By Hunter Yates & Kaya Henkes-Power STAFF WRITER & EXECUTIVE EDITOR
San José Mayor Matt Mahan and the city council voted to remove District 3 Councilman Omar Torres from all council-assigned official appointments on Tuesday.
In an email sent by communication specialist Seamus Gann, Mahan
and the city council unanimously voted to strip Torres of his assignments.
“Torres is holding his seat hostage and taking away the right to representation from 100,000 residents of San José even after the entire council has called for his resignation,” the email said.
After missing two weeks of public meetings, Torres’s assignments and
other appointments have been assigned to other council members.
“While we don’t have the tools we need fully to remove him from office as the community has asked us to do, we can and have stripped him from all committees, boards and commissions,” the email said.
Mentioned in the press release is that Mahan and council members feel that he has lost the trust if
the community and is no longer able to effectively serve the district.
In a statement posted on Oct. 4 on Instagram from Torres’s personal account, he denies current allegations.
“I cooperated fully with SJPD and turned over my passwords without issue as I have nothing to hide,” Torres said.
In an Oct. 16 press release, Mahan and city council members
addressed the ongoing investigation.
“Given the appalling nature of Omar Torres’ own words and the allegations against him, we believe that he has lost the trust of the community and is no longer able to effectively serve the residents of District 3.”
The city council is calling for Torres to resign based on these allegations and questioning his
willingness to lead and represent the community, according to the email.
“I am looking forward to the day when we have a District 3 leader who is worthy of the trust and respect of the community,” Mahan said.
Lets talk preventing overdoses
By Jackson Lindstrom STAFF WRITER
Fentanyl is a very potent opioid drug that leads to many overdoses resulting in death every year.
It can easily kill its user with a little less than a dose the size of a few grains of salt, according to the Facts Fight Fentanyl web page.
Facts Fight Fentanyl is a campaign created by the California Department of Public Health that aims to educate Californians about important information regarding fentanyl, according to a California Department of Public Health web page.
Jessica Hwang, the public awareness section chief for the California Department of Public Health’s Substance and Addiction Prevention Branch, is a spokesperson for the Facts Fight Fentanyl campaign.
“Fentanyl can be present in any drug that is not prescribed by a clinician or dispensed by a pharmacist, and if fentanyl is present in a drug you cannot see it, smell it or taste it,” Hwang said.
Hwang said fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.
California had the most deaths out of any state in
the US, with approximately 6,500 fentanyl related deaths, according to an Sept. 27 article from USA Facts.
Signs of opioid overdose may include symptoms such as constricted pupils, loss of consciousness, irregular or absence of breathing, being unresponsive to outside stimulus, vomiting or sounds of choking or gurgling according to the National Harm Reduction Coalition.
Hwang said to reverse opioid overdose, people can use naloxone, a small, easy to carry lifesaving medication that sprays opioid antagonist receptors into the nose.
“We’re really encouraging college students and all Californians to carry naloxone (and) to also learn the signs of an opioid overdose and as well as how to respond to an overdose,” Hwang said.
“You could potentially save someone’s life, because you'll never know. It could occur anywhere, really.”
Drug overdose in 2022 was one of the leading causes of death of young people in California from ages 15-64, according to a 2024 California State of Public Health summary report.
Shauna Simon, a research scientist at the epidemiology and evaluation unit of the Substance and Addiction Prevention branch of the California Department of Public Health, explained how naloxone aids in overdose.
Epidemiology is the study of health and the spread of disease, according
doesn't have harmful effects if a person isn’t overdosing from fentanyl or another opioid.”
third-year animation and illustration student, said she would consider carrying naloxone.
Over 64% of cases in 2022 involving a fatal drug overdose had at least one opportunity for intervention, according to a 2024 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
What I’ve realized is that people should know that, yes, this is a scary thing but you shouldn’t be afraid. You should feel more empowered to help your community...
Shauna Simon A research scientist at the California Department of Public Health
to the National Library of Medicine.
“(Naloxone) can reverse the fentanyl overdose, and it comes in the form of a really easy to use nasal spray, and it can reverse overdose because it is an opioid antagonist, which means that it blocks the effects of opioids,” Simon said. “It can restore breathing following an overdose, and it actually
Hwang said naloxone can be found at pharmacies and college campuses, which can be acquired without a prescription.
San José State students can acquire naloxone at no cost at the Student Wellness Center and through the Santa Clara County’s Harm Reduction program, according to the Student Wellness Center’s web page.
Megan Chaput, a
“Honestly, it doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me. I haven’t heard of (naloxone) before and it's nice to know that there is something to help reverse the effects of the opioids,” Chaput said. “I would carry it on me, or I'd at least have it in my house, if I'm not carrying it on me 24/7, I know I can at least ... have it for someone else if they need it.”
It is unlikely the user will be able to reverse the overdose themselves when an opioid overdose occurs because they usually become unconscious, according to the CDC.
Everlynn Nguyen, third-year business administration student, said she agrees with Chaput about keeping naloxone on hand.
“If there isn’t any negative effect, then I suppose that it is good to have a lot of people having it and probably have some on site emergency area where they could access it,” Nguyen said.
Aside from naloxone are fentanyl testing strips, which are made to test whether fentanyl is present in another drug, according
to the Facts Fight Fentanyl website. Fentanyl test strips are accurate between 96 to 100% of the time, according to the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association’s article.
With this in mind, fentanyl testing strips are highly accurate, but it is important to realize they might not always be correct, according to the CDC.
Always carrying naloxone, testing drugs for fentanyl with fentanyl test strips, using sterile syringes, not mixing drugs, not taking drugs alone, and finding support and treatment are all ways to reduce harm, according to a California Department of Public Health web page.
“What I’ve realized is that people should know that, yes, this is a scary thing, but you shouldn't be afraid. You should feel more empowered to help your community,” Simon said. “I think that combating this crisis is really a communal effort, and it's going to take people knowing how to help prevent overdoses in order to solve this crisis.”
Follow Jackson on X (formerly Twitter) @jacklindst
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ALINA TA| SPARTAN DAILY
SJSU hosts Sciences Research event
By Alejandra Gallo STAFF WRITER
San José State undergraduate and graduate students presented their research at the College of Social Sciences Research Symposium on Tuesday.
The College of Social Sciences hosted its fall semester research showcase at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, which focused on the implications of global challenges that the community faces today, according to an SJSU web page.
The theme of the event
was “The Future of Environmental and Urban Resilience,” according to the same web page.
Christina Barry, a second-year graduate student at the Department of Environmental Studies, presented her research on the effect of gardening on kindergarten through fifth grade students.
“It seems that one thing we can all connect with is our love for nature,” Barry said. “It’s very interesting how a student’s involvement in a gardening-based program affects other areas of their personal life,
school life and hopefully their family life.”
Barry said she studies the impact of garden-based educational programs and how this affects the environmental literacy of students.
“A lot of people have a misconception of what environmental literacy is,” Barry said. “It basically means understanding key environmental issues.”
Barry said she was motivated to research the impacts of gardening because she didn’t have many hobbies which caused her to get into gardening.
“I decided to apply to grad school and using this recent love for gardening, I was curious about how it changed me as a person and how it could change others,” Barry said.
Most of the research presented at the event was about environmental impacts and geography.
The dean of the College of Social Sciences, Anne Marie Todd, moderated the event.
“The purpose of this is really to see what is the purpose of our research beyond this campus and the impact of research beyond research for the sake of research,” Todd said.
She said the College of Social Sciences hosts a research symposium every semester and also has a research week in the spring semester.
SJSU Research Week allows students to present their research to other students, researchers and staff members through a variety of showcases and events, such as the Grad Slam and the Celebration of Research event, according to a SJSU web page.
Xiangyu Ren, a thirdyear master’s student in the Department of Environmental Studies and lecturer at SJSU, presented her research on street crime prediction.
“I’m quite honored to have this opportunity here to represent my
research program and it’s quite important to present this research,” Ren said.
She said she urges students to go into research because it can be beneficial to the community.
“I think no matter if you are going to graduate school or not, I think getting into research is quite interesting and important,” Ren said.
Ren said her research focuses on the San José area and how mass transit infrastructures are correlated with street crimes.
Jason Su, SJSU alumnus and executive director of Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, spoke at the event about his project.
Su said he is currently working on a project to create a farm near the San José Mineta International Airport and was inspired by his mother who was a farmer in Vietnam.
“I do connect with the history of farming and agriculture because of my mother’s experiences,” Su said.
Devashree Hemant Agarwal, a first-year molecular biology student, said she hopes to do bioinformatics research.
Bioinformatics is the study of interpreting biological data with computers and statistics, according to Agarwal and is her desired field of study.
“I definitely really enjoyed this event and it
was really helpful and informative,” Agarwal said. “Just seeing a lot of people passionate about their research projects and explaining it and the process of how they got to it is really inspiring.”
Agarwal is part of the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) at SJSU, which provides students with the opportunity to work on a research project in the area of their choice with faculty members and have a mentor, according to an SJSU web page.
“My favorite part was when the panelists answered a few of the questions about their research,” Agarwal said. “It’s nice to hear about other people’s research.”
After the panelists spoke and answered questions about their research, the public was able to talk to the researchers once again.
“Getting into the research field can be tough, but I think that hearing other researchers present their projects so passionately is something that’s really inspiring,” Agarwal said.
PHOTOS BY ALEJANDRA GALLO | SPARTAN DAILY
Right to left, Anne Marie, Andrew Carter, Sophie Kelmenson, Costanza Rampini and Jason Su attend the Social Science Research Symposium on the SJSU campus.
SJSU students pose following their presentations at the College of Social Sciences.
Desi pop-up does not curry favor
By Saturn Williams STAFF WRITER
The counter at Build Pizza in the Student Union began offering Indian cuisine instead of Italian pizza slices at the beginning of October as Desi Contemporary Indian Casual fired up its burners for on-campus patrons.
In an email sent on October 3, Spartan Eats announced the grand opening of the visiting restaurant, offering a “fresh twist” on Desi flavors.
The restaurant gave itself the name “Desi,” a native moniker denoting people and cultural exports from the Indian subcontinent.
As a fledgling enjoyer of Indian food after arriving in the Bay Area, I was excited at the prospect of this new and accessible option available on the San José State campus.
Though the grand opening announcement described it as a “Bay Area favorite,” the food I was served was far from my favorite.
The menu at the Student Union restaurant encompasses some northern and western Indian cuisines alongside original Desi Contemporary Indian Casual creations such as “Desi Pepper Chicken Curry” and “Kulcha Chalupa Taco.”
Before diving into the puzzling yet intriguing Mexican-Indian fusion somehow claiming to be both a chalupa and a taco, I elected to order something safe and easy for my first visit –butter chicken.
In what was supposed to be an afternoon of enjoying one of my comfort foods, I instead was met with a bland curry chicken that was one-upped in quality by the readymade meal version found at the Costco deli.
The saucy tandoori bites provided vague tomato and garlic notes but failed to deliver on any of its other marinated flavors and spices.
Using the naan as a vehicle for the curry offered the best experience, but it wasn’t enough to conceal the mediocre execution of the Punjabi staple.
The kachumber salad, a small cup of chopped cucumber and tomato salad topped with lemon juice, was a bright and refreshing accompaniment to the main course and unfortunately, was the only highlight of my first meal.
The eatery’s “meal plates” included a serving of curry with saffron rice and kachumber, priced on the menu at $12. For a meal, side and drink, be prepared to spend at least $20.
My next visit encompassed the best and worst experiences
in exploring the tastes of Desi Contemporary Indian Casual. I chased trying something new with the promise of a familiar classic when I ordered a half shahi paneer and half sarson ka saag paneer meal plate followed by a hot “Desi Chai.”
Water” on the menu with its only sipping notes being unpleasant chalky bitterness.
I attempted to finish the weakest, most flavorless and terribly unsweet chai I’ve ever experienced to no avail.
I couldn’t struggle through it, which is a feat achieved by only
There was an option to fill the creation with butter chicken, and opting to avoid that disappointment again, I chose the pindi chole which led to mediocre results anyway.
The seasonings and ingredients in the bready shell were palatable but incohesive, with its structural integrity lacking.
In what was supposed to be an afternoon of enjoying one of my comfort foods, I instead was met with a bland curry chicken that was one-upped in quality by the readymade meal version found at the Costco deli.
The shahi curry with its cashews, yogurt and mellow spices was served in the traditional “Mughlai” style without tomato. It was my first time eating paneer and the shahi imparted an enjoyable nutty, aromatic and creamy flavor profile to the unaged and unmelting cheese cubes.
The spicier and more vegetal, spinach-based sarson ka saag was not as fitting to my tastes with its use of mustard greens but seemed authentic to the traditional balance of flavors.
However, the enjoyment didn’t go on for too long before another utter disappointment.
The pop-up’s rendition of a chai should be appropriately named “Desi $4 Cup of Hot
a handful of willingly purchased food and drinks in my lifetime.
After the botched execution of two Indian food fundamentals, I did not have high hopes for the restaurant’s more experimental options.
However, I steeled myself to face the final boss, the “Kulcha Chalupa Taco.”
The mélange of Mexican and Indian fare is an interesting fusion concept, but the actual product felt like a last-minute culinary afterthought hastily thrown onto the plate rather than a substantive integration of ideas. The “chalupa taco” was a mini naan filled with spiced chickpeas and topped with green chutney, kachumber and cilantro.
In the time it had taken me to eat my first Kulcha Chalupa Taco and vegetable samosa, the second street snack was soggy and falling apart.
Speaking of the samosa, the triangular pastry was by far my favorite side.
The crunchy exterior combined with the satisfying spicy potato filling provided a comforting respite amidst the letdowns throughout the rest of the menu.
Topping off my final meal from the pop-up, I drank a mango lassi that tasted less than fresh and was a bit too yogurty while I digested my overall dissatisfaction.
Desi Contemporary Indian Casual will be in the Student Union for a limited time, according to the initial Spartan Eats announcement, but I don’t see myself rushing to try any more of its second-rate offerings before it leaves.
SATURN WILLIAMS | SPARTAN DAILY
Three serving pots of Saffron rice, butter chicken and shahi paneer are presented behind Desi Contemporary Indian Casual’ s display window at the Student Union.
Students meet with cultural orgs
By Israel Archie STAFF WRITER
San José State students got to exercise cultural awareness on Tuesday as several different clubs and organizations gathered in the Student Union Ballroom for the Multicultural Fall Welcome.
Clubs such as the Black Business Student Association and the Black Alliance of Scientists and Engineers were present to inform SJSU students about what they do and what opportunities they provide including.
The event was hosted by the MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center and its program coordinator Cheska Dolor, used the event as an opportunity for students of different cultures to interact and learn more about each other.
“A lot of students don’t really know what’s outside of their own bubble and they don’t even know where to start,” Dolor said.
“So we wanted to create a space where students can come and they can engage with clubs that can support them on their identity.”
The MOSIAC Cross Cultural Center is a student resource center and department on campus that offers resources and programs to students while promoting social justice engagement and student activism, according to an SJSU web page Some of the
resources that these programs provide include workshops, co-sponsorship opportunities and scholarships, according to the same web page.
Dolor said this is the first time that the MOSAIC hosted an event like this and students wanted to see more events like these on campus.
“One of the things that students were talking about was (how) there aren’t really many spaces for clubs or campus departments that support students of color to get together,” Dolor said.
While a lot of these clubs have names that cater to specific cultures and identities, many of these clubs are very outspoken in their inclusivity of others that might not fit those checkmarks.
Kiaya Huff, a third-year human resources student and president of the Black Business Student Association, wants to ensure students that the club serves all students.
“I plan to support students by showing the resources we have to offer and letting them know that there is a space for them to come and have community,” Huff said.
“Whether you're Black, whether you’re white (or) whether you’re Hispanic, there’s always a place where you can come.”
Black Business Student Association promotes unity and community engagement through events including corporate networking, mentorship
and other social events, according to an SJSU web page.
Huff said that students should take advantage of these events because they only come once in a while.
“I want to see more people show up,” Huff said. “I think it’s a really good opportunity to learn about the clubs that we have to offer.”
Similar to Huff, Dolor also expected a bigger turnout of attendees to come out to the event.
“I think it’s great for a first installment, but (I) definitely have bigger dreams and bigger vision for what this could be,” Dolor said. “So it’s good, (but) could be better and will be better.”
Lewis Gehami, a teaching grad student,
said he enjoyed the event and wanted to see more clubs representing specific groups of people.
“I think we need a Brazilian club,” Gehami said. “We have the Latin American club, but I think we need to incorporate some of the Brazilian (and) Portuguese flavor.”
Gehami said that he is very interested in different cultures and used that passion to learn to speak French, Portuguese and he is currently learning Spanish.
While culture was the main theme of the event, some clubs were specifically catered to majors such as the science technology engineering mathematics (STEM) field.
Daniel Michael, a
second-year mechanical engineering student and program chair, talked more about the importance of clubs in general and student involvement within them.
“We want to give as many resources as possible to help ensure the best possible route to professionalism,” Michael said.
The Black Alliance of Scientists and Engineers was at the event to aid mainly Black students that are in STEM and help them succeed on campus and off campus, according to Michael.
The club collaborates with professionals in STEM to help students be on the path to achieving success in their various fields according to an
SJSU web page.
“I think the more people we can get to come to these events and really showcase what they have to offer, the more people can be in the know,” Michael said. There are about 450 recognized clubs on campus according to an SJSU web page, giving students plenty of choices to choose from if they want to be a part of a community.
“If you want to find your place on campus; clubs, clubs, clubs,” Michael said. “That’s probably the best thing I can tell you.”
Follow Israel on X (formerly Twitter) @archie45760
