,” Sanfilippo said. “Dalton Bowling gave us separation with a two run homer and offensively our team was able to add to that and give us a little bit of separation there.”

Sanfilippo said the offense stepped on the gas.

“Theo Hardy and Dalton Bowling, they did a great job,” Sanfilippo said. “They really did offensively and put together some really good at bats and those are big moments for us.”

SJSU is scheduled to face University of San Francisco at 1 p.m. today at Benedetti Diamond in San Francisco.

IN BRIEF

The Spartans beat the Aztecs 7-2 in their last matchup of the season.

San Jose State sits in third place in the Mountain West Conference with a (22-22) record.

Only seven games remain for the SJSU baseball regular season.

UPCOMING GAME

CAMPUS IMAGES

SJSU @ USF Benedetti Diamond Tuesday 1:00 p.m. 1 2 3

#1: The Defensive line stops the running back short of the first down. Sophomore Walker Eget gets ready to throw the ball in the Spartans’ Spring game last Saturday.

#2: Sophomore Walker Eget gets ready to throw the ball in the Spartans’ Spring game last Saturday.

#3: The Spartans offensive line comes off the field for the first time.

ALINA TA | SPARTAN DAILY

Junior left fielder Robert Hamchuk gets ready for a pitch during SJSU’s game against San Diego State on Sunday Afternoon.

CHRISTINE TRAN | SPARTAN DAILY

ALINA TA | SPARTAN DAILY

Senior right-handed pitcher Darren Jansen greets his teammates after getting his third strikeout against San Diego State.